Managers wear multiple hats—and one of those is being a coach. Coaching is critical for team development, problem-solving, and improving workplace outcomes. However, coaching without a framework or tools can lead to missed opportunities for growth.
In this article, we’ll talk about some of the best coaching tools for managers and how they can support you in driving team success.
- Wheel of Life: Helps you evaluate life balance across key areas and set actionable goals for improvement.
- Tolerations Exercise: Guides you to identify and address small issues draining energy to improve focus.
- Big Rocks and Little Rocks: Helps you prioritize important goals over minor distractions
- Action Brainstorming Worksheet: Lets you reflect on habits to stop, continue, and start for personal growth
- Daily Success Habits: Supports you in creating small, impactful habits to boost performance and well-being.
- Action Priority Matrix: Helps you focus on high-impact tasks while minimizing low-value distractions.
- Boost Your Strengths Exercise: Highlights your existing strengths to foster a strengths-based culture.
- Self-Care Check-In: Helps you reflect on self-care needs and promote healthier work habits.
- Small Business Coaching Toolkit: Provides resources to simplify goal-setting, align team efforts, and improve collaboration.
- Monthly Client Review Form: Offers a way to reflect on accomplishments, priorities, and support needs for alignment.
1. Wheel of Life
This Wheel of Life template helps team members evaluate how balanced their lives are across areas such as workload, career growth, personal well-being, and relationships.
For example, if a team member scores low in “personal development,” you can work together to set actionable goals like attending a workshop or allocating time for skill-building. The categories can also be customized to reflect team-specific objectives, such as project milestones or collaboration effectiveness.
2. Tolerations (Clear Your Mind Exercise)
Help your team identify and address the small issues that drain their energy and focus using this Tolerations exercise. These could be things like unresolved conflicts, unclear processes, or recurring frustrations.
By using this tool, you can guide your team members to eliminate distractions, free up mental space, and help them to focus on what really matters.
3. Big Rocks and Little Rocks Exercise
Use this simple exercise to help your team understand the difference between their “big rocks” (important goals or key projects) and “little rocks” (minor tasks or distractions).
You can guide them to prioritize their time and energy on what truly matters, so they make progress on the big goals instead of getting lost in day-to-day tasks.
4. Action Brainstorming Coaching Worksheet
This brainstorming worksheet encourages reflection and brainstorming to drive improvement. Team members can identify behaviors to STOP (e.g., overcommitting), KEEP DOING (e.g., maintaining open communication), and START (e.g., delegating tasks).
It’s a great tool for wrapping up a project retrospective or coaching session, ensuring everyone leaves with clear, actionable takeaways.
5. Daily Success Habits Exercise
Help your team create small but powerful habits that lead to big changes in their performance and well-being. This habits exercise guides them to develop five new success habits that provide structure and focus for their daily activities.
By establishing habits that prioritize self-care and productivity, your team members will feel more energized, happier, and capable of tackling challenges.
6. Action Priority Matrix Tool
Action Priority Matrix Tool is ideal for breaking down tasks based on impact and effort. For example, a “Quick Win” could be automating a repetitive task, while a “Time Waster” might be attending a non-essential meeting.
The matrix provides clarity, helping team members focus their energy on high-impact activities while minimizing low-value distractions.
7. Boost Your Strengths Exercise
Instead of focusing on areas for improvement, Boost Your Strengths Exercise highlights what team members already do well. For instance, someone with strong problem-solving skills might brainstorm ways to take on more strategic projects.
This exercise is particularly useful during performance reviews or team-building activities, as it fosters a strengths-based culture.
Also, check out this Love Your Weaknesses Reframe Exercise.
8. Self-Care Check-In and Needs Review
Using this Self-Care Check-In and Needs Review team members can reflect on areas where they need better self-care, such as physical health, mental well-being, or work boundaries.
For example, someone who feels burned out might identify the need for regular lunch breaks or better delegation of tasks. This tool promotes healthier, more sustainable work habits and is a great addition to wellness initiatives.
9. Small Business Coaching Toolkit
For managers who oversee small teams or wear multiple hats, this Small Business Coaching Toolkit offers 30 tools to streamline productivity, goal-setting, and stress management.
You can use these resources to set quarterly goals with your team, track progress, align individual efforts with the company’s overall vision, and more. It’s especially useful for managing priorities and fostering collaboration in small business settings.
10. Monthly Client Review and Feedback Form
Use this Monthly Client Review and Feedback Form to check in with your team and ensure everyone is aligned with their priorities and needs. It helps team members reflect on what they’ve accomplished, what they value most, and what support they need moving forward.
Conclusion
Coaching is a key responsibility for managers, and tools like those from The Coaching Tools Company provide the structure needed for success. Here’s a summary of the coaching resources we’ve talked about —explore these tools and find the right fit for your team:
- Wheel of Life: Helps you evaluate life balance across key areas and set actionable goals for improvement.
- Tolerations Exercise: Guides you to identify and address small issues draining energy to improve focus.
- Big Rocks and Little Rocks: Helps you prioritize important goals over minor distractions
- Action Brainstorming Worksheet: Lets you reflect on habits to stop, continue, and start for personal growth
- Daily Success Habits: Supports you in creating small, impactful habits to boost performance and well-being.
- Action Priority Matrix: Helps you focus on high-impact tasks while minimizing low-value distractions.
- Boost Your Strengths Exercise: Highlights your existing strengths to foster a strengths-based culture.
- Self-Care Check-In: Helps you reflect on self-care needs and promote healthier work habits.
- Small Business Coaching Toolkit: Provides resources to simplify goal-setting, align team efforts, and improve collaboration.
- Monthly Client Review Form: Offers a way to reflect on accomplishments, priorities, and support needs for alignment.
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