Show and Tell To Create Engagement in Coaching-Based Leadership

I recently took a writing class called “Show and Tell” where we explored the differences between “showing” the reader how something was happening – through dialogue and description – versus “telling," which entails simply explaining what happened. Both are valuable ways of sharing a story.   It’s how and when you choose to do one versus another that shapes how the story evolves.

I think the same is true when you are trying to engage an organization to embrace a coaching-based approach to leadership.  You are, in effect, weaving a story about a possibility.  And in doing so, you need to both show people what coaching-based leadership is all about as well as telling them how this new style of leadership can make a positive difference for the organization.

I think we’re all pretty familiar with what telling looks like.  We give presentations, we explain, we cajole, we lecture, we write emails, and more often than not, we discover that, despite our best efforts, people often don’t seem to fully grasp what we’re talking about.