How to Be More Like a Coach When Leading Investment Teams

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Be less like an expert and more like a coach.

If you are an investment leader, you have probably heard this one before. Especially in fast-moving, competitive environments like asset management and investing, your main task is to move out of the way and help people come up with their own answers to the myriad challenges they are dealing with.

But that’s easier said than done. In the heat of the moment, it’s so tempting to jump in, offer the solution or just fix the problem yourself. Coaching just takes too much time, right? And why wouldn’t you share your knowledge and experience as an investor? It’s the whole reason why you got to where you are today.

This week’s guest on The Happy Investor debunks all these myths about what’s become known as coach-like leadership. Michael Bungay Stanier is the founder of Box of Crayons, a training company that helps organizations develop a curiosity-led culture. He's also the best-selling author of multiple books including ‘The Coaching Habit’ – and an incredibly funny guy to hang out with.

Tune in to learn practical tools, questions and mindsets that help you kickstart and guide a coaching conversation that only takes 10 minutes or less.

Disclaimer: The conversation I’m sharing today was recorded around the start of the pandemic in early 2020 and comes from the archives of my previous podcast, Meeting Strategist. I think it's as relevant as it was two years ago, and maybe even more so with all the change going on in the investment industry.

Links to people, resources and concepts mentioned:

• The LinkedIn profile of Michael Bungay Stanier, and a link to his website
• Links to The Coaching Habit, The Advice Trap and his latest book How to Begin (via Amazon)
• The website of Box of Crayons, the learning and development company he founded 20 years ago