"Coaching is the process of enabling others to act, of building on their strengths…To coach is to facilitate, which literally means ‘to make easy’ — not less demanding, less exciting or less intense, but less discouraging, less bound up with excessive controls…Coaching is face-to-face leadership that pulls together people…encourages them to step up to responsibility and continued achievement, and treats them as full-scale partners and contributors…Every coach, at every level, is above all a value-shaper."
– Nancy Austin and Tom Peters, A Passion for Excellence

"In these high-pressure, tense times, leaders say they ‘don’t have the time’ for coaching. By ignoring this style, however, they pass up a powerful tool. Coaching creates an ongoing conversation that allows employees to listen to performance feedback more openly, seeing it as serving their own aspirations, not just the boss’s interests. Coaches are also good at delegating, giving employees challenging assignments that stretch them, rather than tasks that simply get the job done."
– Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis & Annie McKee, Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence

"Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish."
– Sam Walton, Wal-Mart founder

"In our latest meta-analysis of 198,000 employees in almost eight thousand business units, employees who strongly agreed that they had a chance to do what they do best every day claimed fewer sick days, filed fewer workers’ compensation claims, and had fewer accidents while on the job….Great managers would offer you this advice: Focus on each person’s strengths and manage around his weaknesses. Don’t try to fix the weaknesses. Don’t try to perfect each person. Instead do everything you can to help each person cultivate his talents. Help each person become more of who he already is."
– Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, First, Break All The Rules: What The World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently

"Easing someone’s path does not mean simply providing the path of least resistance.  Sometimes the best way to help people is to hold them responsible; accepting no excuses can sometimes be the best kind of aid we can offer."
– William J Bennett, The Moral Compass: Stories for a Life’s Journey

"The Ken Blanchard Companies asked 1,400 workers about some of the biggest mistakes leaders make when it comes to managing others. The responses cited most often were:

  1. Failing to provide appropriate feedback (82%)
  2. Failing to listen to or involve others in the process (81%)
  3. Failing to use a leadership style that is appropriate to the person, task, and situation (76%)
  4. Failing to set clear goals and objectives (76%)
  5. Failing to train and develop their people (59%)"

– Ken Blanchard, The Changing Face of Leadership: 4 Keys to Managing Today’s Workforce