Some of the most important conversations you’ll have as a leader won’t be on your calendar.
They happen when…
Someone stops by your office with a quick question.
After a client meeting when a new staff accountant asks why you handled something a certain way.
During a return review or in the five minutes between Zoom calls.
Most coaching happens in the moment.
The problem is those moments are easy to miss. Someone asks a question, and our instinct is to answer it as quickly as possible. We have deadlines, clients and a dozen other things competing for our attention.
But if every conversation ends with us providing the answer, we’re solving today’s problem without preparing someone for tomorrow’s.
As you move into leadership, your value isn’t measured only by what you know. It’s measured by how well you help other people learn what you know. If you’re the only person who can handle a difficult client conversation, explain a complex issue or make the tough decisions, you’ve become indispensable in the wrong way.
The best leaders aren’t the ones with all the answers. They’re the ones who develop more people who can find them.
Leadership Is Measured by What You Leave Behind
That feels especially important right now. As experienced professionals retire and AI takes over more routine work, the most valuable thing you have isn’t just technical knowledge. It’s judgment. It’s perspective. It’s the lessons that only come from years of working with clients.
Those skills don’t get passed down through a training manual. They get passed down through conversations.
The strongest coaching conversations start with curiosity. Instead of immediately explaining what they would do, great coaches ask questions. They help someone think through the problem, understand the “why,” and build confidence in their own judgment.
The goal isn’t to make someone dependent on your expertise. It’s to help them develop their own.
Coach Thinking, Not Just Answers
Of course, coaching is one of the hardest leadership skills to improve because it’s difficult to evaluate yourself. Did you listen enough? Did you ask thoughtful questions? Did the other person leave with greater confidence, or just a list of instructions?
Like every important conversation, coaching has a rhythm. The more intentional you become about how you show up in those everyday moments, the more capable your team becomes.
The conversations that shape someone’s career — and the future of your firm — rarely begin with a meeting invite. They usually begin with, “Do you have a minute?”
