Tips for Coaching in Modern Workplaces

Every one-on-one ends with an update. But 99% of one-on-ones don’t improve performance. Here are 10 moves to run a one-on-one like a leader: 1. Shift from updates to ownership. A one-on-one is not a report. It is a coaching session. A manager says, "Give me an update on everything." A leader says, "Before updates, what is one thing you are trying to improve right now." This single shift changes the whole meeting. It turns the employee into the driver, not the passenger. 2. Start with growth, not tasks. Open the meeting with their development. Keep it tight. One skill. One behavior. One outcome. When you begin with tasks, you train them to wait for instructions. When you begin with growth, you train them to think like an owner. 3. Use three coaching prompts every time. Run the first part of the one-on-one with these prompts. - "What are you trying to improve right now." - "Where are you seeing progress." - "Where are you getting stuck." This creates a simple loop. Goal. Evidence. Blocker. Progress starts when they own their growth. 4. Develop people, not just review work. Work review is easy. People development is leadership. Work review sounds like status. People development sounds like patterns. You focus on the habits behind the work. You coach the choices that create the work. That is where performance actually changes. 5. Focus on thinking, not just results. Results tell you what happened. Thinking tells you why it happened. The quality of thinking determines the quality of results. A manager says, "Great job hitting the number." A leader says, "Walk me through how you approached it." This turns a win into a system. 6. Make success repeatable. Plenty of people hit a goal once. Few can repeat it. The difference is clarity. They know what they did. They know what mattered. They know what to do again. Coach the process so the result can scale. 7. Debrief like a pro. Use a simple debrief. - What worked well. - What did not work well. - What will you do differently next time. This builds judgment. It also builds confidence. They stop guessing. They start learning on purpose. 8. Shape decision-making. Outcomes are lagging. Decisions are leading. Spend time on the decisions they made. The tradeoffs they chose. The risks they avoided. The risks they took. If you coach decisions, performance improves even when the work changes. 9. End with a clear commitment. A one-on-one without a next step is just a conversation. A manager ends with, "Keep me posted." A leader ends with, "What is one action you are committed to before we meet again." One action. Not five. Not a vague intention. A real move. 10. Measure the commitment. What gets measured gets managed. Commitments need a scoreboard. End with one more line. "How will we know it worked." Change happens between meetings, not during them. The meeting sets the aim. The week creates the proof.

I've learned one universal truth: everyone has performance ups and downs. The best leaders? They don't wait for a full-blown crisis. They spot the early signs and have those crucial conversations before things spiral. Here's my framework for helping a team member get back on track: 1. The "What's Up?" Chat (Week 1-2)   • Leader: Set up a casual one-on-one. Listen more than you talk.   • Team Member: Be honest about what's not working. It's okay to admit struggles.    Tip: Use open-ended questions like "What's your biggest challenge right now?" Consider having this chat outside your office - grabbing a coffee can change the dynamic. 2. Game Plan (Week 3-4)   • Leader: Work together to set clear, doable goals. Reset expectations as needed. Be specific about what needs to change.   • Team Member: Speak up about what you need to succeed. Own your part in the plan.   Tip: Break larger goals into weekly tasks. Stretch the team member but don't break them. 3. Support and Resources (Ongoing)   • Leader: Connect them with a mentor. Provide the tools they need.   • Team Member: Use these resources. Ask for help when you need it.   Tip: Consider personality assessments to identify strengths and growth areas. 4. Regular Check-Ins   • Leader: Regular catch-ups. Give honest feedback – good and bad.   • Team Member: Come prepared. Be open to feedback and ready to adjust.   Tip: Use the "situation-behavior-impact" model, and ask, "What would you do differently next time?" It promotes problem-solving, not just reflection. 5. One Month In: Quick temperature check • Discuss what is working and what additional resources or support is needed. 6. Three Months In: Bigger picture review • Discuss overall progress and expectations where performance has improved. 7. Six Month Milestone: Decision time   • If performance is better: Celebrate and plan next steps   • If not: Have an honest talk about whether this role is the right fit Remember: 🔸 Keep talking. Silence doesn't help anyone. 🔸 Leaders guide, but team members drive their own improvement. 🔸 Write stuff down – it keeps everyone on the same page. 🔸 We're all human. Patience and fairness go a long way. Watch out for inflated progress reporting. Stay engaged to see real progress. Look for tangible results, not just promises. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But giving someone a fair shot to turn things around? That's good leadership. Leaders – ever helped someone bounce back? What worked? How did you ensure genuine progress? Share below!

Disengagement is at an all-time high, and it’s not because leaders don't care. It’s because they're trying to lead with a playbook that's out of date. For decades, leaders were rewarded for control, hierarchy, and efficiency. But today's teams are hybrid, employees demand purpose, and mental health needs are on the rise. The old model of a leader who has all the answers—and must lead with the voice of a Covey or a Gladwell—is dead. And although we have modern voices like Sinek and Grant, the new model requires you to find your own voice and lead with authenticity. 𝐒𝐨, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞? ✅ Psychological Safety as the foundation, not the afterthought. Practical application: Start a meeting by sharing a mistake you made recently and what you learned from it. This shows your team that vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness. Also, normalize learning moments. When a mistake happens, say: “Great catch. What did we learn? What’s something we can do to prevent this from happening in the future?” ✅ Emotional intelligence is a core strength skill, not a “soft” one. Practical application: Before reacting to a stressful situation or email, take a 60-second pause. Ask yourself, "What emotion am I feeling right now, and why?" This helps you choose a response instead of just reacting. ✅ Clear boundaries and open communication that protect both leaders and their teams. Practical application: Create response windows (e.g., Slack = 4 business hours, email = 24), after-hours rules, escalation ladder, and which channels to use for what. Clarify "on" and "off" hours by setting your team's expectation: "I won't send non-urgent emails after 6 p.m., and I don't expect you to respond to mine after hours either." ✅ Culture that grows from daily behavior, not one-off initiatives. Practical application: In your next one-on-one, ask, "What’s one thing I can do to make your work life easier this week?" This small act demonstrates that you value their well-being and are committed to supporting them. Leaders who adapt aren't just retaining their best people. They’re creating workplaces where creativity, innovation, and performance flow naturally. Which of these "new playbook" requirements do you think is the most challenging for leaders to adopt today? What shift do you think is most urgent for leaders right now? #emotionalIntelligence #leadership #psychologicalSafety

A Surprising Aspect of Coaching That Flips Conventional Wisdom Most people think coaching only flows downward: CEOs coach their Executive Leadership Team members. Team Heads coach their direct reports. Right? But here’s a surprising truth: Some of the most powerful coaching flows in the other direction – *Coaching “up.”* That means helping someone more senior than you - a boss, a Board member, a more experienced colleague - see perspectives they may be missing. It sounds intimidating, but senior leaders value it when done thoughtfully. After all, they rarely get honest feedback or a fresh lens on how they’re leading. ➡️ Three simple ways to effectively “coach up”: ➤ Frame it with respect. Acknowledge your superior’s expertise first, then share your perspective as an additional lens – not as a challenge. ➤ Use curiosity over criticism. Questions like, “How do you see this playing out?” or “How would you feel about looking at this from another angle?” invite dialogue rather than defensiveness. ➤ Connect to shared goals. Position your coaching comments as supporting what matters most to your boss and the organization, so it’s clear you’re on the same side. In short: “Coaching up” isn’t about hierarchy – it’s about impact. Done with respect and clarity, it builds trust, strengthens leaders at every level, and drives results for the whole organization. 👉 What advice would you give others who want to “coach up” with confidence? #Leadership #ExecutiveCoaching #CoachingCulture #LeadDifferently #CareerGrowth Thinkers50 Global Gurus 100 Coaches Agency

You're Not Coaching. You're Just Telling Nicely.😊 Many managers think they're coaching when they're actually just telling with better manners. "Don't you think it would be better if...?" isn't the hallmark of a great coach. You've probably already decided the answer and are now just gift-wrapping your directive in a question mark. Think of it like GPS vs. a driving instructor: When you're 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, you're the GPS. Turn left. Slow down. You know the route, and your job is to get them there efficiently. When you're 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, you're the driving instructor. You see them approaching a junction too fast, but instead of grabbing the wheel, you ask: "What do you notice about the road ahead?" You're building a driver who can navigate on their own. Both have their place. But most managers are stuck in GPS mode, wondering why their team can't drive without them. Here's what actually separates them: Telling keeps the problem on your desk. You solve it, hand over the solution. Next time they hit the same issue they're back at your desk. Coaching flips ownership. The problem stays with them. When someone discovers their own solution, instead of simply executing, they own it. Simple test: In your last "coaching conversation" who spoke more? If it was you, you were 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 telling. Real coaching is about asking questions that make them think harder than they've thought all week. Even if the silence that follows feels awkward. That's where insight happens. When to use each: 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧: The building's on fire, someone's brand new, or there's a hard deadline. 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧: You want the person to grow, there's time for reflection (even 10 minutes), or you're building capability for next time. The trap most managers fall into is that they don't trust the silence. They don't trust their team member to find the answer. So they jump in with "Have you thought about..." or "When I was in your position..." And just like that, you're the GPS again. Download the full "Coaching vs. Telling" cheat sheet and see where you really land! ___________ Hi, I'm Lucy, an ICF-certified coach and a consultant to L&D. High-functioning doesn't mean high capacity. I coach leaders to close the gap.

Reviewing the Past Is Easy. Coaching the Future Is the Job. Most managers don’t coach. They review. And then they wonder why performance doesn’t change. Reviews focus on what already happened. Coaching shapes what happens next. Yet the biggest miss I see is leaders spending their time explaining what they heard instead of listening to what the sales rep was thinking and why they made the choices they did. In my judgment, the desired outcome of coaching is simple and non-negotiable. To support the sales rep’s development and help them get better in front of customers. That doesn’t happen through feedback alone. It happens through a combination of live sales calls, thoughtful discussion, and role-playing during both pre-call planning and post-call analysis. Not as one-off events, but as connected, meaningful conversations over time. Great coaching requires trust. And trust is reciprocal. Trust also comes from alignment. Both the manager and the rep must be clear that the purpose of coaching is development, not judgment. Growth, not critique. When that intent is clear and consistent, coaching stops feeling like inspection and starts feeling like investment. That trust starts before the conversation even begins. Effective coaches do their homework. They come prepared with context, patterns, and a point of view, not conclusions. Pre-work signals respect. It shows the rep that the manager is serious about helping them improve, not just checking a coaching box. Sales reps know when their manager is going through the motions. They know when coaching is performative versus purposeful. Intent shows up in preparation. It shows up in listening. And it shows up in whether the conversation is designed to build skill or simply document activity. One of the fastest ways to erode trust is a poor talk-to-listen ratio. When the manager does most of the talking, the rep complies. When the manager listens more than they speak, the rep engages. Listening enrolls the rep in the conversation. Enrollment drives commitment, not compliance. If every coaching conversation starts with “Here’s what I heard,” you’re managing the past, not developing the person. Instead, great coaches ask forward-looking questions like: • What are you trying to accomplish differently the next time you’re in this situation • What do you think mattered most in how that conversation unfolded • What would success look like if we replayed this call three months from now Those questions create insight. Insight creates awareness. And awareness drives different choices the next time it matters. Here’s the part many leaders miss: Coaching cannot be an event. It has to be an ongoing, intentional dialogue over time. The rep needs to clearly understand the manager’s intent, consistently, so coaching is experienced as support and challenge, not evaluation.

Imagine if a professional sports team only watched a game tape and got feedback once a week—no daily practice drills, no focused skill-building, no individualised development. Unthinkable, right? Yet, many businesses approach performance this way. In high-performance sports, athletes break down every move, practice specific drills, and constantly refine their craft. That's exactly what great coaching should look like in the workplace. Coaching isn't just about feedback—it's about maximizing the overall performance of each individual in their specific role and unlocking their full development potential. At its core, coaching is about getting people to think differently and ultimately act differently to drive performance. 💰 Here's why it matters: 1. Maximizing Individual Performance: Coaching tailors development to each person, focusing on specific needs, strengths, and growth opportunities. Gallup reports that companies investing in coaching see 21% greater profitability and 17% higher productivity. 2. Changing Mindsets for Better Results: Great coaching challenges current thinking patterns, helping people break through mental barriers. Organizations with strong coaching cultures experience 70% higher employee engagement (Bersin & Associates). 3. Driving Action & Accountability: Coaching turns insight into action, helping employees build habits that lead to sustained performance. Teams with effective coaching see 7X higher business impact (Human Capital Institute). 💪 What does great coaching focus on? 1. Deep Focus: Narrow down on one area at a time. Don't try to fix everything at once. 2. Asking the Right Questions: True coaching is about guiding with questions, not just giving answers. 3. Repetition and Practice: Team members need to practice a skill repeatedly until it becomes second nature. 4. Caring: It starts with genuine investment in your team's success. If you want to boost performance and cultivate future leaders, investing in coaching isn't just beneficial—it's essential. It's the key to unlocking potential, both in the present and the future. Are you coaching like your team like a high performing professional sports team or are you just watching a game tape every now and then... 🤔

6 STRATEGIES FOR COACHING IN THE MOMENT I was rushing between meetings last week when I saw Ambika (name changed), one of our rising stars, near the elevator. She'd just finished a high-stakes presentation. After the usual "How did it go?" I asked her: "What's one thing you learned about yourself in there?" That 90-second exchange became her most valuable coaching moment of the quarter. She realized she'd been over-preparing slides and under-preparing for the human dynamics in the room—an insight that transformed her approach. That moment wasn't an accident. It's a strategy, and it highlights a core finding from new Harvard Business Review research: the most impactful coaching happens in the flow of work, not in formal sessions. The article identifies six "low-lift" ways for leaders to do this: → Nudge in the moment: Use brief, strategic questions that spark self-discovery. → Give exposure: Invite people into meetings to observe expertise, then debrief what they noticed. → Be a connector: Open doors to the right people and networks, not just give advice. → Let go gracefully: Recognize when the best coaching is helping someone move beyond your team. → Coach in context: Be present where work happens, asking about the thinking behind the doing. → Model curiosity: Demonstrate the learning behaviors you want to see. Consistency is what transforms these small acts into a true coaching culture. When reflection becomes habitual, not occasional, your people start to see growth as part of their daily rhythm. What's one conversation you could have today—in the elevator, after a call, or during a walk to coffee? #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #coaching #talentmanagement #organizationalculture Reference: Latest Harvard Business School research by Ruchira Chaudhary ("6 Low-Lift Ways to Coach Employees in the Flow of Work," Nov. 3, 2025).

“Conversations are the work.” That’s something I say often when I’m working with leadership teams, but this week, a client reminded me just how powerful that simple shift can be. I’ve been working with the leadership team of a long-standing WA business. When we first started, they were used to a very traditional way of working, conversations were seen as a “waste of time.” Fast forward a few months, and something’s changed. Now, conversations are built into the rhythm of their business. Every month, the leaders come together to reflect on how they’re leading and coaching their teams. They’ve shifted from being “players on the field” to being in the coaching box, guiding, supporting, and developing others. And it’s working. They’ve seen a noticeable lift in engagement, performance, and trust. Even those difficult performance conversations, the ones many leaders avoid, are happening. One leader told me that after finally having an open, honest conversation with a team member about underperformance, everything changed within weeks. The employee said, “Everything shifted once you gave me that feedback.” Because here’s the truth: High performers want feedback. They want clarity. They want to grow. Avoiding the conversation doesn’t protect anyone - it holds everyone back. This leader summed up their new approach perfectly: “Our job now is to coach and care.” CC - has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? It sounds simple, but it’s transformative. And it’s exactly what modern leadership should look like. If your organisation is ready to evolve from managing tasks to coaching and caring for people… to create a culture where performance and wellbeing coexist - send me a message. That’s the kind of transformation I help workplaces achieve. #leadershipdevelopment #humanperformance #culturechange #peopleandculture #coaching #feedback #futureofwork #leadership

I often hear from leaders who want to be helpful but find themselves becoming the default expert. It’s easy to step in, and over time, it can create more dependency than we intend. A recent Fast Company article offered a few practical shifts many leaders appreciate: ➡️ Pause before giving an answer. Ask what the person has already considered. ➡️ Share your decision process. A simple framework helps others think things through. ➡️ Focus on outcomes. People may take a different path and still meet the goal. ➡️ Set structure, then step back. Clear goals and regular check-ins support growth. We put these themes into practice in my "Building Your Coaching Muscles" keynote & workshop, with an easy-to-use framework leaders can apply right away. You are the real hero when you help your team build their own skills and confidence, not when you carry all the answers. Strengthening your coaching muscles makes that possible.