What if leadership wasn’t about having the answers but about creating the conditions for others to think deeply, act purposefully, and grow?
For today’s school leaders, success isn’t defined by control or charisma; it’s about connection. A coaching approach to leadership offers a way to navigate the complexity of schools by leading with curiosity, empathy, and intention.
At its heart, a coaching approach is a people-centered way of leading that fosters relational trust and strengthens professional relationships. It invites us to see every interaction as a potential moment for growth and to show up in conversations in ways that enable learning and agency, not just compliance or task completion.
Becoming a Conversation Leader
Leadership is enacted through conversation. One of the most powerful shifts a leader can make is to become more intentional in how they initiate and manage those conversations. A coaching approach supports this by helping leaders:
- Hold a space for others to think, reflect, and make sense of situations
- Listen with empathy, affirming strengths while supporting progress
- Ask questions that generate insight and move the conversation forward
- Discern their next most helpful move, whether that’s staying curious or offering some input
This is not about turning every exchange into a formal coaching session. Rather, it’s about knowing when and how to draw on key coaching skills and dispositions; especially in the (often brief) moments that matter.
Conversations That Move People Forward
When leaders adopt a coaching approach, their everyday conversations become more impactful. For example:
- In those impromptu “got a minute?” conversations in the hallway, asking a clarifying question or playing back a short summary statement can help focus our conversation partner on what they really want to change.
- In team meetings, coaching questions can amplify more voices, surface new ideas and foster shared ownership.
- In one-on-one check-in meetings, attentive listening can help staff feel seen, heard, and supported.
- In feedback conversations, a coaching approach helps raise awareness while preserving dignity and encouraging action.
Coach-like leaders don’t avoid challenge; they handle it more skilfully. They can differentiate between affirming strengths, stretching practice, and, when necessary, raising concerns. Crucially, coaching skills and dispositions help them to hold those conversations with clarity and care.
Why It Works
Coaching as a way of leading works because it:
- Offers an adaptive leadership style that fits the complexity of leading human-intensive organizations like schools
- Best serves the thinking, purpose and progress of team members and others in the school community
- Builds psychological safety and trust
- Supports emotional intelligence in challenging moments
And crucially—it sustains the leader. Because when we stop trying to do all the thinking, fixing, and directing ourselves, we create more sustainable ways of working that empower others.
One Conversation at a Time
You don’t need a new title or timetable slot to lead this way. You just need to show up more intentionally in the range of conversational contexts through which you lead.
Try one simple shift at a time, for example: ask a team member, “What’s on your mind?” and then really listen. Move them to progress by asking “So what’s one small step you can take towards that?” and go for even more precision by asking, “Great! When would be a good time for you to do that?”
Or offer feedback that affirms and amplifies what’s working before reaching for what could improve.
And, next time you have one of those “got a minute?” encounters with a member of your staff, ask yourself: What does this person (really) need from me right now? How can I best serve their thinking and progress in the time we have? How do I need to show-up right now to do that?
About the Author
Chris Munro is an educator first and foremost and has extensive experience in supporting and leading the growth and development of teachers and school leaders drawn from more than 30 years spent in Government, Independent, and Catholic schools in Australia and Scotland, and in Initial Teacher Education at the University of Aberdeen.
As an Accredited Senior Practitioner Coach (EMCC Global), Chris continues to coach and mentor education leaders and leads the design and delivery of coaching and mentoring training courses and consultancy projects across Australia and internationally. He has a particular interest in the impact of coaching on organizational learning culture. He regularly writes and speaks about coaching and mentoring in education and is an active contributor on social media. A highly experienced facilitator, Chris has presented at major conferences in the UK, Australia, and the USA.
Contact information:
Email: cmunro@growthcoaching.com.au
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismunrogci/
