Many business leaders tell me that the number one reason they don’t coach their managers more is because they have no idea know where to start. They know coaching is important and effective, but they also know that it requires focus and time, which never seems to be on their side.

Consequently, coaching the coaches often falls low on the list. Sure, we feel like we should do something, so we send managers to a training class, assign special development projects, or recommend the latest leadership book with the hope that something will stick. But in the end, this type of effort is much like trying to find your campsite in the woods at night—without a map.

Consider this story

Last year, my two sons and I had carefully planned our annual camping trip. We had packed the truck bed to the top bedrail with firewood, camp chairs, and sleeping bags. We had looked forward to the many hours spent fishing, hiking, roasting marshmallows, and solving the problems of the world around a roaring campfire. And in typical, I took extra time to pack the coolest gear, but neglected to bring the exact directions to our campsite.

It was approaching dusk as we pulled into the park area. Nevertheless, I felt I was in the right area...sort of. “I think it’s along this next road,” I assured the boys as we bounced down the dirt path surrounded by tall pines and thick brush.

“Don’t you have directions?” asked my firstborn. Being young, he didn’t understand that directions consisting of anything more than gut instinct and the familiar markings on an old oak tree were for rookie campers—not experienced veterans like his dear old dad.

“Nah. I’ve got a gut feeling where we should go.”

As the moon began to take its place in the evening sky, we continued to wander. A right turn here, a left turn there. After about 45 minutes of meandering through the woods, my oldest pointed out a trail marker that alerted us to the fact that our campsite was just a short hike away.

“Good job son! I knew we would find it sooner or later.” In this case the sooner had long passed, and we were well into the later.

A bit of advice

Bottom line: You’ll get there faster if you know where you want to go. But first, you need to know where you’re starting from. It’s the same with creating effective managers. We need to know where that manager is today, so we can coach them to where they need to go tomorrow.

For some time now, I’ve been using a unique tool called the Individual Coaching Assessment (IA) scale to do just that. This scale is generated by a questionnaire that measures a manager's ability to develop direct reports from three critical perspectives:

• the manager's own perspective

• her supervisor's perspective

• her direct reports’ perspective. 

The tool assesses four key coaching factors: credibility, desire, skill, and capacity. It also assesses two performance indicators representing the unique circumstances of a manager's position: the climate within the team, and the team's image, or perceived value to its internal and external customers.

So, before you run off into the woods with the hopes of making your managers better coaches, it’s important to grab yourself a tried-and-tested map, to guide your efforts. Take it from me: the return-on-investment is more than worth it.