Manager or Coach? Shifting Mindsets for Better Leadership

One of the questions we hear more and more often is this: Do we need more managers, or more coaches?

It’s a good question—but perhaps not the most useful one. Because in today’s work environment, it’s not really about choosing one over the other. It’s about evolving the way we lead. We’ve moved past the days of top-down command and control. Today, collaboration, adaptability, and empathy are what drive results.

A coaching mindset isn’t just a leadership trend. It’s becoming a competitive advantage.

At YellowSpark, we’ve worked with several companies that were keen to upskill their managers. But what many discovered along the way was that the real gap wasn’t just in skills. It was in the mindset. When managers shift from being taskmasters to people enablers, teams don’t just function better — they thrive.

Let’s take a closer look at how this shift plays out, why it matters, and how organisations can build it into their culture.

What’s the Real Difference Between a Manager and a Coach?

Managers are expected to get things done—meet deadlines, ensure quality, follow processes. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is how those outcomes are achieved.

The manager’s toolkit has expanded. Today’s leaders need to guide and support, not just instruct and monitor. Coaching isn’t about stepping back. It’s about stepping in—with intention. When leaders coach, they don’t lose control—they build capability, accountability, and ownership across their teams.

Why Coaching Matters Now More Than Ever

Three shifts are pushing the coaching mindset to the forefront:

1. People are looking for meaning, not just money

Employees want growth. They want their work to matter. In many of our sessions, we hear people—especially younger professionals—talk about the importance of learning, personal progress, and purpose.

A manager who knows how to coach can tap into those motivations, align them with business goals, and keep people engaged for the long haul.

2. Change is constant

No one leader can have all the answers anymore. Coaching builds a problem-solving culture—where teams know how to figure things out, not just wait for direction. That kind of mindset is essential in a fast-moving environment.

3. Burnout is real

Pressuring people to do more with less may work in the short term—but it’s not sustainable. Coaching helps create the psychological safety needed for honest conversations around workload, stress, and capacity.

The Most Common Barriers to Coaching

Many managers hesitate when they hear the word “coach.” Here’s what we often hear:

“I don’t have time.”

“I still have to deliver results.”

“What if people misuse the freedom?”

These concerns are valid. But they usually stem from two misunderstandings:

1. Coaching isn’t a separate activity

You don’t need to schedule formal 1-hour coaching sessions. You can coach in the moment—through the way you ask questions, delegate tasks, or offer feedback.

For example, shifting from “Do it this way” to “How would you approach it?” might take a few extra seconds, but it builds ownership and confidence over time.

2. Most managers haven’t been taught how

Many first-time managers are promoted because they were good at the job—not necessarily because they’re good with people. Without guidance, they fall back on top-down habits they’ve seen before. This is where organisations can really make a difference—by providing practical tools, mentoring, and modelling.

How to Shift from Managing to Coaching

Here are five simple but powerful changes that help managers embrace a coaching mindset:

1. Ask More, Tell Less

Good coaching starts with curiosity. Managers don’t need to have all the answers—they need to ask the right questions.

Try swapping instructions for open-ended prompts. Instead of saying, “Fix this by Friday,” try asking, “What do you think is holding this up?” or “What’s your plan for tackling this?”

At one company we worked with, a team lead began running short weekly check-ins—not to give updates, but to share blockers and request support. Within a few months, team members became more proactive, and issues got resolved faster.

2. Build in Time to Reflect

After major projects or even everyday challenges, create space for the team to look back and learn. It doesn’t need to be a formal meeting. A short discussion on what went well and what could improve can build accountability without blame.

This habit encourages teams to reflect, iterate, and grow—without waiting for a performance review.

3. Stretch Your Team — But Support Them Too

Coaching isn’t about being soft. It’s about knowing when to challenge and when to cushion.

It means recognising when someone is ready for more responsibility and when they’re just overwhelmed. Having an honest check-in like “What are you struggling with?” or “What’s making this difficult?” can open up useful conversations.

One finance lead we worked with noticed a star performer suddenly missing deadlines. Instead of jumping to conclusions, she asked what was going on. He was dealing with a personal emergency. A little flexibility helped him recover, and the trust it built paid off long-term.

4. Make Feedback Part of the Routine

Don’t wait for performance reviews to give feedback. Coaching leaders make it part of the day-to-day.

Share what went well. Call out what could be better. And always connect it to the next step. “Here’s what worked. Here’s something to improve. What might you try next time?”

One senior manager we supported made this a practice after every presentation—just a 5-minute one-on-one to discuss one strength and one suggestion. Presentation quality and team confidence improved within weeks.

5. Keep Learning as a Leader

You can’t expect your team to grow if you’re not growing yourself.

Whether it’s through leadership workshops, peer learning, or regular feedback, the best managers make time to reflect on their own style. When leaders are open to learning, it creates a culture where growth becomes everyone’s responsibility.

At YellowSpark, we often begin our coaching programmes by helping managers examine their own behaviours and beliefs—because that’s where lasting change starts.

Make Coaching a Culture, Not Just a Skill

If the coach mindset is only practised by a few people, it will only take you so far. For lasting impact, the organisation needs to support it with structures and habits.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Regular check-ins that go beyond tasks and cover career aspirations
• Performance conversations that focus on growth, not just gaps
• Recognition for managers who foster high-trust, high-growth teams
• Metrics that reward leadership, not just execution
• Internal communities or coaching circles to learn from one another.
  This isn’t about big budgets. It’s about clarity, commitment, and consistency.

The question isn’t manager or coach anymore. It’s “What kind of leader do we want to be?”

Being a coach doesn’t replace being a manager. It deepens it. It adds dimension. It turns a focus on tasks into a focus on people.

And when that happens, something shifts. Teams become more engaged. They start solving problems on their own. And work becomes more meaningful—for everyone.

This shift won’t happen overnight. But with the right mindset, tools, and support, any manager can begin to lead with a coaching lens.

At YellowSpark, we’ve seen it happen across industries, across team sizes, across leadership levels, and in our own team as well. And we believe that with the right nudge, any manager can become a better leader—one thoughtful question at a time.

Want to help your managers make this shift? Write to us at contact@yellowspark.in

Author Profile: Deepam Yogi is an adventurer at heart, socially conscious in her gut and professionally a strategic consultant. She co-founded Yellow Spark to support organisations to build workplaces that people love being a part of. Deepam describes herself as a shy yet opinionated writer and firmly believes that most answers to complex issues lie in simple communication.