Partnering for Bhutan’s Future: Creating Leader-As-Coach Mindset
On my fourth trip to Bhutan in less than a year, we at the Center for Transformation and Innovation (CTI) are deeply honored to continue our partnership with the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) in advancing His Majesty The King’s vision for a civil service transformation — an Enlightened Entrepreneurial Bureaucracy grounded in empathy, efficiency, and innovation.
Last week marked another milestone: the delivery of an advanced training on Building High-Performing Executive Leadership and Teams, bringing together 20 Governors (Dzongdags) and senior executives from Bhutan’s central agencies. Together, they embarked on a shared journey of learning and transformation — strengthening collaboration, deepening accountability, and aligning leadership across national and local systems.
I was fortunate to have my fellow coaches with me on this trip to help facilitate and teach. Special thanks to Gregory Enjalbert , Cristina Amorim , Amii Barnard-Bahn, JD, PCC and Sandy Speicher
Leader as Coach: A New Mindset for Leadership
Day 1 focused on Leader as Coach (TM), a program designed to cultivate leaders who coach, empower, and inspire others to grow.
Leadership expert Daniel Goleman describes six leadership styles — Commanding, Visionary, Affiliative, Democratic, Pacesetting, and Coaching. His research on Emotional Intelligence (EI) shows that the most effective leaders adapt their approach based on the situation and the people they lead. Among these, the Coaching style is the most transformative for building future leaders.
What It Means to Be a Leader as Coach
A Leader as Coach leads with a mindset rooted in trust, empathy, and curiosity. Rather than directing or solving problems for others, they cultivate a safe environment where team members feel supported to reflect, explore, and grow.
They build strong relationships, listen deeply, and ask powerful questions that spark insight and ownership. Through co-creating solutions, focusing on lessons learned, and celebrating both effort and achievement, leader-coaches help their teams realign, perform, and thrive — even in challenging conditions.
At its core, the Leader as Coach philosophy transforms leadership from managing tasks to empowering people, turning everyday interactions into opportunities for learning, growth, and lasting impact.
Core Modules
- Coaching as a Leader & Building the Coaching Relationship
- Effective Listening
- The Art of Questioning & Inquiry
- Personal Line of Sight – Career and Life Coaching
- Providing Feedback & Coaching for Accountability
- Coaching in Action – Implementation and Practice
This initiative represents more than a training — it’s a movement toward human-centered, high-performing leadership that blends global frameworks with Bhutan’s timeless values of humility, service, and harmony.
Through our global partnership model, CTI is proud to contribute evidence-based practices and experiential learning that empower leaders to serve with empathy, lead with clarity, and act with purpose.
From classroom conversations to national transformation, Bhutan continues to inspire us all — reminding the world that true leadership begins within, and radiates outward through compassion and courage.
