When I tell people that I am a leadership coach and a spiritual director, there tends to be some questions. Some people have a general idea of what a leadership coach does, but there are quite a few people who have very little idea of what a spiritual director might do.
It does not help that spiritual directors often work on issues that are not particularly “spiritual,” and that they tend to have a fairly nondirective approach.
Though spiritual direction has gained attention in recent years, the concept is not a new one. Spiritual directors in the Christian tradition, for example, grow out of the examples of the Desert Mothers and Fathers, who left cities to escape the corrupting influences of civilization. People followed them into the wastelands to ask them for their wisdom and learn contemplative practices. They became recognized for the clarity of their insight and discernment.
Spiritual directors tend to ask open-ended questions that encourage people to reflect on their own perceptions and pre-conceptions of the spiritual life, to recognize themes and signposts along their journeys, and to be open to new insights and inspiration.
Leadership coaches tend to deal with more tangible questions. While they often ask probing questions and encourage people to look at their leadership in new ways, they tend to be more focused and, ironically, more directive.
Leadership coaches help people become better, more authentic, leaders. Each of us searches for the leader that is within us, and seeks to become the leader that grows out of our truest self.
Spiritual directors focus more on your spiritual journey; leadership coaches focus more on helping you find and unleash the leader you truly are.
Which would you find more interesting, an hour with a spiritual director or an hour with a leadership coach? Which would be more helpful to you?
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