Researchers Stone, Nimon and Ellinger asked 313 full-time employees in the U.S. about their jobs, twice, some time apart. We usually think of coaching as something that makes employees feel better about their work. This study shows it also works the other way around. Employees who knew clearly what their role was, who liked their job and felt committed to it, later got more coaching from their managers.¹
Talent Takeaway
It reminds us that coaching is a two-way street. Managers naturally invest where they feel energy coming back. So a little question for all of us: which team member have we coached less lately, and what would help us reach out to them this week? And for team members, showing interest invites more coaching.
¹ Stone, K., Nimon, K., & Ellinger, A. D. (2024). Examining the predictive validity of a managerial coaching scale: A longitudinal study. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1277422
Further reading: Mowat, J. W., Haar, J., & Forsyth, D. (2025). The impact of formal workplace coaching on employee outcomes. Human Resource Development International, 29(2), 317–334. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2025.2549541