Are you a coach or a dictator? This is a simple and strait-forward question but it has profound implications.
In today’s edition of the Pursuit Of Service Podcast, my co-host Jeff Wright and I discussed the differences between the two. The differences and contrasts are stark. The implications are so important, however, that I want to share the highlights of our conversation with you.
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The following are 15 Statements To Help You Know If You Are A Coach Or A Dictator I captured from our conversation. All quotes are from Jeff.
- “As long as we’re focused on moving forward and improving ourselves, our family, and our circle of control, that will lead to better outcomes for us personally… And if we’re all doing that, society will improve overall as well.”
- “Being a manager and leader are different but they overlap… The coach and dictator are more mutually exclusive.”
- “Being a manager is not an insult but a description.”
- “A coach is trying to coax their them to an end-state by sort of a collaboration vs a dictator who says, ‘Do this because I said so because I’m your boss.'”
- “The similarities is in both cases the person has a vision or an idea or an end-state they’re trying to get to.”
- “The coach is coaching someone up to something and the dictator is directing someone toward something. But both have an end-state.”
- “Both also have a subject… Both have someone they’re trying to influence.”
- “Both have a task at hand that they can’t or they shouldn’t or maybe they won’t do.”
- “The coach cares about the person and views their leadership through the perspective of that team member’s success… The dictator doesn’t care about the person but only the task and the end-state of the task.”
- “The dictator may say, ‘Come in on Saturday and do the work.’ The coach will say, ‘As a team, we’re all coming in and I’ll be the first one in, the last one to leave.'”
- “The coach includes the ‘Why’ or the purpose… When people understand that, they tend to buy-in more.”
- “The best leaders are relationship builders. One of the differences between a coach and dictator is the relationship part of it. Ultimately, the coach serves as a mentor.”
- “A life coach is a paid mentor.”
- “What is 100% transferrable is love.”
- “Ultimately we have a choice to act as a coach. Just be intentional… Being intentional about helping the people you work with.”
3 Questions Leaders Can Ask Themselves
- “How does the person feel about this task, directive, or situation?” You want to setup empathy because you care about the person.
- “Ask yourself, ‘Why am I doing this?'” If you can’t answer that question, you can’t communicate it and you can’t get the folks to properly buy-in and align.
- “How can this help their career or path?” Everyone can win when you approach it through this perspective.
So after reading these comments, are you a coach or a dictator? If the answer is the latter, there is still time to change.
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