Lesson 2: Choose to Be a Coach | Adam Grant

Recognize the value of a coach (over cheerleaders and critics). Use a 360 process to support your direct reports’ growth. It’s nice when your mom tells you how good you are at everything and that you’re already the best. But is it useful (or true)? Likewise, it’s helpful when your boss points out what you’re doing wrong, but if that’s all they do, it doesn’t feel great and can negatively impact the confidence you need to do your job and grow. Organizational psychologist Adam Grant says good leaders balance these two extremes by acting as coaches. In this video lesson, he explores how to develop others’ potential in a way that energizes and encourages them to embrace their strengths and overcome their weaknesses. Three Approaches to Development Cheerleaders recognize people’s best selves and try to harness their strengths. Critics identify people’s worst selves and try to help them overcome their weaknesses. Coaches are the best kind of leader. They see people’s potential and try to help them become a better version of themselves. Cheerleaders may lead people to use their strengths as a crutch, which could end up derailing their career. For example, charismatic leaders might end up under-preparing for meetings or speeches. Assertive leaders might end up failing to listen and learn from the people around them. Critics may lead people to doubt their own potential by constantly focusing on their weaknesses. Great coaches energize people to get better: They help them see their strengths without getting complacent and recognize their weaknesses without getting discouraged. Building User Manuals Help your direct reports write their own user manuals. Encourage them to ask you 3 questions: What are my strengths and how can I use them more effectively? What are my weaknesses and how can I overcome them? What are my blind spots and how can I understand my gaps in self-awareness? For example, what do you know about me that you wish you had known on Day 1? What do you know about me that I may not know about myself? Walk your direct reports through this 360 process: Have them survey others as a way to hold up a mirror to themselves. Be sure to ask others to help you write your own user manual as well. © Freethink Media Inc., All Rights Reserved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go Deeper with Big Think: ►Become a Big Think Youtube Member Get exclusive classes and early, ad-free access to new releases without leaving Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/@bigthink/membership/ ►Become a Big Think Web Member Get the entire Big Think Class library, premium print issues, live events, and more. https://bigthink.com/membership/ ►Subscribe to Big Think on Substack Get all of your favorite Big Think content delivered to your inbox. https://bigthinkmedia.substack.com/subscribe/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Adam Grant: Adam Grant has been Wharton’s top-rated professor for seven straight years. As an organizational psychologist, he is a leading expert on how we can find motivation and meaning, rethink assumptions, and live more generous and creative lives. He has been recognized as one of the world’s 10 most influential management thinkers and Fortune’s 40 under 40. Grant is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of five books that have sold millions of copies and been translated into 45 languages: Think Again, Give and Take, Originals, Option B, and Power Moves. His books have been named among the year’s best by Amazon, Apple, the Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal. His viral piece on languishing was the most-read New York Times article of 2021 and the most-saved article across all platforms. Grant hosts WorkLife, a chart-topping TED original podcast. His speaking and consulting clients include Google, the NBA, Bridgewater, and the Gates Foundation. He writes on work and psychology for The New York Times, has served on the Defense Innovation Board at the Pentagon, has been honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and has appeared on Billions. He has more than 6 million followers on social media and features new insights in GRANTED, his free monthly newsletter.