Over recent years, growing evidence demonstrates the value of coaching in organisations. Employee surveys consistently show that people want more coaching opportunities, whilst research reveals that companies with higher engagement levels maintain strong coaching cultures.
Coaching is clearly an essential skill for managers and leaders. However, during leadership workshops, a common frustration emerges: managers repeatedly giving team members the same direction over and over. This leads to a frequently asked question: “When is it most appropriate to coach someone versus giving them direction?”
This guide explores when to use each approach and introduces a practical framework for making these decisions confidently.
Understanding Coaching vs Direction
What is Coaching?
Leadership expert Sir John Whitmore provides an excellent definition: “Coaching is unlocking people’s potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.”
When coaching, managers act as facilitators who guide individuals to discover solutions and develop their capabilities independently. The focus is on asking questions that prompt thinking rather than simply providing answers.
What is Direction?
From a management perspective, direction involves providing clear instructions on what needs to be accomplished and how to complete it. This might apply to specific tasks or skill development. Direction offers structured guidance and explicit expectations about procedures, systems, and outcomes.
The Benefits of Each Approach
The truth is that the most effective managers judge when it’s appropriate to direct and when to coach. Both approaches have huge value, and team performance is maximised when both are used strategically.
Benefits of Coaching
For Individuals:
- Empowers people and encourages them to take responsibility whilst supporting greater self-reliance
- Increases engagement, resulting in improved job satisfaction and overall life satisfaction
- Improves individual performance and contribution towards achieving objectives
- Develops accountability for actions and commitments
- Supports more efficient and productive collaboration with colleagues, managers, and stakeholders
For Organisations:
- Helps identify and develop high-potential employees
- Creates a culture of continuous learning and development
- Reduces dependency on managers for routine problem-solving
- Builds stronger problem-solving capabilities across teams
Benefits of Direction
Direction also offers valuable advantages in appropriate circumstances:
- Allows individuals to complete tasks exactly as required to accomplish specific objectives
- Ensures procedures are followed correctly and systems are used appropriately
- Provides time-saving solutions when managers face tight deadlines
- Enables managers to maintain control over critical situations or task completion methods
- Allows effective management of high-risk situations requiring precise execution
When to Coach: Using the Skill Will Matrix
The most effective approach for determining when to coach utilises the Skill Will Matrix, introduced by Max Landsberg in “The Tao of Coaching”. This framework evaluates both capability (skill) and motivation (will) levels¹.
Coaching Situations
Apply coaching techniques when:
High Skill, Low Will – The person possesses necessary skills but lacks motivation or confidence. Coaching helps uncover what’s blocking their motivation and builds confidence in their abilities.
Moderate Skill, High Will – The individual has basic competencies and strong motivation. Coaching supports further skill development whilst leveraging their enthusiasm to accelerate learning.
External Circumstances – When external factors are impacting someone’s ability to complete tasks effectively, coaching helps them work through these challenges and find solutions.
Potential Development – When you recognise someone has untapped potential, coaching unlocks capabilities they may not realise they possess.
When to Give Direction
Direction works best in these situations:
Low Skill, Variable Will – The person lacks necessary knowledge or skills to complete specific tasks. No amount of questioning will help if they genuinely don’t know the answer. Direction and training are essential first steps.
New Team Members – People new to your team require structured guidance and clear expectations about how things work, even if they’re experienced in their field.
New Systems or Processes – Experienced employees learning new systems, processes, or developing unfamiliar skills need direction and training before coaching becomes effective.
Compliance and Safety – Situations requiring immediate compliance with established procedures or safety protocols demand clear direction rather than exploratory coaching conversations.
Urgent Deadlines – When time is critically short and getting the task completed correctly matters more than the learning opportunity, direction is appropriate.
Evaluating Your Current Approach
Take time to reflect honestly on how you’re using these two management approaches. Consider these questions:
Are you repeatedly answering the same questions from team members? If so, it’s time to stop. Stop answering their questions and start coaching them through the problem-solving process instead.
Are you trying to coach someone who lacks fundamental knowledge? There’s no wonder they struggle to answer your coaching questions if they don’t have the basic information needed. In these situations, provide direction and training first, then move to coaching as their knowledge develops.
Do you default to one approach regardless of the situation? Some managers always direct because it feels faster. Others always coach because they believe it’s the “right” leadership style. Effective leadership requires strategic use of both approaches.
The Decision-Making Framework
Before interacting with a team member about a task or challenge, ask yourself:
- What is the specific task or objective?
- What is their current skill and knowledge level for this task?
- How motivated and confident are they?
- What are the time constraints and risk factors?
Based on these factors, determine whether coaching or direction will be most effective in this specific situation.
This assessment takes seconds once you’ve practised it, but it dramatically improves the appropriateness of your management approach.
Developing Your Coaching Skills
Many technical managers excel at giving direction but feel less confident with coaching approaches. This is understandable, given that most people reached management positions through technical expertise rather than people development training.
The good news is that coaching skills can be developed with practice. Start by:
Asking More Questions – Instead of immediately providing answers, try asking “What do you think?” or “What have you already tried?” before giving direction.
Being Comfortable with Silence – After asking a question, resist the urge to fill the silence. Give people time to think through their response.
Building on Their Ideas – Even if their initial answer isn’t perfect, explore it further before redirecting. This develops their thinking and shows you value their input.
Recognising Progress – Acknowledge when team members solve problems independently, reinforcing the behaviour you want to see more of.
Frequently Asked Questions About When to Coach
Making Strategic Leadership Choices
Mastering when to coach versus when to direct is fundamental to effective leadership in technical environments. The Skill Will Matrix provides a practical framework for making these decisions confidently, whilst understanding the benefits of each approach helps you develop comprehensive management capabilities.
Remember that the most successful leaders strategically combine both methods. They recognise that different situations and individuals require different responses. Someone who needs direction on a new technical system might benefit from coaching on how to manage competing priorities or build stakeholder relationships.
The goal isn’t to always coach or always direct. The goal is to choose the right approach for each situation, developing both your team’s capabilities and your own leadership effectiveness.