Understanding managerial coaching: the role of manager attributes and skills in effective coaching

Abstract

As the world of work has changed, so have the roles and responsibilities of managers. Organizations have begun to insist that leaders take much of the responsibility for the development of employees. One proven method for doing so is through one-on-one coaching between manager and employee. While coaching has been found to be effective, there has been no research on which personal attributes and skills help make a coach effective. This study investigates the relationship among managerial attributes, managerial skills, and coaching performance to help fill this gap in the literature. The literature is reviewed and a model for coaching performance is proposed and tested. The results indicate that managers who are effective coaches are more likely to build relationships with their staff and to lead courageously. In addition, those who were bright were more likely to be effective in analyzing issues, which helped them to lead in a courageous or forthright manner. In contrast, when one was bright but did not use his or her intelligence to carefully analyze issues, a negative relationship between intelligence and leading courageously was found, indicating that the more intelligent the individual, the less likely they were to be considered a strong leader, as well as an effective coach. This is an important finding as it challenges the long accepted theory that intelligence is the foremost predictor of performance (with a positive, not a negative relationship). Building relationships with people was also found to be a significant predictor of coaching performance. Those who listened to their staff and were outgoing and social were more likely to be viewed as making interpersonal connections with employees and therefore perceived as better coaches. The findings of this study have implications for how managers are hired and developed. The results suggest that organizations must look not only at personal attributes such as cognitive ability, assertiveness, and sociability, but also at how these are channeled through skills such as analyzing issues, leading courageously, listening to others, and building relationships. Study limitations and future research directions are proposed and discussed.