{"id":1800,"date":"2026-03-15T13:12:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T11:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/petrascoaching.gr\/?p=1800"},"modified":"2026-03-15T13:13:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T11:13:23","slug":"coaching-beyond-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/petrascoaching.gr\/en\/coaching-beyond-skills\/","title":{"rendered":"Coaching Beyond Skills: Leadership, Identity and Change"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most Leaders Entering a Session<a href=\"https:\/\/petrascoaching.gr\/en\/executive-coaching\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Executive Coaching<\/a> They don't have a knowledge or skill problem. They are capable professionals who have built their course through experience, judgment and collaborations. However, at critical \u2013 borderline moments, such as in a difficult disagreement, in a negotiation where interests conflict or in a decision that is not easily accepted, a different question arises: how a leader stands in the tension of the moment. There, the technique often yields to something more essential \u2013 the presence of the leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The moment of disagreement: This is where leadership is tested.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In everyday organizational reality, leaders are often confronted with moments of tension. It can be a conflict between team members, a negotiation with conflicting interests, or a decision that cannot easily be made or accepted. In these moments, three characteristic reactions often occur:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Retreat early in order to maintain cooperation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Excessive defense to protect the role.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unclear final position, with unclear wording of the decision in the attempt to maintain the relationship or avoid conflict.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In these cases the issue is not only the communication adequacy, but <strong>the ability of the leader to remain steadfast in dissent.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Leadership as an ability to withstand tension<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leadership often requires a person to be able to hold three elements at once: the relationship with people, the disagreement that is emerging and his own position as the person responsible for the decision. These elements need to coexist without the leader rushing to resolve the disagreement prematurely, giving space and time so that the tension can be processed within the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ronald Heifetz describes this attitude as a key dimension of adaptive leadership. The leader needs to be able to \"hold\" the intensity of a problem within the group without prematurely defusing it. This ability allows the team to meaningfully process their differences and develop new solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In other words, <strong>leadership is not only about decision-making but also about managing the tension that accompanies these decisions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From Skills to Leadership Identity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At this point executive coaching moves from the level of skills to the level of awareness, identity. The question is no longer just what a leader should do differently, but how he wants to position himself in his role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A useful way to approach this question is to look at it.<strong> Leadership as a continuum between two poles<\/strong>: From maintaining the distance that reinforces the principle to the participatory and collaborative attitude that gives space to collective processing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Effective leaders don't operate exclusively in one of these poles<\/strong>. Instead, they develop the ability to move consciously on this continuum, depending on the needs of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">An ordinary moment of the sessions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One executive describes a recent meeting with his team. The debate was about an important decision and the disagreement appeared early. As tension rose, he felt the pressure to take more care of the relationship and less of his position, and eventually moved quickly from the clear line he initially wanted to cross. The decision eventually went ahead, but he left the meeting with the feeling that he had backed down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the session we did not elaborate a new communication technique. On the contrary, we returned to the moment of discussion: what exactly happened when the disagreement appeared; what was the internal reaction at that moment; at what point did his attitude move?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through this investigation, something became visible that often goes unnoticed under the pressure of daily work: This is the time when the leader is called upon to <strong>keep at the same time<\/strong>: a) the relationship with others b) the disagreement that arises and c) his own position. Coaching starts right there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Need for reflective practice in Leadership<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Research in the field of executive coaching shows that its effectiveness is often associated with enhancing self-awareness and self-reflection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leaders who can observe themselves in action \u2013 recognizing what is happening inside them at the moment of a difficult discussion \u2013 are more able to consciously choose their stance. Studies show (Passmore &amp; Theeboom, 2016) that the effectiveness of executive coaching is often associated with enhancing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Awareness and self-awareness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ability to self-regulate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reflective practice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Coaching thus functions as a space where the leader can process real situations from his work and see more clearly his reaction patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Organizations and HR Leaders Need to Know<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For organizations and HR leaders it is important to make clear that the value of coaching is not just in developing skills. Its true value appears when leaders develop a more mature and stable presence within their role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In practice, this is understood in a simple way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The leader remains more steadfast in difficult discussions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It does not retreat prematurely but does not harden defensively.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It can keep the conversation open even when there is tension.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Change is not a new technique. It's a different quality of leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What leaders usually discover in a coaching session<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In practice, when executive coaching goes beyond developing skills, many leaders recognize three important things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The most critical moment of leadership is not the decision, but the moment of disagreement that can accompany a decision.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stability in disagreement is not a matter of technique, but of the ability to withstand the intensity of the relationship.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Leadership development is not just about what a leader does, but who he chooses to be in his role.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These shifts do not usually result from new tools or techniques, they result from the ability of the leader to reflect more deeply on the way he exercises his leadership. And they get stronger when he answers: What kind of leader do I want to be? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coaching beyond skills<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Executive coaching is not just about developing skills. It is about the ability of the leader to stop the rhythm of everyday life for a while and to reflect on the way he exercises his leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This process often results in something more substantial than a new technique: a more stable, conscious and mature leadership presence. And this is the most important contribution of executive coaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Indicative bibliography<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/14697017.2013.805159\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Grant, A. M. (2014). The Efficacy of Executive Coaching in Times of Organisational Change.\u00a0<em>Journal of Change Management<\/em>,\u00a0<em>14<\/em>(2), 258\u2013280.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heifetz, R. A., Grashow, A., &amp; Linsky, M. (2009).&nbsp;<em>The practice of adaptive leadership: Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world.<\/em>&nbsp;Harvard Business Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Passmore, J., &amp; Theeboom, T. (2016). Coaching psychology research: A journey of development in research. In L. E. van Zyl, M. W. Stander, &amp; A. Odendaal (Eds.),\u00a0<em>Coaching psychology: Meta-theoretical perspectives and applications in multicultural contexts<\/em>\u00a0(pp. 27\u201346). Springer International Publishing\/Springer Nature.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/psycnet.apa.org\/doi\/10.1007\/978-3-319-31012-1_2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/978-3-319-31012-1_2<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most leaders who enter an executive coaching session do not have a knowledge or skill problem. They are capable professionals who have built their course through experience, judgment and collaborations. However, at critical \u2013 borderline moments, such as in a difficult disagreement, in a negotiation where interests conflict or in a decision that does not [\u2026]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[30,11],"class_list":["post-1800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-petrascoaching-gr","tag-executive-coaching","tag-11"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrascoaching.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrascoaching.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrascoaching.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrascoaching.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrascoaching.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1800"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/petrascoaching.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1805,"href":"https:\/\/petrascoaching.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1800\/revisions\/1805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrascoaching.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrascoaching.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrascoaching.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrascoaching.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}