In my last blog I shared my hope that engineers, scientists, innovators, and leaders frequently question how they use their talent and their time to make sure that they are helping contribute towards a world that want to see.
2020 & ‘21 is a time where the need for strong leadership and problem solving has been viscerally felt. Much of society, particularly the youth, are fearful about what the future holds. By a shift in perspective, could we inspire workforces to turn this time of challenge into opportunity?
At Allume Energy, ‘Solve Problems that Matter’ is our company mission. Being part of the solution for a renewable energy transition drives our team to get out of bed every day, even in the most trying of circumstances. Because we are inspired by a greater WHY. Every single team member has an important role in delivering the SolShare to the market & scaling our impact. In order for our business to grow, each individual needs to grow too.
To tackle the big problems that face society we need other people on the journey with us.
What will workforces of the future look like?
And how can we develop teams that are both inspired and empowered?
More than ever workforces will require the traits of adaptability, innovation and courage. In fact, many of the core skills of most future occupations will be comprised of skills that are not yet considered crucial to the job today. The “leader as coach” leadership style is imperative to creating an environment conducive to the development of these traits.
What is ‘leader as coach’?
Leader as coach is using considered and powerful questioning to evoke insights and help team members find the answers within.
Why do I believe it is important to have coaching as a key part of your leadership toolkit?
It benefits the team member, the organisation, and the leader. Win! Win! Win!
For the team member: It’s an empowering and inspiring way to be lead; supporting professional growth, and leading to increased confidence.
For the organisation: It creates a learning culture which unleashes energy, cultures innovation, and nurtures high engagement levels. This translates to improved performance at both an individual and business level. A key reason employees leave businesses is due to lack of professional growth. Leader as coach counters this.
For the leader, you gain the fulfillment of leading a happy, driven and highly functioning team. But significantly this leadership style allows you to scale your impact.
In the last 2 years the Allume Energy team’s capability has significantly grown. The maturity of the SolShare product has vastly improved and processes enhanced. Allume has ultimately shifted from a start-up to a rapid growth business. Central to this success has been creating deeply meaningful work for all people in our organisation, building a palpable organisational culture, and leading in a way that supports growth and empowerment.
Allume’s people are our greatest asset. With a leader as coach mindset there is no ceiling put on team members growth. And from this, some amazing individual growth stories have emerged & continue to do so regularly. People are genuinely creating their own opportunity and impact at Allume.
Two skills that are essential to leader as coach, are deep listening and powerful questioning. In my next blog, I will discuss some effective ways you can build deep listening skills.
If you’re interested in joining the Allume Team, follow us on LinkedIn to see all our job openings. There will be quite a number in the coming months.