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Coaching for Success: The Key to Revenue Growth, Emotional Intelligence & Leadership
Learn how developing emotional intelligence through coaching can improve communication, conflict resolution, and team cohesion, leading to long-term business success.
On a recent episode of Scale Sessions, hosts Tom Lavery and Nicola Anderson were joined by Dannii Mathers, Director of Learning and Development at Transform Performance International. Dannii explores how coaching enhances alignment across sales, marketing, and customer success teams while emphasising the importance of emotional intelligence and self-awareness and the need for effective leadership. The conversation highlights challenges like silos, gender representation in leadership, and coaching's impact on team dynamics, offering valuable insights for growth and performance improvement in organisations.
Dannii stresses that silos between these departments often stifle growth and innovation. Effective coaching, she argues, is the key to breaking down these barriers, fostering collaboration, and driving sustainable business success.
A critical point Dannii raises is the widespread misunderstanding of coaching, particularly in sales leadership. Many leaders mistake directing or instructing their teams for coaching. However, coaching is not about providing answers—it’s about empowering individuals to develop the skills, confidence, and autonomy needed to navigate challenges and make impactful decisions independently. This empowerment fosters resilience and adaptability within teams, leading to higher employee satisfaction and improved outcomes.
Dannii’s conversation also underscores the importance of a cultural shift in leadership style. Moving from a directive approach to one rooted in coaching requires intentionality and commitment but delivers long-term benefits. By investing in coaching at all levels, organisations can create a more cohesive, agile, and high-performing revenue organization.
Another key point raised in the discussion was the widespread misconception that coaching is a luxury or a “nice-to-have” aspect of an organisation, rather than a critical element of day-to-day operations. Dannii highlights that many businesses wait for problems to surface before committing to coaching, leading to leaders attempting to coach without the necessary training. This often results in unproductive conversations. Dannii estimates that only around 22% of sales managers are equipped to conduct truly effective coaching discussions, revealing a significant gap in leadership development.
For leaders to be effective coaches, they must go beyond basic management skills. Coaching involves emotional intelligence, patience, and active listening. It’s about asking the right questions to help employees find their own solutions rather than simply providing answers. This approach encourages self-reliance and problem-solving, which leads to greater individual and team performance.
Dannii points out that this type of coaching enables organisations to foster greater team autonomy—a crucial factor for business success. When leaders adopt a coaching mindset, they create an environment that nurtures growth, accountability, and long-term development. By focusing on coaching as an integral part of leadership, organisations can build stronger, more resilient teams, better equipped to handle challenges and deliver results. This shift in mindset is vital for fostering alignment and driving performance across the organisation.
Dannii reflects on the unique challenges women face in leadership roles, particularly in male-dominated industries like sales and revenue enablement. Drawing from her own experience in sales leadership, she shared how gender disparity was often apparent, with women feeling the pressure to work harder to prove their worth. This often leads to burnout and job dissatisfaction. Despite these challenges, Dannii highlighted a positive shift as she moved into revenue enablement, where she noticed a more balanced gender ratio, with an increasing number of women stepping into leadership positions.
She attributes this shift to the developmental and coaching aspects of revenue enablement, which creates a more inclusive environment. The emphasis on growth, learning, and team development resonates with women who are passionate about empowering others. This focus on nurturing talent rather than simply driving performance provides an ideal space for women to thrive in leadership.
Dannii’s insights open up a broader conversation about how organisations can promote diversity in leadership. By creating roles that prioritise coaching and development, companies can attract and retain women leaders who are committed to building strong, high-performing teams. This approach not only benefits women but also fosters a more inclusive and dynamic leadership culture across all levels of the organisation.
Dannii, Nicola, and Tom discussed the shifting role of customer success (CS) teams. Historically, CS managers were viewed as “fixers”—professionals focused on resolving technical issues and addressing customer complaints. Dannii emphasised that this mindset needs to evolve. Instead of solely focusing on problem-solving, CS teams should aim to deliver value, becoming trusted partners who contribute to clients’ long-term success.
By adopting a value-driven approach, CS professionals can build deeper, more sustainable relationships with clients. Dannii advocates for equipping CS teams with the skills to ask the right questions, actively listen, and fully understand their client's needs before offering solutions. This shift requires a more strategic level of engagement, addressing not just the technical aspects but also the client's broader goals and challenges.
However, Dannii points out that many CS professionals lack training in these crucial areas, which is why coaching is essential. By providing coaching, organisations can help CS teams develop the interpersonal and strategic skills necessary to engage meaningfully with clients. In doing so, they can elevate the role of CS from a reactive, problem-solving function to a proactive, value-driven contributor to customer success. This shift is key to building stronger client relationships and achieving better client and business outcomes.
A key topic in the discussion was emotional intelligence (EQ) and its vital role in both personal and organisational success. Tom raised an insightful question about whether teaching someone to increase their EQ or IQ is possible. While IQ may be more fixed, Dannii believes emotional intelligence is a skill that can be developed. Components such as self-awareness, emotional agility, and the ability to understand others can all be enhanced through coaching.
Emotional intelligence empowers leaders to navigate the complexities of human behaviour within their teams. It enables them to manage their own emotions effectively while responding empathetically to the emotions of others. This emotional awareness fosters a more cohesive, high-performing team, as leaders can better support their team members through challenges and transitions.
Dannii stressed that coaching should go beyond just developing technical skills. It should also prioritise the growth of emotional intelligence, as this allows leaders to guide their teams with greater empathy and resilience. When leaders possess strong emotional intelligence, they can adapt to change more effectively, leading their teams through difficult situations with a steady hand. By cultivating EQ, leaders can enhance team cohesion, boost morale, and drive success, ensuring that their organisations remain agile and resilient in the face of challenges.
Dannii also underscored the importance of psychometric tools, such as DISC profiles, in enhancing team dynamics. DISC profiles are a psychometric tool used to assess an individual's behaviour and communication style. It categorises people into four primary types: Dominance (D), Influence (I), Steadiness (S), and Conscientiousness (C). This framework helps improve team dynamics, communication, and personal development by identifying strengths and areas for growth.
These tools provide individuals with a deeper understanding of their own behavioural styles and help improve communication with others. By raising awareness of the different ways people interact, organisations can foster a culture of collaboration, enabling teams to work more effectively together. When team members understand their own strengths and the strengths of others, they can build better relationships, resolve conflicts more efficiently, and appreciate diverse perspectives.
This awareness, cultivated through psychometric assessments, helps create a more harmonious and productive environment where everyone can contribute to their fullest potential. DISC profiles and similar tools help leaders identify areas for improvement in team communication, ultimately boosting overall performance and team cohesion.
This episode of Scale Sessions provided invaluable insights into the transformative power of coaching within organisations. From executive leadership to customer success teams, coaching plays a pivotal role in unlocking potential, driving alignment, and supporting sustainable growth. As businesses face increasingly complex challenges, the need for leaders who are emotionally intelligent, self-aware, and skilled in coaching their teams has never been more critical. Dannii highlighted that the future of leadership lies in empowering others—fostering growth, open communication, and collaboration through effective coaching and a commitment to continuous improvement.
The episode provides a wealth of actionable insights for leaders looking to enhance their team’s performance and alignment. Here are the key highlights:
This episode of Scale Sessions underscores the transformative power of coaching in revenue organisations. From breaking down silos to cultivating emotional intelligence, the conversation with Dannii Mathers offers a blueprint for leaders looking to drive growth and alignment in their teams.
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