Coaching: The Best Management Approach

In the past, managers used to give orders to those working for them — a management style based on command and control. However, the world has changed. Today’s employees want managers who genuinely care about them and invest time in their personal and professional growth. They seek frequent, timely feedback that is closely tied to events. They also want opportunities to take on more tasks that align with their strengths. In today’s world, the best way to increase employee engagement is not by managing them — it’s by coaching them.

Coaching starts with asking more questions and giving fewer directives. Being more curious about employees as individuals is key. What do they need? What are their strengths? What are their goals? The best managers often demonstrate full attention to their employees by asking thoughtful coaching questions.

For example, during a 10-minute conversation, a “manager-coach” might ask an employee:
➡️ “What went well for you today? What didn’t go so well?”
➡️ “How can I best support you?”

Then, the best coaches listen — not just to respond, but to understand. They listen in a way that helps them grasp the employee’s circumstances, goals, challenges, and needs.

There’s a good reason for managers to be curious: understanding employees’ motivations, concerns, and aspirations allows managers to support them in overcoming performance barriers and show that they care.

Uncovering these insights doesn’t require complex coaching models or pre-designed questions. Effective coaching conversations are directly tied to employees’ needs and are often informal, resembling natural conversations.

For example, a manager might ask an employee about a recent success:
➡️ “What are you proud of when you think about that accomplishment?”

This deeper understanding allows managers to help employees build on their strengths.

The key is to have regular, natural conversations with employees to understand their key concerns and support them accordingly. To help managers conduct meaningful coaching conversations, we recommend following the structure of five key coaching conversations. These conversations are designed to address the core issues that have the most impact on employees’ sense of belonging, performance, and growth. The structure is based on the standards of the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

Coaching doesn’t mean letting employees avoid responsibility or lowering performance standards. On the contrary — coaches set clear expectations and goals and hold employees accountable for them.

When it comes to performance, coaches focus on the future. While traditional bosses tend to point out mistakes and punish employees for poor performance, coaches take a different approach.

Great coaches also focus on each employee’s unique strengths. This allows them to adjust their management style to fit the individual. By focusing on strengths, coaches nurture employees’ talents and lead teams toward excellence.

Moreover, the best coaches prioritize employees’ sense of personal and team belonging. A manager’s role is to create an environment that energizes and inspires employees. To achieve this, the best coaches monitor their employees’ workplace needs and respond to them with action and accountability.

At every stage, coaches emphasize new actions and achievements that help employees grow and encourage them to take responsibility for their own sense of belonging and performance.

Leaders need to do more than just ask managers to start coaching. Like all employees, managers look to their leaders for the resources, development, and accountability they need. Here are three key actions that leaders should take to support managers:

To shift from traditional management to coaching, managers need coaching from leaders who genuinely care about them. When leaders support managers, they can embed coaching into the organization’s culture and prepare managers for success.

Heavy administrative workloads make it hard for managers to prioritize conversations with employees. For busy and stressed managers, embracing coaching can feel overwhelming. Reducing administrative duties can increase the sense of belonging among your best managers.

That’s why leaders need to redefine and clarify managers’ performance expectations and criteria. This doesn’t require a complete structural overhaul — just adjusting expectations and resources to align with coaching goals.

Managers need development and experience in the coaching role to make it second nature. When a manager’s development is rooted in science and the program is well-designed and executed, managers will rebuild their mindset, strengthen their confidence, and gradually adopt effective coaching behaviors.

Since today’s employees expect something different from their jobs, coaching skills have become essential for managers. More importantly, coaching creates a high-growth environment — the most productive type of culture for both businesses and employees.

Coaching accelerates everything — from collaboration and agility to performance and productivity.

But coaching doesn’t need to be intimidating. It should be simple, practical, valuable — and even fun. The good news is that when managers have access to proven development programs, coaching becomes achievable.

The Manager Coaching Training Program at the ICE in the UK transforms managers’ abilities, giving them the mindset and skills needed to adopt and apply effective coaching behaviors. Best of all, coaching has a lasting impact beyond business goals like profit or sales. When managers become coaches, they can improve the lives and well-being of their employees.

Taymour Miri is an ICF master coach and a Gallup certified strengths coach and more recently one of the first 136 coaches world wide to be awarded an Advanced Certificate in Team Coaching. He has 30 years’ experience in leadership roles and 20 years of experince in coaching. Taymour has trained over 1,500 coaches across five continents and is the founder of International Coaching Education (ICE).