Managers Need Coaching Too

Managers are asked to guide everyone else. Who helps them prepare for the conversations that matter most?”

Picture a manager leaving a difficult team meeting. She knows the work must improve, but she is unsure how to give honest feedback without discouraging the employee. By the next meeting, the conversation still has not happened.

That hesitation is familiar in many workplaces. Managers are expected to set direction, support performance, handle change, and keep people engaged. Yet they often have little space to practice the conversations those responsibilities require.

The need is becoming more urgent. Gallup reports that global manager engagement fell from 31% in 2022 to 22% in 2025. Its research also points to clear expectations, frequent feedback, and development conversations as practices that shape team engagement.

A workshop can introduce these skills. Coaching helps a manager use them when a real conversation feels uncomfortable. Before the next meeting, a manager can pause and ask:

• Stop: What assumption am I making about this employee?
• Assess: What expectation needs to be clearer, and what do I need to hear?
• Go: What specific conversation will I have, and when will we follow up?

Developing managers means giving them room to reflect, rehearse, act, and learn from the result. When we invest in those everyday decisions, we strengthen the people responsible for supporting everyone else.