manager-coaching-cadence

Manager coaching cadence

Design a sustainable coaching rhythm that helps reps practise a specific behaviour and apply it in live work.

A coaching cycle connects observation, feedback, rehearsal, application, and follow-up. Its frequency depends on the opportunities reps have to use the skill and the time managers can protect. A single recorded-call review belongs in call-review-coach; a deal diagnosis belongs in deal-inspection-coach.

Coaching. "The AE ended a discovery call with 'I'll follow up'. In the 1:1, replay the close, ask what they wanted to achieve, and rehearse a mutual next step. On the next eligible call, listen for the buyer agreeing an action, owner, and date."

Status. "Managers will coach more consistently and hold reps accountable to a culture of excellence."

The manager should leave with a behaviour to coach and a realistic way to check its use.

Inputs

Ask only for the inputs that change the rhythm:

1. Team type, role mix, and how many reps
2. Behaviours worth coaching, the evidence for them, and opportunities to apply them
3. Protected coaching time and existing meetings
4. Evidence they can actually review: calls, deals, CRM, notes
5. Who may see coaching notes, and where formal performance management begins

Use current supplied context first, or relevant sections of .enablement/context.md if available. If the target behaviour or evidence is unknown, propose a small observation sample and a review decision before presenting a full cadence as ready. For a change to an existing rhythm, revise only the affected sessions and follow-up.

Supporting material

Read references/manager-coaching-cadence-template.md when calculating coverage, designing sessions, or defining escalation. For a narrow edit, consult only the relevant section.

Procedure

1. Choose the coaching focus. Use observed work to distinguish a skill gap from a process, incentive, capacity, or territory problem. Select a small set of team priorities and one focus per session. Each focus must describe what the rep will do differently and where it matters.
2. Calculate capacity before coverage. Include evidence review, individual sessions, group practice, scheduling, and follow-up. Reserve time for outstanding application checks before adding new cycles. If demand exceeds protected time, prioritize by observed need, use group practice for a shared gap, and show who rotates. The complete time budget must reconcile; shortening preparation does not resolve excess demand.
3. Choose a rhythm that fits the work. Match follow-up to the next realistic opportunity to apply the behaviour. A high-volume team may generate evidence daily; an enterprise rep may need longer. Label new days and deadlines proposed until confirmed.
4. Design a session the manager can run. Review a relevant example together and ask what the rep intended. Identify one effective behaviour to retain and one change supported by the evidence. Rehearse the change, give specific feedback, and check whether the retry demonstrates it. Agree where the rep will apply it and what evidence both will review. Budget time for practice as well as discussion.
5. Capture only role-relevant evidence. Use observation and commitment fields a manager will actually fill. Automated scores are leads, not findings. The rep can add context or correct the record.
6. Check application and adjust support. Compare the agreed behaviour with the next eligible work sample. If it is absent, check opportunity, understanding, practice, and workflow barriers before concluding that coaching failed. Report trends only when evidence is comparable and sufficient.
7. Define the boundary with formal performance management. Use the organisation's established process and authority. If none is supplied, identify the decision owner and evidence needed; do not create promotion or escalation counts. Keep developmental notes separate and exclude unrelated personal information.
8. Set up the first cycle. Name the participants, evidence to review, practice task, follow-up opportunity, and time allocation. Leave unsupplied owners or commitments unresolved.