Vanguard II

For leaders navigating the human side of organizations—master direct conversations and develop others without burning out.


Andrea Mignolo

Executive Coach, MBA, PCC

Leader As Coach

Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Rippleworks

CIID Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design | Copenhagen

Leading people is messy! Leaders succeed in their roles, at least initially, with technical skills, but human dynamics are where leadership really shines. You've probably felt it—that moment that calls for feedback but something holds you back. The conversation that keeps getting pushed to "next week." The team member with potential who isn't growing because you're too busy putting out fires. Or maybe the exhaustion that comes from carrying everyone else's problems while your own work piles up. These aren't signs you're failing as a leader. They're signs you're ready for a different approach. Leader as Coach is a seven-week journey that transforms how you show up for your team. Through experiential learning you'll develop the presence, skills, and confidence to: - Transform difficult conversations from something you dread to something you embrace- Help your team find their own answers instead of constantly looking to you for solutions- Replace burnout with a sustainable leadership practice that energizes you- Build the kind of trust where honesty strengthens relationships instead of threatening them- Know when to coach and when to direct—and how to do both with intention This isn't about adding more to your plate but changing how you approach what's already there. Past participants report not just professional growth, but a profound shift in how leadership feels—less draining, more energizing, and ultimately more impactful. In a small cohort of peers facing similar challenges, you'll practice real-world conversations, receive thoughtful feedback, and build a toolkit of approaches that feel authentic to you. No generic management advice or one-size-fits-all solutions—just practical wisdom you can immediately apply. If you're ready to stop avoiding difficult conversations and start having meaningful ones, to develop your team's potential rather than doing their work, and to lead with both courage and sustainability, Leader as Coach is your next step. Scholarships and non-profit rates are available, simply mention your interest in the application form. Class size is limited to 20 participants.

Multiply Your Leadership Impact


Managers looking to integrate coaching agility into their leadership practice.

Executives who want to build strong relationships and trust through powerful conversations.

Leaders who want to have more effective and actionable feedback conversations with their team.

Who is this course for

You'll immediately be able to apply learnings from the following topics

Establish a mindful, empowering “coaching presence”


Discern when coaching is the right leadership approach vs. directing


Utilize awareness and receptive listening to spur employee self-discovery


Ask powerful questions that shift mindsets and behaviors


Observe effectively and share feedback that sticks


Have structure to move through coherent coaching conversations


Comfortably manage emotional dynamics and resistance


Use coaching to generate accountability and ownership


Integrate a coaching approach into day-to-day leadership


We begin with a look at why coaching is such a critical skill for leaders, what makes coaching different in organizational settings, and the key characteristics of a coaching mindset. We’ll look at the key functions of leading, managing, and coaching and how they can work together to develop potential and build high-performing teams

Foundations of Coaching


Learn simple and effective tools to support you when you take on the role of coach. Increase your self-awareness, hone your powers of observation, share effective feedback, and learn to ask open and honest questions that can facilitate new insights and lasting change.

Listening, Observing, and Asking Questions


Emotions are real and they happen at work (and sometimes get us into trouble). The common tendency is to avoid them, but emotions are a rich source of information and meaning. Understanding how the brain constructs emotion, the role emotions play, and how to work with them can level up any coaching conversation.

The Neuroscience of Emotion


What does the arc of a coaching conversation look like? What happens in a coaching conversation? How do we start, how can we effectively navigate the middle, and how do we conclude? Students will have the opportunity to practice coaching conversations in small groups in a safe and confidential space in order to grow their coaching confidence.

The Coaching Conversation


Going deeper into the art of coaching conversations, the fifth week introduces the Learning Conversation Scale to help leaders understand when to coach and how to combine coaching with managing and leading. We'll look at a few case studies to understand these concepts in more detail, and engage in practice coaching conversations.

The Coaching Conversation II


In the final module students will learn how to integrate coaching conversations into the day to day tasks of leading, managing, and creating a culture of accountability. Folks will also have the opportunity to reflect on their experience, create a learning plan, and design experiments to deepen their practice of the coaching leadership style.

Integration


Course syllabus

What people are saying

Meet your instructor

To have effective and impactful coaching conversations, leaders must first make a shift in their mindset and approach. Foundations introduces students to the idea of a "coaching presence" as an impactful tool for coaching.

Week 1: Foundations of Coaching


Learn how to make grounded observations based on data to facilitate increased awareness in a learning conversation. And learn what emotions are and how to work with them in organizational settings to build trust and create psychological safety.

Week 2: Making Observations and Working with Emotions


The ability to utilize several forms of listening combined with an understanding of the anatomy of powerful questions gives coaches the ability to facilitate change in others. Students will gain proficiency in forms of listening and asking powerful questions.

Week 3: Listening and Asking Questions


Session four is fully focused on the process of coaching from beginning to end. Utilizing a simple framework along with tools and methods from previous sessions, students learn how to structure a coaching conversation. Andi will also do a live coaching demo.&nbsp;

Week 4: The Coaching Conversation I


All roads lead to Week 5! This is the week students take everything they have been learning and put it into practice in the Coaching Conversations Lab. This is a safe and confidential environment where folks get hands-on practice in real coaching conversations.

Week 5: The Coaching Conversation II


Feedback is an essential part of coaching and can often be one of the hardest skills to master. Learn how to give effective and impactful feedback, how to use feedback in a coaching conversation, and the difference between giving feedback as a coach and as a manager.

Week 6: The Feedback Conversation


In our final session we bring everything together, cover additional tools for your coaching toolbox, explore what it takes to build a coaching friendly culture, and create learning plans for what comes next in your development as a leader who coaches.

Week 7: Integration


Course Schedule 


This course builds on live workshops and hands-on practice.

Active hands-on learning

You’ll be practicing with other learners in break-out rooms, group discussions, and coaching demos.

Practice, practice, practice

Join a community of like-minded people who want to learn and grow alongside you

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