Leadership Coaching Tip: Leading and the Mental Model

Leadership Coaching Tips / March 2006

Your client has a mental model of leading. This includes the very concept of leadership that she holds. It involves what it is to be a leader, what leaders do, relationships with collaborators and followers, the relationship between leading and the strategic directions of the organization, the role of culture in determining leader effectiveness. It also involves personal values, personal intentions, questions of self-identity. In your coaching process, be aware that omitting any of these dimensions in exploring leadership generally or in a particularly context puts the client at risk.