There’s a quiet myth in organisational life that great teams emerge from great strategy. That if you bring smart people together, give them clear goals and a structured plan, collaboration will naturally follow. But anyone who has ever been part of a truly exceptional team knows that’s not quite how it works. Great teams don’t just perform well - they feel good to be part of.
Every coach has a style. Sometimes we discover it by accident; sometimes by design. But what if we explored our coaching style more intentionally - what we lean into by default, what we enjoy, what drains us, where we resist? Understanding your coaching style, where your strengths may overplay and where you can flex starts a journey of clearer impact, more resilience, and more joy in the work.
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’.
Many organisations talk about wanting a “coaching culture.” You’ll hear it in strategy documents, leadership speeches, HR’s ‘big plan’ decks. But often, it ends up being workshops, performance reviews, or one off mentor pairings. The flame flickers, then dims. What makes the difference between a culture that sticks and one that drifts?
When Sophie first came to coaching, she was frustrated. She had clear goals: step into leadership, get her team working well together, deliver results. But after three months, she felt stuck. Her coach was encouraging her to “be more structured, plan tighter, keep control.” Sophie tried, but each attempt left her drained and less motivated.
We all have moments when we feel energised, focused, and at our very best. These moments are often powered by our strengths — the natural tendencies, talents, and preferences that shape how we think, feel, and act. Yet, for many people, their greatest strengths remain underexplored, unnoticed, or underutilised.
Over the last few weeks I have been having some really interesting conversations - they go along the lines of - “Do you really believe in personality? I mean… aren’t we all a bit of everything?”, through to "Isn't it a load of ##$%, I mean it's just making you money praying off gullible people" [harsh!]
There is huge excitement around the use of AI based personality assessment, particularly for selection. There is no denying that AVI's with AI are a clever admin system but there is nothing yet to suggest it is in fact “intelligent” and capable of analysis.
Your ability to have effective and honest conversations can directly impact on how you show-up as a leader, as a colleague, as a friend. . . as a human! Your personality shapes the way in which you have conversations and therefore, understanding your personality traits and preferences can support you in developing the conversation skills you need to improve your conversations.
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