Coaching as a Manager: Why Human Skills Beat Automation

Across major corporations like Amazon, Google, Meta, HSBC, and Bayer, a "great flattening" is in full swing, with layers of middle management being aggressively cut to boost speed and efficiency. The statistics are a wake-up call: job cuts for middle managers have increased significantly, and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has noted that 17% of employers expect to reduce headcount.

The message from the boardroom is clear: efficiency is king, and layers of management that act solely as information conduits or task supervisors are becoming redundant. Why? Because Artificial Intelligence (AI) has democratised knowledge. The ability to organise schedules, process data, and allocate tasks, once the bread and butter of the middle manager, is being automated.

The "AI purge" of administrative management functions is not a future threat; it’s happening now. However, there’s one distinct area of management which AI cannot easily replicate and offers a key differentiator from traditional management: our human skills and, more importantly, our ability to unlock human potential.

This is where the concept of the manager as coach becomes not just a "nice-to-have" skill, but a survival imperative.

For decades, we have tolerated a structural weakness in our organisations: the "accidental manager". The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has found that most managers are promoted for being good at their day jobs, not for possessing the skills to lead. In fact, a staggering 82% of managers don’t receive any training or support to prepare them for the people-related aspects of their new roles.

In an AI-driven economy, we cannot afford to carry these untrained managers. They typically default to a "Command and Control" style, viewing their role as the "fixer" who solves every problem. This approach is disastrous: it kills productivity by creating bottlenecks and destroys engagement, with only 10% of UK workers actively engaged.

To survive, managers must shift their mindset. Understanding the role of the manager as coach means moving away from being the "owner" of the solution to becoming the "enabler" of the team. It isn't about becoming a professional executive coach; it is about integrating an Operational Coaching® style into daily interactions.

The modern workplace has become a pressure cooker. Between the rise of hybrid working, where 1 in 5 remote employees report chronic loneliness, and the demands of a multi-generational workforce, managers are breaking under the strain. Currently, 50% of managers report being burned out.

Coaching management skills are critical because the sheer volume of work required to "micro-manage" a team in the modern age is unsustainable. By adopting a coaching approach, managers can release the pressure valve. Managers who adopt an Operational Coaching® style report winning back 20% or more of their time. They use this time to focus on higher-value strategic work, innovation, and leading; the very things AI cannot do.

Furthermore, with Gen Z set to make up close to 30% of the workforce by 2026, the demand for this style is non-negotiable. This generation does not tolerate "bosses" who dictate; they crave meaningful work, autonomy, and managers who care about their development.

So, what does this look like in practice? Traditional training often fails because it teaches executive coaching models like GROW, which require formal, sit-down sessions that busy managers simply don't have time for.

Effective manager coaching skills must work in the flow of work. At the heart of this is the STAR® model; a behavioural tool designed for the heat of the moment to change our behaviour as managers. The STAR® model means:

• STOP (...Breaking the Habit): When a team member brings you a problem, instead of fixing it, STOP and bite your tongue. Step back and change state.
• THINK (... Increase Awareness): In that pause, THINK. Is this a "coachable moment"? Is the person open to learning? If yes, do not tell them what to do.
• ASK (...The Missing Superpower): This is where you differentiate yourself from AI. ASK a powerful question. Stop asking "Why is this happening?" (which implies blame) and start asking "What needs to happen?" Questions force the other person to think, reflect, and take ownership.
• RESULT (...Impact): Wrap up the interaction by agreeing on a next step to ensure accountability and decide how you’ll follow up to secure a RESULT.

These constitute the core examples of manager coaching skills that transform a 3-minute conversation by the coffee machine into a developmental moment.

Building a coaching culture isn't about sending a few executives on a retreat; it's about changing behaviour at scale. The evidence shows that Operational Coaching® is a commercially proven discipline that drives this cultural shift.

A large-scale, randomised controlled trial conducted by the London School of Economics (LSE), sponsored by the UK Government, put this to the test across 62 organisations. The results were irrefutable:

• Managers on the STAR® Manager programme increased the time they spent coaching team members in the flow of work by 70%.
• They improved their capabilities across all nine management competencies measured.
• Most impressively, each manager generated an average ROI of 74x for their organisation.
   

This data proves that when you embed these behaviours, you don't just get better managers; you build a culture of trust and autonomy where the team picks up the load.