ENWIN Utilities Ltd.

I have spent much of my career in Human Resources being someone people come to when they need advice.

Sometimes the issue is relatively straightforward. Other times, it involves a difficult workplace situation, an important career decision, conflict, change or simply uncertainty about what to do next. Over the years, I have learned the value of listening carefully, understanding the broader context and helping people find a path forward.

That ability to advise and problem-solve remains an important part of how I lead.

More recently, however, my journey into professional coaching has added another dimension to how I think about helping people grow. It has reinforced something that sounds simple but can be surprisingly difficult in practice:

Having an answer doesn't always mean we need to provide it.

Sometimes the more powerful contribution is asking the question that helps someone discover the answer for themselves.

Knowing When to Advise and When to Coach

For those of us who have spent our careers in HR and leadership, problem-solving can become second nature. We draw on experience, recognize patterns and often see potential paths forward fairly quickly.

There is real value in that experience.

But coaching has strengthened my appreciation for knowing when to use it and when to step back.

When someone is working through a challenge, I can offer my perspective and potentially move the conversation toward a solution. Or I can create the space for them to explore what they think, what may be holding them back and what possibilities they haven't yet considered.

Neither approach is inherently better. The skill is recognizing what the person and the moment require.

That distinction has become increasingly important in how I approach leadership conversations.

Curiosity Is More than Asking Questions

One of the aspects of coaching that resonates most strongly with me is curiosity.

Good coaching questions aren't simply questions for the sake of asking them. They come from genuinely wanting to understand how another person sees the situation.

What are they assuming? What matters most to them? What haven't they said yet? What possibility have they dismissed too quickly? What would change if they looked at the situation differently?

“Having an answer doesn’t always mean we need to provide it. Sometimes the more powerful contribution is asking the question that helps someone discover the answer for themselves.”

Those questions can unlock conversations that advice alone sometimes cannot.

Coaching has also reinforced the importance of truly listening. There is a difference between listening to understand someone and listening while preparing what you are going to say next. That distinction matters, whether you are coaching someone, leading a team or simply having a difficult conversation.

Helping People Build Their Own Capability

There is another reason I believe a coaching mindset belongs in leadership.

When we solve every problem brought to us, we may resolve the immediate issue, but we don't necessarily build the other person's ability to navigate the next one.

Development happens when people have opportunities to think, make decisions, challenge their assumptions and build confidence in their own judgment.

That doesn't mean leaders should withhold guidance. Quite the opposite. There are moments when people need our experience, candour and perspective.

The opportunity is to be more intentional about the difference between supporting someone and solving something for them.

Sometimes the conversation needs advice. Sometimes it needs challenge. Sometimes it needs encouragement. And sometimes the most valuable thing we can offer is a question such as, What would you do if you trusted your own judgment here?

The answer can reveal far more than we expect.

Experience and Curiosity Can Coexist

After more than two decades working in HR, one thing I know with certainty is that people rarely fit neatly into a process or formula.

Experience helps. It gives us perspective, judgment and pattern recognition. But I believe the best leaders combine that experience with continued curiosity.

My own development in coaching has sharpened that belief.

It has made me increasingly intentional about how I enter conversations. Is this a moment to advise? To challenge? To encourage? To listen? Or is there a question I can ask that will take the person somewhere neither of us expected when the conversation began?

For me, that's one of the most rewarding parts of coaching.

There is something incredibly powerful about watching someone make a connection, challenge their own thinking or recognize an option they hadn't seen before. The insight belongs to them. The coach has simply helped create the conditions for it to emerge.

A Broader View of People Leadership

I don't see coaching and HR leadership as separate worlds. Increasingly, I see them as complementary.

Strong people leadership still requires judgment, courage, accountability and the willingness to offer clear advice when it is needed. Coaching adds another dimension: the ability to help people strengthen their own thinking, confidence and capacity.

And perhaps that is the real opportunity.

Leadership isn't about demonstrating how much we know. It is about knowing how to use what we know in service of other people's growth.

Sometimes that means providing an answer.

And sometimes it means asking a better question.