Why Don’t Managers Coach?

Understanding Needs and Strengths
Effective coaching starts with understanding the background, skills, and goals of each team member.

Sharing Knowledge and Expertise
Leaders have access to more information. They also often have more experience, both of which can encourage development, inspire new ideas, and improve performance.

Identifying New Growth Opportunities
Regular, ongoing coaching results in employees acquiring new skills. Compare the lack of growth year over year with traditional performance reviews.

Table of Contents

• Only Underperformers Need Coaching
• Employees are Resistant to Training
• Unclear Goals
• Too Time-Consuming
• Too Many Responsibilities
• Lack of Experience
• Advice ≠ Coaching
• Perceived Lack of Benefits
• Misaligned Incentives
• Requires Long-Term Goals and Strategy
• Conclusion

Let’s look at 10 common mistakes, along with actionable solutions to not just get you coaching, but also coaching better, today!

Mistake #1: Only Underperformers Need Coaching

Top performers need attention too. Just like any other professional, they want continued development of their skills, knowledge, and expertise. And that means spending time on coaching!

Unfortunately, there is the mistaken belief that coaching corrects problematic behavior or fills gaps in skills, and so high-performers don’t need coaching. However, employee engagement among all members of the team increases by 33% when you coach.

Solution: Position coaching as a part of your leadership style and team culture. Regardless of performance or ability, everyone gets coached. You should set goals with your direct reports in their 1:1s, and then provide ongoing support and guidance.

Solution: Repeatedly tell everyone in the team the net positive of coaching and continuous learning. Explain how new skills allow the team to not only handle today’s challenges, but tomorrow’s too. No one should incorrectly equate coaching with poor performance! 

Mistake #2: Employees are Resistant to Training

Just as you might have incorrect beliefs about training, so too might the people in your team. They similarly might think it’s time-consuming or are unsure of the benefits. In addition, they might have had negative experiences in the past, affecting their openness to coaching.

Solution: At the start, engage in an open discussion with the team about coaching and its benefits. Talk about the value and purpose, as well as address any concerns. 

Solution: Tailor how you coach each person to meet their expectations and unique needs. Be open to requests, ideas, and adjustments.

Mistake #3: Unclear Goals

Without clear goals, any coaching session will lack direction. You won’t be able to capitalize on past discussions nor provide reinforcement. As a result, coaching won’t produce effective outcomes, and the result is a poor return on the time invested.

Solution: Set goals with each direct report. Consider what they want to achieve, as well as what you want to see from them in the future. And then adopt a SMART goals framework together to provide clarity and focus.

Solution: Regularly adjust these goals with the team, such as a part of a quarterly discussion. This ensures that coaching remains aligned with the right objectives.

Mistake #4: Too Time-Consuming

There is the false belief that coaching always requires a formal sit-down. And because you already have multiple deadlines, meetings, and other responsibilities, you might feel that a lack of time won’t let you coach well.

Solution: Incorporate coaching opportunities into informal check-ins and 1:1s. Don’t ask “What have you completed?” but instead “What have you found challenging?” 

Solution: Make sure that coaching aligns with the goals and outcomes you and the direct report have discussed, focusing only on what you both view as the most important. Coaching will then remain targeted on areas which provide the most impactful results.

Mistake #5: Too Many Responsibilities

With so many existing responsibilities, especially in start-ups or small teams where you often also work as an individual contributor, it’s common to view coaching as a lower priority. 

This links with mistake #4 too; when there are too many responsibilities and you believe that coaching requires too much time, then you perpetuate the question “Why don’t managers coach?” You are mired in the day-to-day.

Solution: Automate and delegate less important tasks, freeing up much-needed time to focus coaching on specific goals.

Solution: Create a cadence to discuss coaching and growth. For example, direct reports could set personal learning objectives as part of the OKR cycle. Similarly, you could schedule a quarterly sit down with each team member to discuss performance.

Mistake #6: Lack of Experience

Promotions are often based on the ability to meet targets and KPIs, with much less thought given to intangibles such as leading and coaching. You, like many managers, may simply have not been trained in a collaborative managerial style, and lack the confidence to coach.

Solution: Coaching is not about behavioral problems. It’s about growth and meeting future challenges. If you haven’t already, create a supportive and collaborative relationship with each person, and opportunities to coach will naturally present themselves. But be careful of the next mistake!

Solution: Adopt a learning perspective, recognizing that you will make mistakes as you begin coaching. In addition, get the support of the team in the new endeavor.

Mistake #7: Advice ≠ Coaching

Providing quick solutions doesn’t equal coaching. When solutions are spoon-fed, there isn’t any critical thought and the information is soon forgotten. This doesn’t mean you will never give advice or provide solutions; however, recognize the two differ.

Solution: Guide employees so that they engage in critical thought and discover their own solutions. You will want to incorporate active listening into discussions. Don’t rush to fill the silence, but give space and guidance.

Solution: Incorporate peer learning into the team. Collaborative problem-solving sessions allow the team to share diverse experiences and perspectives with others.

Mistake #8: Perceived Lack of Benefits

You may incorrectly think: “Why coach when employees will leave within a few years?” You might see the investment as having a low return. However, 65% of employees who receive consistent coaching report higher job satisfaction and are less likely to leave. Moreover, a lack of training means the team cannot meet new challenges.

Solution: Employees quit bosses, not companies. Understand that engaged employees are more likely to stay, and a culture of learning and development serves as one effective way to create engagement.

Solution: Identify key metrics and measure improvement as you establish a culture of coaching.

Mistake #9: Misaligned Incentives

If performance, raises, and bonuses are solely determined by quantitative metrics, then you are only going to focus on what gets measured. And this won’t include coaching!

Solution: Organizations should understand that coaching results in a 10-20% improvement in job performance. Executives and senior managers should iterate the value of coaching and continuous learning. 

Solution: Organizations should adjust performance metrics to include coaching-related outcomes. They should recognize and reward managers who invest in team development, thereby creating a culture of coaching and learning.

Mistake #10: Requires Long-Term Goals and Strategy

Limited manpower and/or resources tend to result in less thought given to long-term planning and strategy. Or planning might not be your strong skill. Whatever the reason, you can’t coach if you haven’t considered which areas need attention for future results.

Solution: Recognize that success requires strategy and tactics. Also recognize that coaching is required to develop team members capable of meeting future challenges.

Solution 2: Set short-term objectives aligned with long-term goals to identify coaching needs, showcase wins, and build sustained growth.

Conclusion

Why don’t managers coach? After all, leadership requires more than managing tasks and targets.

High-performing teams require you to lift everyone to new heights, creating a team which can meet new opportunities and challenges. When you integrate coaching into how you lead, you demonstrate the importance of continuous learning. You improve engagement and motivation. You reduce turnover. And yet, despite all of the positives, only 26% of employees consistently receive coaching!

So are you ready to make a change and embrace this must-have of high-performing teams?