Top 10 coaching tips for first time people managers

Stepping into a first management role is in equal parts exciting and daunting. You're no longer just responsible for your own output; you're now accountable for developing, supporting, inspiring and enabling others' performance, whether that's one person or an entire team.

Yet the skills and techniques you need to manage effectively, let's call this "management capability", isn't instinctive. What makes someone successful as an individual contributor, whether their technical expertise and personal productivity or their natural flair for problem-solving, doesn't automatically translate into effective people leadership. Most first-time managers find themselves navigating unfamiliar territory: conducting performance related 1:1s, giving feedback, addressing performance issues, balancing team needs with organisational priorities and strategic direction. 

None of this is necessarily taught. Yes, training in some instances might be provided, but more often than not, you're promoted based on your technical skills and expected to somehow instinctively know how to manage people.

Coaching is the skillset that transforms managers from task-delegators into performance enablers. It's what gives new managers the confidence to have meaningful conversations, the capability to unlock their team's potential and the toolkit to deliver better business outcomes.

What is coaching?

Coaching is a conversational approach that focuses on asking questions rather than giving answers. Instead of telling employees what to do, coaching managers guide their team members to identify their own solutions, remove their own obstacles and develop their own capabilities.

At its core, coaching is about unlocking potential. It's a structured way of having conversations that helps employees think more deeply, gain clarity, and take ownership of their development and performance. For first-time managers, coaching provides a framework for 1:1s with their direct reports that looks beyond task management to facilitate meaningful discussions about growth, motivation, wellbeing and goals/objectives.

The shift from "doing the work" to "enabling others to do the work" requires a different approach and coaching is the foundation of that capability.

Why coaching matters for new managers

Traditional management focuses on monitoring output and delegating tasks. Coaching-led management focuses on understanding what drives that output and how to improve it.

For first-time managers, adopting a coaching mindset can help to address several common challenges:

• Confidence in difficult conversations: Coaching provides structure for discussing sensitive topics like underperformance, wellbeing concerns or career development
• Avoiding micromanagement: By asking questions instead of giving constant direction, you empower your team to work autonomously
• Building trust quickly: Employees who feel heard and supported are more engaged and productive
• Understanding the whole person: Coaching helps you see beyond task completion to understand individual motivators, challenges and their potential

The 1:1 conversation is your most powerful tool as a manager when you bring a coaching approach to it. Regular, structured coaching conversations increase job satisfaction, reduce turnover and create a culture where people feel valued and enabled to do their best work.

Common mistakes first-time managers make (and how coaching helps)

1. Trying to have all the answers

New managers often feel they need to solve every problem and know every answer. Coaching shifts this dynamic: instead of being the expert, you become the guide who helps employees find their own solutions. This builds their capability and your credibility.

2. Focusing only on tasks and outputs instead of understanding your people

As a new manager it's easy to view 1:1s or monthly check-ins with your direct reports as a meeting primarily for status updates. You walk in with your list of questions about deliverables and walk out feeling productive, but nothing's really changed. They might feel supported in the first instance, but ultimatly they're left feeling unheard. 

Coaching instead shifts the focus to what matters: understanding why someone is or might not be performing to the best of their ability, what motivates them and what obstacles they face. This means you're helping to address root causes as a manager, not just sticking a plaster on the symptoms.

3. Avoiding difficult conversations

Whether it's underperformance, interpersonal conflict, or wellbeing concerns, new managers often delay tough discussions. A coaching-led approach to tackling challenging conversations gives you the confidence and structure to address issues early, before they escalate.

4. Not managing upwards or across

Many first-time managers focus solely on their direct reports, neglecting relationships with senior leaders and peer managers, or they flip this around, spending all their energy managing upwards while their team feels unsupported. Effective coaching includes understanding organisational context, advocating for your team and building the cross-functional relationships that enable better outcomes. You need to navigate in three directions: leading your people, partnering with peers and aligning with senior leadership.

5. Making assumptions instead of listening

It's tempting to presume you know what an employee needs based on their output. Coaching requires you to set assumptions aside, ask questions, and truly listen. Often revealing challenges or opportunities you would have otherwise missed.

Top 10 coaching tips for first-time managers

1. Prepare your mindset before you approach the conversation

Coaching starts before the conversation begins. Review previous 1:1 notes, understand key metrics, and look at any agenda items the employee has shared, but don't let this preparation become a script you stick to rigidly.

The most important preparation is mental: go into each conversation as a manager ready to listen, ask questions, and be genuinely curious about what your employee has to say. First-time managers often feel pressure to control the conversation. Resist this. Your role is to create the space for an open, honest discussion where the employee feels comfortable raising what matters most to them.

First-timer tip: If you feel nervous, that's normal. Focus on asking good questions rather than having perfect answers.

2. Let the employee set (and own) the agenda

One of the biggest shifts from individual contributor to manager is recognising that 1:1s are the employee's meeting, not yours. While you may have items to discuss, the primary agenda should come from them.

Encourage your direct reports to prepare talking points in advance: what's working well, what challenges they're facing, what support they need, and what they want to discuss about their development or wellbeing.

A clear agenda helps the conversation stay focused and ensures you're addressing what matters most to the employee. As a first-time manager, this approach also takes pressure off you to fill the entire conversation. You're there to coach, not to monologue.

First-timer tip: If an employee shows up unprepared, don't fill the silence by talking at them. Ask: "What's been on your mind this week?" or "What would be most helpful to talk about today?"

3. Master the art of active listening (really listening)

This is perhaps the most critical coaching skill for new managers and the hardest to master. Listening isn't just waiting for your turn to speak. It's actively focusing on what the employee is saying, asking clarifying questions, and being present in the conversation.

Leave your preconceptions at the door. A high-performing employee might be close to burnout. Someone who seems disengaged might be dealing with personal challenges. You won't know unless you truly listen.

Intentional, active listening in 1:1s is how you get an accurate picture of each team member's wellbeing, engagement and performance.

First-timer tip: Try this, after the employee shares something, pause for two seconds before responding. This gives them space to add more and stops you from jumping in too quickly.

4. Ask powerful questions instead of giving instructions

New managers often default to telling people what to do. It's faster, it feels more 'managerial,' and it's what you're used to. But coaching is about developing their capability and while asking questions takes longer in the moment, it builds autonomy that saves you time in the long run.

Instead of: "Here's how you should handle that client situation..." Try: "What options have you considered?" or "What do you think would be the most effective approach?"

Powerful questions help employees think more deeply, take ownership of solutions, and develop problem-solving skills. Over time, this reduces your workload and increases their confidence and autonomy.

Some effective coaching questions:

• "What's getting in your way?"
• "What would success look like?"
• "What support do you need from me?"
• "If you could change one thing, what would it be?"

First-timer tip: If someone looks to you for the answer, resist the urge to give it immediately. Ask: "What do you think?" first.

5. Identify individual motivational drivers

Not everyone is motivated by the same things. Some people are driven by recognition, others by autonomy, career progression, financial reward, or work-life balance. Assuming what drives your team will always be less effective than asking them directly.

Use 1:1s to strengthen your relationships and understanding of what matters to each person, both at work and outside it. What are their career goals? What kind of work energises them? What do they value most about their role? What would make work feel more fulfilling?

When you understand these drivers, you can coach employees toward opportunities and outcomes that align with what motivates them. 

First-timer tip: Try asking: "What does success mean to you, not just in this role, but in your career overall?" The answers might surprise you.

6. Check in on wellbeing meaningfully

There's a difference between asking "How are you?" in passing and genuinely assessing someone's wellbeing. First-time managers often skip wellbeing discussions entirely, feeling it's too personal or uncomfortable. But wellbeing directly impacts performance, and your role includes creating an environment where people can thrive.

Prepare questions that open up dialogue rather than inviting one-word answers. Consider using a simple scale: "On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your wellbeing this week?" Then follow up: "What's contributing to that?" or "What would move that number up?"

This approach makes wellbeing measurable and trackable, and it signals to your team that you care about them as whole people, not just their output.

First-timer tip: If someone shares a wellbeing concern, don't try to fix it immediately. Sometimes people just need to be heard. Ask: "What would be most helpful for you right now?"

7. Set clear, SMART actions together

Coaching conversations without actionable outcomes don't drive performance. After discussing challenges, goals or development areas, work with the employee to set clear actions using a SMART goals framework:

• Specific: What exactly will be done?
• Measurable: How will you know it's complete?
• Achievable: Is this realistic given current workload and resources?
• Relevant: Does this action address the issue or goal discussed?
• Time-bound: When will this be completed or reviewed?

As a first-time manager, SMART goals give you a structured way to turn conversations into tangible outcomes. They also provide a reference point for the next 1:1, creating continuity and accountability.

The GROW framework is another excellent coaching tool that works alongside SMART goals:

• Goal: What do you want to achieve?
• Reality: Where are you now?
• Options: What could you do?
• Way forward: What will you do?

First-timer tip: Write actions down during the conversation and share them afterwards. This creates shared accountability and clarity.

8. Give balanced feedback: recognition and development

First-time managers often struggle with feedback, either avoiding it entirely or focusing only on what needs to improve. Effective coaching requires both.

Recognition: Regularly acknowledge what people are doing well. Be specific: instead of "great job," try "your approach to that stakeholder meeting was excellent, you anticipated their concerns and had solutions ready." This reinforces positive behaviors and builds confidence.

Constructive feedback: When something isn't working, address it promptly and clearly. Focus on the behaviour, not the person, and make it actionable: "I noticed the report missed some key data points. Let's talk about how we can strengthen the analysis next time."

Balanced feedback keeps people motivated while supporting their development. It also normalises feedback as an ongoing part of working together, rather than something that only happens when there's a problem.

First-timer tip: People develop best when they understand both what to keep doing and what to change. If you're only ever pointing out problems, you're not coaching, you're criticising.

9. Be the bridge, not the barrier

One of the most valuable insights from experienced managers is this: your role is to connect leadership and your team, not block one from the other.

As a first-time manager, you're navigating three directions:

• Downward: Leading and coaching your direct reports
• Upward: Managing your relationship with senior leaders and understanding organizational priorities
• Across: Building relationships with peer managers and other departments

Effective coaching includes translating organisational strategy into meaningful work for your team, while communicating team realities back to leadership. You're an advocate for your team's needs, a buffer against unnecessary bureaucracy, and a connector to resources and opportunities.

This means learning to "speak the language" of your organisation (understanding how decisions are made, when to escalate issues, and how to get buy-in from senior stakeholders). It also means protecting your team from chaos while still keeping them informed, productive and aligned.

First-timer tip: Build relationships with peer managers early. They're invaluable allies when you need to navigate resources, resolve cross-team challenges, or understand organisational dynamics.

10. Capture and track key discussion points

Every 1:1 should have a record. By keeping a record of conversation, it becomes an effective coaching tool that drives accountability, tracks long-term development and provides continuity between conversations.

At a minimum, document:

• Key discussion points
• Actions agreed (with owners and deadlines)
• Any wellbeing concerns or flags
• Progress on previous actions

For first-time managers, good note-taking also builds your confidence. When you can see patterns over time, what's improving, what's recurring, what actions worked, you develop better instincts about how to coach effectively.

First-timer tip: Keep notes simple and action-focused. You don't need to transcribe the entire conversation but make sure to capture the outcomes and commitments.

Building coaching capability takes time (and support)

Coaching is a learned skill, not an instinctive one. As a first-time manager, give yourself permission to develop these capabilities over time. Every 1:1 is an opportunity to practice, refine your approach and build confidence.

The good news? You don't have to figure it all out alone. Platforms like OpenBlend are designed to support managers in developing coaching capability, providing structured frameworks, conversation prompts, and tools that guide you through effective 1:1s. From setting agendas and tracking actions to addressing wellbeing and development, the right support system can accelerate your growth as a coaching manager.

Remember: With each conversation, you're building the capability and confidence to unlock your team's full potential and that's what great management looks like.