Let us look at some of the words above.

1. Visibility is defined as the degree of something to attract attrition. It is a marketing tool to sell a product. However, it has made its way into the realm of leadership concepts to mean being seen by those you lead. I would suggest that the leadership definition of this word is more than being seen. It is about interacting with those you lead to gain influence and support from them. If it is only about being seen, simply greeting the employee would mean increasing your leadership ability. I once heard about a senior manager at a factory who said he was highly visible to his employees and team. His visibility consisted of having lunch every day in the site’s cafeteria. He felt his employees that ate in the restaurant that day saw him. However, when employees described the manager’s visibility, over 75% did not know his name or direct reports. Several employees decided he was a contract worker and was only there until the project was complete. So, was this manager really visible to his team? When you apply the leadership definition to visibility, he was missing the target. Therefore, the leadership definition of visibility includes speaking with and interacting with the team. If you spend your day in your office and do not interact with the team, who are you leading? John C
   Maxwell, the number 1 leadership expert, says, “If you reach the top and look around and see you are alone, then who are you leading?” Leadership visibility is about being with the team, finding time to connect, and building an understanding of each team member. This type of visibility increases your support and increases motivation and goal completion by the team.
2. Leadership is commonly defined as the action of directing a group or an organization. This definition leads many leaders to be mini-dictators. They conduct an organization by fear and threats. This leads to the teams’ understanding of “It’s My (the leaders) way or the highway.” – alienating the team and driving decreased creativity and lowering confidence and morale. However, this concept of leadership might be fine in small companies where the leader has to fill several roles. Even when this is the case, you risk losing employees because of the lack of ability to lead and develop the organization. A better definition of leadership is “the ability to guide, develop, support, and provide a vision for the organization and those on the team.” This definition has the leader developing the team and guiding the team and organization towards a goal. Winston Churchill demonstrated this by helping to cast the vision for Britain to continue to survive during the war. He would communicate the goals over the radio and continually cast an image of a better future for the British citizen and even the world. Helping to create a common goal allowed the citizen to support the reason for fighting back and dealing with the hardships they had to face. Not all leaders are great at guiding and communicating the goals to the team, which can bring about exponential growth in the organization. The idea more leaders need to strive for is called “Servant Leadership.” It is a process in which the leader provides support, develops, and assists the team in making the organization the best it can be. I suggest reading Love Works by Joel Manby or Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek to understand this concept further.
3. Coaching is defined as training or directing like what is experienced by athletes. Many managers use this term when they give an employee a direction to correct something that they feel affects their work. Giving advice is more of mentoring, but it is not actual professional coaching in any area beyond the athletic arena. However, coaching is also used to help drive teams or individuals to communicate their wants, needs openly, and develop goals to excite and motivate. Professional coaching helps excite and build growth for individuals and groups in their professional and personal lives. It is shown over time to help develop better goals, improve productivity, and increase confidence. I was personally surprised when I received professional coaching. Working with a good professional coach, I went from being confused about my future to having goals and plans to achieve them.

These are just some of the buzz words used in everyday work life. The true meaning of these words can help to increase leadership and growth in an organization. However, misuse of these words can cause confusion and distrust of the organization’s leaders. I have experienced this personally. I had a meeting with a manager one day, where she ended up saying, “You need to increase your visibility to move the needle and increase core competencies in coaching and incentivizing the overall return on investment for the organization.” I looked at her and asked, “What did she mean.” She had strung so many buzz words together that I could not understand her meaning and was unable to establish any plan for success. Her response was even less descriptive as she continued to use these buzz words to explain the team’s goal. Leaving the team confused, and the lack of clear communication angered some. I later discovered she had been directed the same way and was as confused as I was. We need to realize that the buzz words are only powerful if we completely understand the meaning and explain that to the team members. Otherwise, the organization is set adrift in a boat without oars to move. There is power in communication and connecting with the team. Buzz words are great for marketing your business but maybe stay away from them when relating clear goals to the organization to avoid their sting.