Manager Coaching
Turning experts into leaders.
Coaching managers and giving them tools to handle conflict, give feedback and lead high-performing teams independently.
The situation
Your best expert got promoted. Nobody taught them the job.
Technical excellence earns the promotion; leading people is a different craft.
- Feedback conversations get postponed until they become performance problems.
- Conflicts inside the team are managed by hoping they go away.
- The manager still does the expert work and delegates nothing.
- Founders and executives pull in different directions, and the team hears mixed signals.
The coaching
Practical tools, real situations, a coach in their corner.
No leadership theory marathon. We work on the conversations your managers are actually facing this month, give them a small set of tools that work, and stay available for the first hard calls.
- Individual coaching sessions built around real cases from the manager’s team.
- Tools for feedback, 1:1s, delegation, goal setting and conflict.
- Leadership alignment sessions for founders and executives.
- A clear path to independence: the goal is a manager who no longer needs us.
Scope
What’s included
A defined programme for one manager, a group of leads or the whole leadership team.
- 01
Individual coaching
Regular confidential sessions with each manager, structured around the situations they are facing right now.
- 02
Feedback & 1:1 toolkit
Simple frameworks for regular 1:1s, praise that lands and critical feedback that changes behaviour without damaging trust.
- 03
Conflict management
How to name tension early, run a difficult conversation and mediate between team members without taking sides.
- 04
Delegation & goal setting
Letting go of the expert work, setting clear goals and holding people accountable without micromanaging.
- 05
Team building
Working sessions with the whole team on roles, rituals and the rules of working together.
- 06
Leadership alignment
Sessions with founders and executives on goals, decision rules and the message the team should hear.
- 07
On-call support
A message in Slack before the hard conversation, a debrief after. Monday to Friday, 9-18 CET.
- 08
Progress review
A session at the end of the programme on what changed, what is still open and what the manager works on next, agreed with their own lead.
The process
How the coaching runs
A defined programme with a beginning and an end, not an open-ended subscription.
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Kick-off
Diagnose
Conversations with the managers and their leads to understand the real situations, not the job titles.
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Session 1
Agree the goals
Each manager sets two or three concrete goals for the programme, aligned with what the company needs from them.
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Sessions
Work the cases
Regular coaching built around live situations: a feedback conversation, a conflict, a delegation problem, a decision.
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In between
Practice & support
Managers apply the tools in their teams, with a coach available before and after the hard moments.
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Wrap-up
Independent
A review against the goals, a personal development plan and a manager who runs their team without us.
Fit check
Is this for you?
This is for you if…
- You promoted strong individual contributors into lead roles and want them to succeed.
- Managers in your company avoid feedback or conflict, and you can see it in the team.
- Your leadership team needs to align on goals and decision rules.
- You want practical coaching tied to real situations, not a generic training day.
Not for you if…
- You want a certificate-style leadership course for the whole company.
- The manager has already decided they do not want the role; coaching cannot replace that decision.
- You need a performance case or an exit handled; that is a task for the fractional partnership, with your legal counsel.
Deliverables
What you walk away with
Managers who lead, and the tools they will keep using.
- A coaching plan with two or three concrete goals per manager
- A feedback and 1:1 toolkit the manager actually uses
- A conflict playbook for the team’s typical situations
- Agreed team rituals and rules of working together
- Leadership alignment notes: goals, decision rules, one message
- A personal development plan for every manager at wrap-up
FAQ
Questions about the coaching
Is this coaching or training?
Mostly coaching: individual sessions built around real situations, with short tool inputs where needed. Team workshops are part of the programme when the whole team needs to align.
How long does a programme take?
Long enough to change habits, short enough to have an end: the length depends on the number of managers and the goals we agree in the kick-off. We tell you upfront what we recommend.
Can you coach our founders as well?
Yes. Leadership alignment sessions with founders and executives are part of the service, and individual coaching for founders is possible.
Is it confidential?
Individual sessions are confidential between the manager and the coach. The company sees the agreed goals and the progress against them, not the content of the conversations.
Which languages do you coach in?
English, German and Bulgarian. Mixed-language teams are common in our work, and materials can be provided in all three.
Does this replace a fractional HR partner?
No, it complements one. Coaching builds the managers; the fractional partnership builds the structures, policies and processes around them. Many clients combine both.
Let’s talk
Turn your experts into leaders their teams want to follow.
Tell us about your managers in a free 30-minute call. We suggest a programme that fits, or tell you if something simpler would do.