Anton Guinea
Entrepreneur, Speaker, bestselling author, and founder of The Guinea Group of Companies. For over 15 years, Anton has helped leaders move their teams to become psychologically safe, physically safe and overall better versions of themselves.
Have you ever noticed that the leaders who coach well are usually the ones who’ve been coached hard themselves?
I’ve seen this pattern for years across teams, industries, and coaching rooms. And the more time I spend working with leaders, the clearer it becomes. You can’t guide someone confidently if you haven’t sat in the uncomfortable seat of being guided yourself. It shapes you. It steadies you. It gives you that sense of calm that people look for when things heat up.
This week I’m in Los Angeles for JT Foxx’s Mega Success event. It’s full-on. There are leaders from everywhere, and the whole purpose is to learn, earn and return. You walk in and everyone’s on the same level. No ego. Just people trying to grow. JT coaches me, and every time he challenges me, I’m reminded why stepping into the learner’s chair is so important. If I expect leaders to stretch themselves, then I’d better be stretching too.
That’s why I want to share what being coached has taught me about coaching others. And why self-leadership starts long before you ever lead a team.
Being coached makes you a steadier leader
The pressure on leaders today is real. You’re expected to think clearly, communicate well, and keep your cool. And if you slip, your team feels it straight away. I’ve helped countless leaders learn how to stay composed under pressure, and every single one of them grows faster when they’ve worked with someone who’s pushed them first.
There’s a line of research that always sticks with me, like this leadership coaching study showing that leaders who lean into coaching become far more grounded in how they show up for their teams. I’ve lived that myself. Coaching forces you to slow down and look at what’s actually going on inside your head. It’s not always pretty, but it’s real.
And once you’ve done that work, it changes the way you coach others. You’re kinder. You’re clearer. You’re less reactive. You stop thinking you have to know everything and start being curious again. Leaders who are willing to be coached are the ones who model growth, not perfection.
Your team wants a coach who’s been coached
I’ve lost count of how many leaders have told me, “I want my team to open up more” or “I want people to come to me early, not when everything is falling apart.” What they usually don’t realise is that their team is watching their behaviour long before they’re listening to their words.
If you want a team that embraces honest conversations, you need to be someone who invites feedback first. My own coaching sessions have shown me my blind spots many times, and it’s changed the way I hold space for others. I wrote about this idea before in a piece on inner work in leadership, and I still come back to it constantly. People follow the standard you live, not the one you talk about.
There’s a great point made in a coachability article that says leaders grow faster when they’re open and willing to be led themselves. I’ve seen that play out with executives, front-line leaders, and everyone in between. Coachability isn’t a soft skill. It’s a requirement for real leadership.
Being coached sharpens the way you coach others
Here’s the thing I wish more leaders would admit. Coaching someone well takes practice. Real practice. The kind of practice where you sit in the uncomfortable chair and learn what strong questions feel like when they hit you. The kind where silence forces you to think instead of react. The kind where feedback lands and you don’t get to brush it aside.
Every leader I’ve coached who has gone through coaching themselves has been able to apply it more naturally inside their teams. They stop trying to fix everything. They begin asking better questions. They stop assuming. They listen longer. It’s a skill you learn from experience, not theory.
If you haven’t already explored it, there’s a great piece I wrote about improving your coaching conversations here at The Guinea Group. You can read it as a guide to coaching conversations, and it ties closely to what I’m sharing in this article.
There’s also research out there, like this leadership coaching analysis, that takes a deeper look at how coaching shapes decision-making. It lines up with what I’ve watched inside teams every day. Being coached doesn’t just make you better. It makes your decisions steadier and more human.
Self-leadership always comes before team leadership
If I had to name one pattern that separates strong leaders from struggling ones, it’s this. The strongest leaders coach themselves first. They don’t just react to life. They take the time to reflect, challenge their own thinking, and build the habits that keep them grounded.
That’s why I love the work we do around leadership growth through coaching. When leaders choose to learn before they lead, everything gets easier. Their conversations improve. Their patience grows. Their team trusts them. And they stop carrying everything alone.
If you’re curious about how self-leadership shapes team culture, there’s some helpful research in a study on self-leadership and mindset training. It reinforces what I’ve seen in coaching rooms for years. Leaders who do the inner work handle pressure better and support their teams more consistently.
Why leaders need to be coached first
I don’t just coach because it’s my job. I coach because someone coached me. And someone still coaches me. And every time I sit across from a mentor who challenges me, I’m reminded that leadership isn’t about being the strongest person in the room. It’s about being the most aware.
Leaders who get coached learn to:
- slow down instead of react
- handle pressure without passing it on
- ask stronger questions
- spot patterns in their behaviour
- build trust through vulnerability
- guide teams without dominating them
And most importantly, they learn to lead from a place of honesty. You can only coach someone else to be brave if you’ve sat in a coaching seat and been brave yourself. That’s why being coached isn’t optional. It’s essential.
Where you can start
If reading this stirs something in you, that’s a good sign. It means you’re ready to stretch. A practical way to take the next step is to consider joining one of our leadership coaching programs. This is where leaders go to get real, grow fast, and build the kind of presence people trust.
Another simple step is reaching out for a quick conversation. You can connect with me here through our contact page. Sometimes a short chat is all it takes to get moving in the right direction.
Coaching changed my life. It shaped how I lead, how I show up, and how I help others. And I’m convinced it’s one of the most meaningful things any leader can do for themselves and their teams.
If you’re ready to step into that space, I’m here for it.
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