Coaching for Performance

The traditional once-a-year performance reviews still exist in many organizations, but it’s rarely sufficient as a stand-alone tactic for driving team performance. Coaching-based conversations (frequent, focused, and forward-looking) are what we consider to be the cornerstone of strong leadership. In this post we’re offering a practical approach to embedding coaching into your management rhythm to build stronger, more effective teams.

Despite ongoing efforts to continually modernize performance management systems, the ‘annual’ performance review hasn’t quite disappeared yet. While many organizations have explored alternatives like ratingless reviews and crowdsourced feedback, few have fully replaced traditional methods.

If the more traditional performance appraisal still rules, then what has changed?

Yet, there is a growing shift toward more frequent performance conversations that help leaders stay closely connected to what their teams need to succeed. In our work, we continue to see this demand from organizations that want to enable better results, faster feedback loops, and stronger relationships between managers and employees.

Coaching Is Core to Leadership

Your role as a manager is to get results through others.

That’s the fundamental lens through which performance should be viewed. When things are going off-track, it’s most often a leadership issue, not just a talent issue. Or if looking at the glass being half full, when your employees are successful, that reflects back on your effectiveness as a leader!

The most impactful managers take a coaching approach. They regularly ask questions that support clarity, growth, and motivation. Coaching isn’t a one-time fix; it’s a mindset that, when applied consistently, creates space for accountability, development, and progress.

How Do I Build a Coaching Mindset? Clarify, Improve, Support

Becoming an effective coaching manager is achievable. We recommend keeping coaching conversations simple and structured.

You can create a coaching mindset by continuously asking:

1. Clarify - Are objectives realistic and ambitious? “What does success look like for you this quarter?”
2. Improve - Is there potential to do better? “What’s one thing you’d like to strengthen or shift?”
3. Support - What can I do as a leader to create an environment in which people are engaged and motivated to be successful? “What’s getting in the way of progress, and how can I help remove it?”

We have created simple guidelines to help get you into the coaching mindset. Set up recurring meetings with your team and prepare to discuss three topics:

This straightforward framework helps managers guide meaningful conversations that go beyond status updates or to-do lists.

Make Coaching a Habit, Not a One-Off

Whether the coaching session has been on the calendar for months or arises spontaneously, frequency matters. People want your feedback. They want to know where they stand, how they can grow, and that their manager is paying attention.

Here’s how to make coaching work in your context:

• • Build it into your routine. Even 20-minute conversations every two weeks can drive performance.
  • Make it about the person, not just the work. Show interest in goals, challenges, and development.
  • Prioritize trust. Without it, coaching becomes checking in for compliance—not engagement.
  • Address issues early. Coaching gives managers the chance to resolve small issues before they grow.
  • Listen actively. Ask open-ended questions. Reflect on what you hear. Avoid jumping straight to solutions.

These conversations can happen during 1:1s, project reviews, or quick debriefs after a deliverable. The format matters less than the consistency and quality of the interaction.

Why This Matters and What’s Next

Strong performance doesn’t emerge from annual paperwork — it grows from regular, honest conversations between people who are working toward shared goals. As expectations shift and workplaces become more dynamic, coaching gives managers a reliable way to stay grounded in what matters most: enabling their teams to succeed.

For organizations navigating growth, change, or complexity, encouraging a coaching mindset across the leadership team can have a real impact. Not through one-off workshops or systems overhauls, but through consistent, human conversations that build trust, clarify expectations, and support continuous improvement.

The shift doesn’t need to be dramatic. Start by asking better questions, more often — and see where those conversations take your team.

For HR leaders and executives looking to strengthen leadership across the organization, coaching is an essential skill to embed. Managers may need support to build confidence in this area, especially if they’ve historically relied on formal reviews or haven’t received coaching themselves. We're happy to chat about any questions you might have.

About the Author:

Dean Fulford is a senior human resources leader with experience in all aspects of HR vision, strategy and implementation, applying his background to many facets of the businesses he’s worked with. He has done consulting in organization development and effectiveness, performance consulting and process improvement in both small and large organizations, and bringing solutions that provide immediate impact while enabling sustained organizational impact.  Dean has led the implementation of operations review practices in HR departments, bringing a unique skill set and approach to human resources leadership driving pragmatic, metrics-driven solutions. He is also a certified human resource leader (CHRL) and licensed professional engineer. He specializes in HR strategy, employee engagement to drive effective operational processes and talent management. For more information, get in touch with Dean.

This blog post was originally published in 2018. It has been updated with new content.