assorted-color cowboy hat lot

Leadership Hats… More Than KPIs.

Think about your favorite boss for a minute. What made that leader so effective? Chances are, it wasn’t just their strategy and ability to hit KPIs. More likely, it was how they showed up for you.  

As leaders, we have the privilege of playing pivotal roles in helping to shape the careers of our direct reports. We’re required to wear a lot of different hats when we accept the role of “leader”, but in the end we are there to lead people: to encourage the best from them in their roles and be an integral part of their growth and development.  

There are three hats you must wear and interchange, if you want to be a great leader. 

I learned this firsthand from Claudia, one of the earliest and most impactful leaders in my career. At the time, I couldn’t tell you why she stood out from the others. I just knew, under her leadership, I was learning and growing fast.  

Looking back, I realize Claudia instinctively wore three crucial leadership hats: mentor, coach, and advocate. She interchanged them seamlessly for the benefit of all her direct reports. 

Hat #1: The Mentor

When I was assigned to Claudia’s team, she immediately became a mentor. She had a wealth of experience, and she was generous in sharing her wisdom. She shared technical know-how, as well as situational awareness, decision-making patterns, and roadmaps to navigate complex situations.  

Claudia seemed to intuitively understand, the more effective mentor she was to us the quicker we grew. Our shortened timespans from “neophyte” to “expert” reduced the daily demands on her, as we became independent and trustworthy in our knowledge and application.  

Hat #2: The Coach 

Before long, Claudia started shifting into a coaching mode with me. Instead of automatically sharing her advice, she’d ask “What do you think?” before sharing her thoughts. She wanted to know what I thought, and importantly, see my thought process in action. Claudia’s interest in and affirmation of my thoughts nudged me to trust my own knowledge and judgment at an accelerated pace.  

It’s important to know Claudia never stopped mentoring as more and more complexities became part of my role. Rather, she decided real time which hat to wear in the given discussion. She struck an amazing balance between the mentoring and coaching roles – often during the same conversations!

Hat #3: The Advocate 

Finally, Claudia became my advocate. In the trajectory of a direct report’s career, this hat may be the one that (ultimately) means the most. Sadly, it is the one that gets ignored too easily. 

As my advocate, Claudia took opportunities to speak favorably of my current skills and ability, and also my projected ability. In succession planning meetings, when perceptions about my potential were on the line, she spoke up and shared her perspectives and experiences with me. She used her credibility and influence to champion me – in rooms I wasn’t invited into (yet). 

Without Claudia, I may not have been selected for my first real management role – at least not as quickly as I was. That role was pivotal for me. It gave me the experience and exposure I needed and opened the door to my next three big career leaps over ten years.  

Claudia stood out as a leader. More of her direct reports were leaned on as experts and promoted into leadership than any of her peers. I am sure this was primarily due to her intentional and consistent wearing of these three critical leadership hats. 

Let’s break down the Mentor, Coach, and Advocate, and see how you can incorporate each into your leadership tool kit.

The Mentor Hat:

Share Your Experience to Shorten the Learning Curve 

A mentor offers knowledge, wisdom, and guidance drawn from their own career. Mentors help direct reports expand their context for decision-making and avoid preventable mistakes. 

Why it matters: 

Benefits to the direct report: 

  • Faster skill acquisition and broader business acumen 
  • Expanded network, clearer cultural insights, and greater institutional knowledge 

Benefits to the leader: 

  • Strengthens leadership legacy and succession planning 
  • Reinforces their own learning through teaching 
  • Reduces need to be tied to execution 

Leadership Action: 
Become proactive in offering your insights. Share the “why” behind your thoughts and decisions, not just the outcomes. Ask: “Would it be helpful if I told you how I handled something similar?” 

The Coach Hat:

Ask Questions to Grow Confidence and Capability 

Coaching is about drawing out someone’s thinking, encouraging self-discovery, and helping them grow through guided reflection. Coaches listen more than they talk and resist the urge to give an answer or problem-solve immediately. 

Why it matters: 

Benefits to the direct report: 

  • Builds problem-solving skills and decision-making confidence 
  • Increases ownership and accountability for execution and results 

Benefits to the leader: 

  • Frees up leader time as employees become more self-sufficient 
  • Cultivates a growth-minded, agile team 

Leadership Action: 
When someone brings you a problem, ask: “What do you think?” Then pause. Let their thinking lead the conversation before offering your input. 

The Advocate Hat:

Use Your Voice to Elevate Others 

An advocate speaks up for the growth and advancement of their people – especially when those individuals aren’t in the room. Advocacy includes recognizing potential, championing development, and correcting misperceptions. 

Why it matters: 

  • A recent study by McKinsey found that sponsorship and advocacy are among the most critical factors in advancing talent, yet only 1 in 3 managers do it consistently. 
    McKinsey: The Power of Sponsorship 

Benefits to the direct report: 

  • Opens doors to stretch assignments, promotions, and visibility 
  • Builds trust and loyalty to the leader and organization 

Benefits to the leader: 

  • Demonstrates talent-building acumen to senior leadership 
  • Strengthens internal reputation as a developer of people 

Leadership Action: 
When performance or potential is being discussed, speak up. Share concrete examples. Use your platform to amplify strengths, not just correct weaknesses. 

Don’t underestimate the power of these three hats. Each builds your team members in different ways. Each also increases your value as a leader.  

In your next one-on-one, team meeting, or leadership planning session, ask yourself: Which hat does this moment call for? A mentor, coach, or advocate. 

Claudia definitely makes the short list of my favorite bosses. Not because of what she knew, but because of how she showed up for me. Wouldn’t it be cool to become the “Claudia” in someone else’s story?  

All it requires is your intention and follow through. 

Want to work with Karen Pelot? Reach out today to schedule your free consultation. 

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