Leadership: Effective Coaching Principals

When it comes to leadership principles, there are several key concepts. These include creating a supportive, safe and challenging environment for coaching, facilitation and collaboration; advocating self-awareness; the promotion of learning from experience; and modelling the actions and behaviours that are being coached Establishing next steps and accountability is also an important part of the process.

Creating the Right Environment

In leadership coaching, it’s vital to create the right environment: as well as being a space where thinking can be challenged, it also needs to be safe and supportive at all times. This means making sure that everyone feels heard and that their feelings and values are understood. Here, risk-taking should feel rewarding rather than risky, which can be achieved by maintaining a non-judgemental, open approach.

Facilitation and Collaboration

The best leadership coaches avoid positioning themselves as an expert or providing direct answers, instead focusing on the needs of the coachee, with the ultimate choice or course of action resting with the latter. The role of the coach is to act as a collaborator and facilitator.

It’s important for the coach to ask powerful questions that draw out information such as who is affected by the situation, what else the coachee could have done, who else they have talked to and how they want the rest of the team to feel. These types of questions can uncover unspoken reservations and other insights that may not have otherwise come to light.

Self-Awareness and Learning Through Experience

Advocating self-awareness is something practiced by experienced leadership coaches such as Volker Hartzsch. As well as allowing the coachee to identify their own strengths and weaknesses, this allows the coach to be aware of how their coaching behaviours affect others.

Successful leadership coaches also promote learning through experience, fostering experiential development and the ability to reflect on past events and actions – and learn from both what went well and what didn’t.

Next Steps and Accountability

Leadership coaching isn’t just about having a conversation and providing inspiration and guidance: the coachee must be able to put the insights gleaned into action and be willing to try new behaviours. To this end, conversations should be connected to clear actions by identifying next steps to create meaningful, specific outcomes. The goal of all coaching conversations should ultimately be to promote follow-through for growth and tangible change.

Volker Hartzsch | Co-founder and Director of Sixth Society

Volker Hartzsch is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor, known for his deep expertise across leadership coaching, software development, online marketing, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and NFTs. With a track record that includes building and selling 19 companies and investing in over 23 more, Volker has firmly established himself as a prominent figure in the tech and business worlds.

He is the co-founder and director of Sixth Society, a forward-thinking company focused on delivering blockchain and Web3 technology solutions for B2B clients. The organisation is a dynamic community of investors and entrepreneurs who are committed to shaping the future of the crypto and Web3 space. Sixth Society offers its members access to cutting-edge investment opportunities and the potential to share in the revenue of a $16 trillion industry.

Volker’s strengths lie in leadership development and advanced software development. He has designed software tailored to support businesses in the sequence marketing process—a focused approach involving key growth steps such as pitch creation, execution strategies, customer conversion, and retention. This innovative software helps businesses streamline their operations and boost their growth potential.

With a strong foundation in NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), Volker has also made a significant impact as a leadership coach. To date, he has coached over 180 clients to achieve annual seven-figure incomes, showcasing his commitment to empowering others through strategic guidance and personal development.

Beyond his professional ventures, Volker enjoys unwinding in nature, reading, and listening to jazz. He also practices Muay Thai, a discipline that reflects his dedication to focus and resilience—qualities that have contributed to his ongoing success in both business and life.