The Guide, Not the Expert: 3 Leadership Coaching Principles Every Business Leader Should Learn from ICF Certified Coaches

Last Sunday we baptized several people in our church. I was reflecting on how each of them arrived at that moment. It wasn't a single decision — it was a series of conversations, deepening understanding, growing faith, and a genuine desire to honor God.

It was an emotional day for me as I had the privilege to personally baptize these men and women. 

My role was to guide the process. That's it.

The people being baptized determined the pace. They owned their spiritual formation. They set the timeline for their own progress. I didn't push. I didn't prescribe. I walked alongside.

The more I sat with that thought, the more I realized it's the same principle that separates good leadership coaching from good old-fashioned telling people what to do.

Whether you're leading a ministry, a team, or an organization, the leaders who create the most lasting change are rarely the ones with the most answers. They're the ones who ask the best questions and get out of the way.

This is also, not coincidentally, the foundation of the ICF (International Coaching Federation) core competencies — the standard that governs what it actually means to coach someone rather than manage them. If you're a business leader exploring an ICF certified coach credential, or a team leader who wants to lead more like a coach and less like a manager, here are three principles I keep coming back to.

1. Your Role Is Guide, Not Expert

It's tempting, especially for high-performing leaders, to position yourself as the person with the answers. But expertise-driven leadership creates dependency. People wait for your input instead of developing their own judgment.

Professional coaching — the kind taught and certified through ICF coach training programs — flips this. The coach's job isn't to hand over a solution. It's to help the client see their own situation more clearly and access their own wisdom. In leadership terms: your team doesn't need you to be the smartest person in the room. They need you to help them become the smartest version of themselves.

Leadership takeaway: Before you offer a solution in your next 1:1, try asking one more question instead. "What have you already considered?" "What would you do if you trusted your own judgment here?"

2. Let People Set Their Own Pace

Nobody I watched get baptized was rushed. Their spiritual readiness couldn't be forced onto someone else's timeline, and trying to force it would have cheapened the outcome.

The same is true in professional development. ICF-trained coaches are taught to honor client autonomy — the client owns the agenda, the timeline, and the definition of success. Leaders who impose their own pace on someone else's growth often get compliance. Leaders who create space for people to move at a sustainable, self-determined pace tend to get commitment.

Leadership takeaway: Growth plans, promotions, and skill development should be co-created, not assigned. Ask your people what pace feels both challenging and realistic to them — then hold that boundary even when it's slower than you'd like.

3. Personal Responsibility Is the Real Transfer of Power

Here's what I love most about this kind of work: it transfers ownership. When someone determines their own path forward, they're not just reaching a milestone — they're building the internal muscle of personal responsibility. That muscle is what makes growth stick long after the guide has stepped back.

This is one of the most under-appreciated outcomes of executive and leadership coaching. It's not about a coach fixing a problem. It's about a leader learning to own their own growth so thoroughly that they no longer need someone standing over their shoulder.

Leadership takeaway: The measure of your leadership isn't how dependent your team is on you. It's how capable they become of leading themselves.

Why This Matters for Today's Leaders

Business leaders and team leaders are under more pressure than ever to develop people quickly, in flatter organizations, with fewer resources. It's tempting to default to command-and-control leadership because it feels faster.

But the leaders — and organizations — seeing the most sustainable results are the ones investing in coaching-based leadership: guiding rather than directing, honoring pace rather than forcing it, and transferring responsibility rather than hoarding control. That's exactly what ICF coach certification training exists to build.

I absolutely love this kind of work. It's a reminder that true service isn't about having the answers — it's about trusting people enough to let them find their own.

What's one place in your leadership where you could shift from "expert" to "guide" this week?

Your Next Step

Are you considering a new role in the next 6-24 months? If so, how are you preparing for this next role before your leadership gaps get exposed? Register for the free Certified Coach Accelerator Workshop, where I go deeper on the ICF certification and credentialing pathway, the coaching business roadmap, and what it looks like to build a practice, or pivot in your career, around your existing leadership experience.

Register Here: https://imaginecoachingacademy.com/live-webinar

Marcel Sanchez is the founder of Imagine Coaching Academy, an ICF Level 1 Accredited Coaching Education Provider. He is an ICF Professional Certified Coach with a mission to equip faith-based business and ministry leaders with the credential, competence, and confidence to lead at their highest level.