If your organization is not conducting coaching conversations between managers and employees, you’re missing out on one of the most effective ways of coaching employees to improve performance. A coaching culture increases employee engagement, job satisfaction, performance, and collaboration. Coaching employees in the workplace is central to developing high-performing teams.
Table of Contents:
How to use the GROW Model for Coaching Conversations
Why is employee empowerment important?
What Is Coaching?
Coaching conversations empower employees through encouragement and teaching. When managers coach, they reinforce strengths and explore challenges with the employee. Coaching employees training helps managers build the skills they need to guide performance conversations that result in action.
The benefits of coaching employees include improved problem-solving, higher engagement, and stronger manager-employee relationships. When done well, coaching fosters employee empowerment—which means giving employees more autonomy, ownership, and confidence in their decision-making.
Training managers on coaching and other essential leadership skills is a highly effective way for organizations to boost efficiency and achieve their goals. A pretty strong case to make for why coaching employees is important.
View our infographic to see the top skills needed to turn your managers and leaders into coaches: From Manager to Coach: 7 Development Tips
Common Topics for Coaching Conversations
Coaching sessions should be tailored to individual employees but often address common workplace challenges like:
- Onboarding
- Time management
- Missed deadlines
- Overworked or overwhelmed employees
- Problem-solving
- Goal setting
- Performance obstacles
These discussions are great employee empowerment examples in action—providing opportunities for team members to find their voice and actively participate in solutions.
How to Coach
Whether a coaching conversation is part of weekly meetings or set up separately, managers should always schedule a time to follow up with the employee. Follow-up meetings promote accountability and encourage continuous development.
No two coaching conversations will be the same—even if the topics are similar. To ensure coaching is effective and empowering, managers should ask open-ended questions that encourage reflection.
What is a manager’s role in employee empowerment? It's about creating space for employees to think independently and solve problems themselves. If the employee feels lectured, they may disengage. But if the manager leads through questions, employees are more likely to discover new ideas and feel ownership of the solution.
Managers should lead employees to a solution—not hand it to them.
The GROW Model
The GROW model is a well-known coaching technique that gives structure to these conversations. It stands for:
- G - Goal: Decide where the employee wants to go
- R - Reality: Explore their current state
- O - Options: Brainstorm possible paths
- W - Way Forward: Commit to action
This model supports the importance of employee empowerment by encouraging employees to take initiative and determine their own way forward.
How to use the GROW Model for Coaching Conversations
Establish the Goal
Help the employee clarify what they want to achieve. If goal-setting feels vague, encourage them to use the SMART goal framework.
Questions to ask:
- How will you know this goal has been achieved?
- What is your ideal outcome?
- What results are you hoping to achieve? Why?
Understand the Current Reality
Assess the situation honestly before brainstorming solutions.
Questions to ask:
- How would you describe the situation?
- What advice would you give someone in your shoes?
- What have you tried already?
Discuss Options
Explore various routes forward. Let the employee start the brainstorming.
Questions to ask:
- What else could you do?
- What if a key constraint were removed?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option?
- What do you think is the strongest solution?
Commit to a Way Forward
Once the options are explored, help the employee create a plan.
Questions to ask:
- What steps can you take this week?
- What obstacles might arise—and how can we tackle them?
- Who can support you?
- How can I help you follow through?
Coaching Scenario Example
To show what a real coaching conversation might look like, here’s a sample interaction between a manager and an employee struggling with time management—one of the most common topics in coaching employees training.
Sam (Employee): Hey, thanks for making time to chat. I wanted to talk about how I've been struggling to manage my time effectively.
Kristin (Manager): No problem at all, Sam. That's what I'm here for. How did you realize this was becoming an issue?
Sam: Well, I've got a bunch of projects going on all at once, and if I don't juggle them constantly, I feel like I'm falling behind. I know I need to get everything done, but there just aren't enough hours in the day to do it all.
Kristin: I get where you're coming from. What would you consider a win in tackling this challenge?
Sam: If I could just get through everything on my plate without feeling overwhelmed, that'd be a big win for me.
Kristin: Makes sense. So, what steps have you already taken to try and tackle this?
Sam: I made a big list of everything I need to do, but honestly, it stressed me out more seeing it all written down.
Kristin: I can see how that would feel stressful. What do you feel like your options are for dealing with this?
Sam: I've thought about asking for less work, reaching out for help, or even just working more hours to get it all done. Maybe setting some boundaries or creating a schedule could help too.
Kristin: Those are all good options to consider, Sam. Which one do you think would work best for you?
Sam: I think reaching out to you and some team members for help would probably be the most effective.
Kristin: That sounds like a solid plan. Adding more hands to the mix could definitely lighten the load. Who were you thinking of asking for help?
Sam: I reckon Hunter could lend a hand with the Sales project, and Savannah might be able to assist with copyediting.
Kristin: I agree that those two would be great people to reach out to for help, and feel that their specific skill set would make them good resources for those projects. What's your next move?
Sam: I'll shoot them a message later today and see if they're up for a chat to discuss it further.
Kristin: Perfect. Let's touch base next week to see how things are going.
Sam: Thanks, I appreciate it.
This dialogue demonstrates the benefits of employee empowerment—by asking thoughtful questions, the manager enables the employee to reflect, choose their best path, and commit to action. This results in stronger ownership and better performance outcomes.
Best Practices for Better Coaching Conversations
- Avoid closed-ended questions. Ask open-ended questions to promote discussion and insight.
- Avoid stacked questions. Stick to one question at a time to avoid overwhelming employees.
- Don’t interrupt or rush. Give employees time to think and respond fully.
Why is employee empowerment important?
Because when employees feel heard, supported, and trusted, they are more likely to take initiative, perform better, and contribute positively to the company culture.
Coaching is a powerful workplace tool—and once implemented effectively, you’ll start seeing tangible results across your teams. If you're ready to start developing your leaders into effective coaches, check out our downloadable playbook: Developing the Coaching Skills of Your Managers and Leaders
And don’t forget to connect with a BizLibrary representative. Our extensive library of employee training content covers everything from leadership development to real-world examples of employee empowerment in action.
Chat with us to learn how we help orgs build successful employee training programs!
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