Leadership these days doesn’t just mean setting direction, managing resources, or making decisions. Increasingly it means inspiring, developing, and coaching others. But to lead as a coach, to bring out the best in people, one needs more than technique. You need awareness – of yourself, your style, and of others’.
Leaders who lean into personality insight don’t just lead – they enable growth that feels real, respectful, and energising.
What it means to be a “Leader as Coach”
Think of leadership + coaching as overlapping circles, not separate roles. A leader as coach:
- Listens more than instructs; asks reflective questions rather than always giving answers.
- Helps others discover their own possibilities rather than telling.
- Balances challenge and support – pushing growth when needed, but always with empathy.
- Pays attention both to tasks/outcomes and to the wellbeing & potential of people.
How personality insight elevates leadership coaching
1. Knowing your leadership fingerprint
Before you lead others, it’s powerful to lead your own growth. What are your dominant traits? What’s your style under pressure?
When leaders reflect on their traits (including “overplayed” ones), they gain clarity -where they’re strong, where they might inadvertently create friction, where they may need to stretch. This self knowledge gives confidence and authenticity.
2. Adapting to others more intentionally
A key part of leadership coaching is flexibility. One team member might thrive in direct, structured feedback; another might need more relational, gentle prompting. Personality insight lets leaders see those differences clearly. Rather than guessing, they can tailor their approach: different feedback styles, pacing, communication methods.
3. Building trust & safety
People tend to feel safest when they believe they are understood. When leaders share parts of their personality, show awareness of their own patterns, when they use personality language (openly and respectfully), it reduces fear of misunderstanding. It builds space for vulnerability, which deepens the coaching relationship.
4. More effective feedback & goal setting
Tailoring feedback and goals so that they resonate with how someone works. For example: someone high in Will may appreciate straight feedback and challenge; someone high in Affection or Emotionality might respond better if feedback is given with relational context, trust, and support. Goals set with alignment to personality are often taken up more willingly, and followed through more consistently.
What leaders should be mindful of. . .
Risk of over comfort: Leaning only into your strongest traits can feel easy, but might limit stretch. Good leadership coaching often means stepping into discomfort.
Assuming similarity: Just because you prefer a certain coaching style doesn’t mean everyone else does. Be careful to check in: “What kind of feedback helps you? What pace feels good?”
Using personality to excuse behaviour: Traits are explanatory, not excuses. If someone naturally dislikes confrontation, that doesn’t mean avoiding hard conversations – it means doing them in a way conscious of style.
Neglecting reflection: If you don’t check in with your own style (or how it’s being perceived), you may drift, miscommunicate, or unintentionally cause friction.
Exploring your leadership coaching with personality
Here are some exploratory or developmental practices you might try:
Complete or revisit your Facet5 / Spotlight profile. Reflect not just on who you are but how that style shows up in leadership moments.
Invite feedback (from peers, team) specifically about your coaching behaviours. Ask questions like “When I coach or give feedback, what helps you the most?”
Experiment with different coaching styles. Try shifting: more questioning rather than telling; slow vs fast pace; more structure vs more space. Notice what shifts in response.
Use personality in team development. Share insights in workshops: help your team understand one another. Use traits to build empathy.
Model vulnerable learning. E.g., share something you’re working on, something you found difficult. When leaders show their own growth path, it encourages others to go on theirs.
Conclusion
Leadership is about influence, and coaching is one of the deepest forms of influence. When leaders bring personality insight into how they lead and how they coach, they don’t just drive performance; they build capacity, trust, purpose, and human connection.
If you’re stepping into the leader as coach space (or already there), inviting personality into your leadership practice can be one of the most inspiring, transformative decisions you make – for you, your team, and your organisation.
