{"id":7037,"date":"2026-10-31T09:33:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T08:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.capkelenn.com\/?p=7037"},"modified":"2026-10-31T09:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T08:33:08","slug":"manager-coach-coaching-your-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.capkelenn.com\/en\/blog\/manager-coach-coaching-your-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Manager coach: training your managers to coach their team, not to become coaches"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Your managers know the offer, the customers and the numbers. Their team members often have more resources than they show: ideas, drive, and the ability to find their own solutions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Since 2009, in stores and in B2B sales teams alike, we have seen the same thing: with manager coach skills, a manager unlocks their team members’ potential by giving them responsibility and initiative over their own actions.<\/strong> That is what being a manager coach<\/em> is about.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Manager coach: what are we talking about?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A manager coach (also called a leader-coach) is a manager who develops their team through questions, listening and feedback, in service of sales performance. It is not about becoming a professional coach, or having a third party coach your managers: we train managers to coach their own team, day to day.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What a manager coach is<\/th>What a manager coach is not<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
A manager who asks questions so the salesperson finds their own solution<\/td>An external professional coach<\/td><\/tr>
A short, regular ritual built into the life of the store or team<\/td>A personal development session disconnected from the numbers<\/td><\/tr>
One-to-ones focused on the salesperson’s KPIs and commitments<\/td>Coaching that is purely individual and away from the field<\/td><\/tr>
A multiplier: every trained manager helps their whole team grow<\/td>A manager who decides and acts in place of their team<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The one-to-ones a manager coach runs do not replace team work: they go hand in hand with briefings, team meetings and retail games<\/em> or sales games<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What coaching their team changes for a manager<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Taking a coaching stance with the team does not only benefit salespeople: the manager gains too. The managers we work with often describe the same benefits.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1. Leaving the initiative to the team<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

At SFR, a store manager sums up her journey like this:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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\u201cStepping back from a team member’s behaviour. Letting go and being patient. Moving from rescuer mode to manager-coach mode.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

By stepping back, the manager lets the team member look for, and own, their own solutions. They support the analysis without deciding for them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

2. Feedback changes hands<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A Louis Vuitton manager in North America notes:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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\u201cMy CAs are no longer making changes based on my feedback. Instead, they are giving themselves that feedback.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It is the clearest sign that a team has become more autonomous: salespeople can assess their own sale.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

3. A team that runs without you<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

At Yellow Korner, a gallery manager felt the benefit very concretely: going on holiday with peace of mind, knowing her team would run the gallery without her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

That is the heart of the manager coach stance: team members who take initiative and responsibility for their actions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

3 habits to start coaching tomorrow<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

You do not need to wait for a training programme to try the manager coach stance. In your next one-to-one, check these three points.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1. Who talks the most? Aim for 30\/70<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In a coaching conversation, the manager talks about 30% of the time and the team member 70%. If you do most of the talking, you hand out solutions instead of letting them find their own.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Start with open questions: \u201cHow did your week go?\u201d, \u201cWhat worked well?\u201d, \u201cWhat would you do differently?\u201d. Then let the silence do its work.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

2. Is the setting right?<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A coaching conversation does not happen between two customers, in the middle of the shop floor. Before you start, check for:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n