Manager Tools

Coaching a Direct On Relationship Development - Part 1

37 min

This podcast episode from Manager Tools provides a structured guide for coaching a direct report on building relationship skills. It emphasizes using the Manager Tools coaching model—set a goal, brainstorm resources, create a plan, and act—with a week-by-week approach rather than a lengthy plan. The hosts highlight that coaching takes only 5–10 minutes per week and that managers should act as accountability partners, not trainers, to help their directs improve relationships incrementally.

Summarized by Podsumo

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✨ Key Takeaways

1

Coaching a direct on relationship development can be done in just 5–10 minutes per week, using a week-by-week plan instead of a six-month blueprint.
2

The Manager Tools coaching model has four collaborative steps: set a goal, brainstorm resources, create a plan, and act & report until the goal is achieved.
3

Managers do not need to be experts in the skill being coached; they should use external resources like classes, podcasts, or books for training.
4

For high performers lacking relationship skills, the goal is not to turn them into 'the life of the party' but to achieve a 10–20% improvement in specific, measurable behaviors.
5

The 'yellow brick road' analogy highlights that effective coaching builds the path one brick (one week) at a time, adjusting as you go.
6

Goals should use the 'DBQ' framework: deadline (minimum 4 months, ideally 8), behavior, and quality (measurable standard).

💬 Notable Quotes

"You swinging a golf club doesn't improve their swing. They have to do it themselves."
"To know and not to do is worthless for professionals."
"The most effective coaching processes that we've discovered is more like building the yellow brick road with only 10 bricks."