Coaching: A Powerful Tool for Developing Better Leaders

How coaching helps local-government leaders build confidence, improve communication, and develop stronger teams.

An organization is only as good as its staff, and its staff is only as good as its leadership.

Local-government leaders face a familiar set of challenges: holding employees accountable, communicating effectively, managing conflict, and developing the next generation of supervisors and managers.

During a recent LeaderGov workshop, coaching specialist Gayle Johnson discussed how coaching can help leaders address these challenges and become more effective in their roles.

Before the workshop, participants were asked which leadership skills they hoped coaching could improve. Nearly 30% identified accountability and performance concerns, while another 25% selected communication and conflict. Participants also cited confidence in decision-making and executive presence as important concerns.

These results reveal an important opportunity. While some cities and counties invest in leadership training, fewer provide ongoing, individualized coaching to help leaders put what they learn into practice.

1. Coaching, Mentoring, and Training: What's the Difference?

Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, coaching, mentoring, and training serve different purposes.

• Training teaches knowledge and skills. Participants learn concepts and techniques through workshops, classes, and other educational experiences.

• Mentoring involves sharing personal experience, advice, and guidance. A seasoned leader helps someone navigate challenges based on lessons learned throughout their career.

• Coaching is a partnership that helps individuals think more clearly, recognize blind spots, establish goals, and take ownership of their professional development.

According to Johnson, effective coaches don't simply tell people what to do. Instead, they ask thoughtful questions that help individuals discover their own solutions.

When leaders develop their own answers, they are more likely to understand, embrace, and apply them.

Coaching also differs from traditional training because it is an ongoing process. Leaders identify a behavior they want to improve, practice new approaches, discuss what worked and what didn't, and make adjustments.

The real value of coaching is not simply learning something new. It's changing how we lead.

2. Great Coaching Begins With Self-Awareness

One of the workshop's strongest themes was the importance of understanding how others experience us as leaders.

Johnson emphasized that leadership effectiveness depends heavily on self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and communication.

Consider a few questions:

• How do employees experience me when I enter a room?

• Does my tone encourage conversation or discourage it?

• Am I genuinely listening, or am I preparing my response?

• Do employees feel seen, heard, and understood?

• Am I aware of behaviors that may undermine my effectiveness?

Leaders often believe they communicate well without recognizing how their words, expressions, or behaviors affect others.

Johnson shared an example of a leader who needed eight months of coaching before recognizing an important personal blind spot.

Meaningful behavioral change takes time, trust, and a willingness to examine ourselves.

As leaders become more self-aware, they often gain clarity about priorities, more confidence in decision-making, and a stronger ability to delegate responsibilities and navigate difficult conversations.

3. Coaching Benefits the Entire Organization

While coaching focuses on the individual, its effects can extend throughout the organization.

Johnson identified five organizational benefits that coaching can help produce:

Employee Retention: Employees who feel supported and respected by their supervisors are more likely to remain with an organization. Better leadership can reduce turnover and its associated costs.

Employee Engagement: Leaders who listen well, clarify expectations, and provide meaningful feedback help employees become more engaged in their work.

Improved Performance: Clear direction, well-defined responsibilities, and consistent accountability help employees understand what success looks like.

Succession Planning: Confident leaders are more willing to identify and develop future leaders rather than viewing talented employees as potential threats.

Change Readiness: Leaders with strong communication skills and emotional intelligence can help employees navigate organizational changes, new strategies, and shifting priorities.

These benefits reinforce an important principle: Investing in individual leaders is also an investment in the performance and culture of the entire organization.

4. Coaching Isn't Just for Executives

Coaching is often reserved for city managers, department directors, and other senior leaders. However, some of the best coaching opportunities may exist elsewhere in the organization.

Consider a public works employee promoted to supervisor because of exceptional technical skills.

Yesterday, that person was responsible for completing the work. Today, they're responsible for leading people who complete the work.

Those responsibilities require very different skills.

New supervisors must learn to communicate expectations, provide feedback, manage conflict, delegate work, and hold employees accountable.

Johnson emphasized that leadership skills can be learned. Coaching can help newly promoted supervisors make this transition more successfully.

Emerging leaders, mid-level managers, and even influential employees without formal supervisory authority may also benefit.

The important question isn't simply, Who has the highest position? It's who would benefit from greater self-awareness, stronger communication, and more effective leadership behaviors.

5. What Makes a Coaching Program Successful?

Workshop participants raised several practical questions about establishing coaching and mentoring programs. Their questions revealed four important considerations.

Start with leadership commitment. Senior leaders must demonstrate that coaching and professional development matter. When executives participate in coaching themselves, they model the behaviors and commitment they expect from others.

Build trust and encourage participation. Coaching requires vulnerability and a willingness to change. Johnson cautioned that forcing someone into coaching when they have no interest in growing can be ineffective. Coaches must establish trust, understand resistance, and help participants recognize the value of the process.

Start small and build intentionally. Cities and counties don't need to launch organization-wide coaching programs immediately. Consider starting with new hires, emerging leaders, or recently promoted supervisors. Organizations developing internal mentoring programs should first train mentors, clarify expectations, and establish appropriate boundaries.

Establish goals and measure progress. Coaching should start with clear objectives and a shared understanding of what successful behavioral change looks like. Evaluate progress through ongoing conversations, specific behavioral observations, and feedback from supervisors and employees.

For example, a supervisor who wants to become a better listener might practice asking follow-up questions and reducing interruptions during meetings. Subsequent coaching sessions can assess whether employees notice meaningful improvement.

Without follow-up and accountability, even the best development efforts can lose momentum.

Putting Coaching Into Practice

Leadership training provides knowledge. Coaching helps transform that knowledge into consistent behaviors.

For local governments, the two approaches can work especially well together.

After completing a leadership development program, selected supervisors or managers can participate in individual coaching sessions to reinforce what they've learned, address personal challenges, and strengthen the application of new skills.

Coaching does not have to be complicated or expensive. Organizations can start with a handful of leaders, set measurable goals, and expand as they see results.

The ultimate goal is not simply to create better-trained leaders. It's to develop leaders who consistently communicate well, build trust, hold people accountable, and bring out the best in their teams.

And when leaders grow, the employees they lead—and the communities they serve—benefit.

How LeaderGov Can Help

LeaderGov helps cities, counties, and other local-government organizations strengthen their leadership teams through professional development, coaching, and mentoring programs.

We offer individual leadership coaching as well as assistance establishing internal coaching and mentoring programs. Our approach includes identifying development goals, practicing new behaviors, and following up to support lasting improvement.

To learn more, contact Gayle Johnson at gayle@leadergov.com or Bill Stark at bill@leadergov.com.

www.LeaderGov.com