Leaders respond to requests for approval every day. Yet we all know people who need a little too much approval or reassurance. To them your opinions and decisions seem to impact their sense of security or self-worth, and they may strike you as clingy, needy, or fawning—something that may be in their blind spot. You can coach them to greater effectiveness by explaining how they are coming across to you, and how your decisions are neither an endorsement nor indictment of them as a person or a professional. Taking the lead on alleviating this burden helps you and the other person achieve greater results together.
Coaching Questions:
Coaching Questions:
- Is there anyone on your team who seems to need more reassurance and/or approval than others?
- Would there be something to gain by explaining to them privately, candidly, and kindly how they are coming across to you?
David Peck
Executive Coach
and President
Leadership
Unleashed
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Based on client experiences / lessons learned, our weekly LeaderTips have been offering self-coaching themes and topics of interest to leaders since 2004. They are often published in BusinessWeek Online, sent weekly to our clients, and hundreds of other corporate leaders worldwide. I invite you to forward them to others, who are also welcome to subscribe using the link below. Note that over 100 of these tips appear in my book, Beyond Effective: Practices in Self-aware Leadership. Click here to subscribe to LeaderTips via email.
