28 Jan 2026 · 4 min
Bill Gallagher argues leaders should coach their teams instead of barking orders. Drill sergeant management works only during onboarding or crisis. Real coaching means listening, delegating, and developing people so they can run projects themselves.
Are you thinking about how to grow your business with near and offshore staffing? But you're also wanting to make sure that it's reliable, cost effective and really well done. I think docsa talent is the way to go. Here's why. They don't just fill your jobs. They bring integrity, top talent and a people first approach that's hard to find. I've known the people at Doxa talent for over 20 years now and I say that you can count on them. I have talent. Talk to Doxatalant and you won't be disappointed. Go to doxatalent.com Bill G Again, that's doxatalent.com BillG. One more time. Doxatalent.com Bill G. Check it out today.
Look, you've heard it before, more than once that people don't need managers, they don't need a boss, they need great coaching. People don't like to be managed. Things like to be managed. Things need managing, but people want to be led and people need to be led and they need to be supported. For all the things that you think about for management, right, Would be better said and better served by great coaching. Now, I'm not talking about a formal role of a coach, right? People need and want formal coaching in different areas. But if leaders took on being more of a coach, they'd support people in naturally wanting to improve, to level up and to keep getting better at things. It'd be a whole lot easier. When people come to you with problems, they don't want you to solve them. I remember I took over a company once years ago. People came into my office right away, I'd listen to their problem, I'd tell them what to do and they left unhappy. And after a while somebody said, stop, just listen to me, huh? Really? You don't want me to tell you how to fix this problem? You don't want me to give you the instructions, the support, the direction? No, I can solve it myself. I just want you to listen and understand what I'm dealing with. Oh, okay. And I want to work it out with you. I want to work it out for myself talking to you, right? That's different than me bringing you a problem and you solving it. And some of the best coaches I think about coaches, leaders again and again that I've talked to. That said, I've learned people come in with a challenge and they walk out with a new project. People come in with a problem, they walk out with a project. And if you become that kind of person. But who lets the other person, create, invent and take on the project. It's so much easier and they actually love you more. So if you'll learn to be a better coach. Now, what does a coach do versus a drill sergeant? Right. I'm very good. I've always been commanding, take charge. That is my nature. And I know a lot of other leaders are naturally take charge, bossy, commanding kind of people. Except that's really useful in certain cases, like when people are first starting out, they want a lot of direction. Or when people are in a total crisis, when they're in meltdown, when they can't even think straight, they want a lot of direct, want you to tell them kind of what to do every other time. They want to work at it on their own. So I've learned to rein in my command, reign in my dominance, let people show up, and to only use those skills when they're most wanted, at the beginning of things and when people are in crisis. So if you did that, what would you do? Well, you'd listen to people. You'd be more of a cheerleader. You'd encourage them. You'd listen to them, you'd appreciate their world. You'd encourage them, you'd tell them you believe in them, you'd remind them why they were here, why they. That kind of stuff is real coaching. That's powerful coaching. And you actually work less hard. When you work less hard, your team rises up, you pass the baton fully, you coach your successors to make sure you're not just dropping the baton, you're not just abandoning the thing, you're actually delegating powerfully.
Right?
And then your team levels up, your organization gets better, stronger, and your life is better. You could take a vacation every now and then. That's the source of real, powerful leadership coaching. People trying so much to manage them or dominate them. I'm Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach, host of the Scaling Up Business podcast, and I hope that these tip shows are helpful for you. We want to give you a little idea, a little nugget that you can work with for the next week if you find these helpful and you want to know more about our other programs, about our coaching. We have coaching and programs and workshops of all sizes for all stages of companies that want to get growing. You'll find all that and more@scalingcoach.com like subscribe, turn on your notifications, share these things with somebody else, and we hope to see you soon.
Are you ready to turn your goals into daily wins? You should check out our scoreboard software, powered by Align it's the official software for scaling up. With Scoreboard, you'll get an AI driven coach for priorities and KPIs and it'll help keep your team focused on what matters most. With Align, you can track your goals in real time and you'll even see results on the go. With their mobile app, you can rest easy knowing that Align has world class onboarding and support to set your team up for success. This is really more than just software, it's what I actually use to manage growth in our scaling up client teams. Unlock clarity and results with Scoreboard by Align. To try it now, go to aligntoday.com Bill G One more time. Aligntoday.com Bill G that's aligntoday.com Bill G Check it out and try it now.
