The Coaching Edge: Simple Skills That Unlock Big Shifts | #13

Mastering the mindset and everyday skills to embed coaching into your leadership style.

Welcome to the second episode in our two-part series on coaching in leadership. In the last episode, Dave and Rich explored why coaching is such a powerful leadership tool. In this episode, they get practical.

What does a coaching approach really look like in action? What are the everyday mindset shifts and essential skills that help leaders create trust, unlock potential, and embed a coaching culture?

Dave and Rich unpack the critical skills behind effective coaching conversations – including active listening, mirroring and pacing, powerful questions, and the often-underestimated power of silence. Rich also introduces the CLEAR framework for asking better, more generative coaching questions.

And to tie it all together, they break down the classic T-GROW model, showing how leaders can use this simple structure to guide meaningful coaching conversations across performance reviews, one-to-ones, team discussions and even five-minute chats over coffee.

Key Talking Points:

  • Why coaching is a leadership mindset, not a one-off event
  • How to shift from being a problem-solver to a thinking partner
  • Skills that make the difference: active listening, mirroring, and open questions
  • The power of generative questions and the CLEAR framework
  • Making the most of the T-GROW model in real conversations

Whether you’re new to coaching or looking to sharpen your skills, this episode offers practical, insightful tools you can start using straight away.