Why Emotionally Intelligent Leaders Bring in a Coach Before the Real Damage Is Done

There’s a moment every smart leader faces — when results are solid, meetings are productive, and everyone seems to be doing their job… yet something just feels off.

The team isn’t dysfunctional, but it’s not flowing either. There’s a tension you can’t name.

That’s exactly what I encountered last week while working with the board of a high-performing business. I wasn’t there to lead the conversation — just to observe. To sense. And that’s where the value was.

Within minutes, I picked up on something subtle. A senior leader was framing a challenge based on their personal preferences, rather than through the lens of what their role actually demanded.

When I pointed it out, the room paused.

Then came the nods. “Oh… yeah. I see it now.”

That moment — the shift from unconscious misalignment to clear insight — is why I do what I do. The next morning, I had emails from two board members sharing how that one insight had already started changing the way they show up.

Team Coaching Is Like Chiropractic Work

You can’t always see the misalignment, but you can feel it. And once someone helps you spot it, everything starts to move more smoothly again.

Too often, leaders jump straight to diagnosing problems and prescribing solutions — without realising how their own presence, assumptions, and blind spots might be part of the issue.

And that’s the real risk: when we try to fix what we don’t fully understand.

The Biggest Misstep I See in Leadership Teams

Sometimes I’m brought in by leaders who want a quick fix. They’ve already “diagnosed” the issue and want me to validate it. That approach rarely works.

In fact, I once declined a client engagement for that very reason — a CHRO insisted I stick to her plan, even before I met the team. She didn’t want real insight. She wanted control.

Real alignment doesn’t come from control. It comes from awareness.

 What Happens When You Invite a Fresh Perspective

When you invite someone in — someone who’s not tangled up in the team’s dynamics — you get more than feedback. You get clarity.

And that clarity often starts with something small: a shift in how a role is understood, a change in the way a leader listens, or a subtle tension that, once named, unlocks everything else.

Small realignments can lead to big transformations.

 Call to Action

If your team feels like it’s operating at 85% but you can’t quite figure out why, it’s time to bring in someone who can help you spot what you’re missing.

Let’s have a conversation — email me directly at [email protected]

You don’t need another strategy meeting. You need someone who sees what others can’t.