Coaching Session Plan & Checklist (manager-as-coach)

Purpose

This session plan helps managers and mentors run consistent, development-focused coaching conversations that increase autonomy, capability, and alignment. Use the structure below as a reliable routine you can adapt for different people, goals, and timeboxes.

Before the session — quick checklist (2–3 minutes)

• Review the coachee's recent work, notes from prior sessions, and any agreed measures.
• Set an intention: what outcome would make this meeting valuable for the coachee?
• Create psychological safety: ensure privacy, confirm time available, and state confidentiality boundaries as needed.

Template agenda (30–45 minutes)

1. Opening (3 minutes)

   Purpose: orient and create psychological safety.

   • State the session purpose briefly (e.g., "Clarify next steps on X").
   • Ask a quick safety check: "How comfortable are you to be candid today? Anything I should know about how to support you?"
2. Discovery (10–12 minutes)

   Purpose: listen and surface the real issue, assumptions, and impact.

   • Open with a powerful question: "What's most important to address right now?"
   • Use open prompts: "Tell me what happened, what you tried, and what you noticed."
   • Practice active listening: reflect content and emotion, ask one clarifying question at a time.
   • Notice whether the coachee is seeking advice or exploration; mirror that need before shifting approach.
3. Options (8–10 minutes)

   Purpose: generate, test, and narrow practical options for action.

   • Invite brainstorming: "What are three possible ways you could approach this?"
   • Help test assumptions: ask, "What would you expect to happen? What might get in the way?"
   • Prioritize by impact and feasibility: "Which option moves you forward and is doable this week?"
4. Commitments (5 minutes)

   Purpose: convert options into clear, owned actions.

   • Agree on a specific next step, a measure of success, and who owns it.
   • Use the format: Action — By when — How I will know it's working.
   • Confirm support needed from the manager (resources, time, feedback) and commit to when you'll check in.
5. Follow-up & close (1–2 minutes)

   Purpose: end with clarity and schedule accountability.

   • Summarize commitments aloud and ask the coachee to restate them.
   • Schedule the next check-in and note any required documentation or sharing.

Scoring rubric (use quickly during or after the session)

Score 1–5 where 1 = urgent dependence / low, 5 = independent / strong.

• Autonomy
  1. Relies on manager for next steps and decisions.
  2. Needs frequent direction; tentative ownership.
  3. Shows some ownership but seeks confirmation.
  4. Mostly independent; asks for input selectively.
  5. Proactively owns outcomes and anticipates obstacles.
• Skill (confidence in ability)
  1. Significant gaps; requires training to proceed.
  2. Basic capability but inconsistent in execution.
  3. Competent with occasional errors; can improve with feedback.
  4. Strong capability; occasional coaching useful for refinement.
  5. Advanced skill; capable of mentoring others.
• Motivation
  1. Low engagement; resistant to task or role.
  2. Reluctant but complies when prompted.
  3. Generally motivated; occasional dips in energy.
  4. Engaged and willing to stretch for growth.
  5. Highly motivated and inspires others.

Use these scores to prioritize follow-up actions (e.g., training for low skill, autonomy experiments for low autonomy, purpose conversations for low motivation).

Short follow-up note template (to copy into your notes)

Session date: [date]   Coachee: [name]

• Focus / challenge discussed: [one-line summary]
• Key insight(s): [bullet]
• Agreed action: [action — owner — by when — success measure]
• Rubric scores (A/S/M): [e.g., 3 / 4 / 3]
• Manager support committed: [what you'll provide]
• Next check-in: [date/time]

Adaptations & tips

• 15-minute check-in: skip broad discovery; focus on progress update, roadblocks, one quick choice, and a single commitment.
• 60-minute deep coach: extend discovery and options, include role-play, or work through complex decision matrices.
• When tempted to give answers, pause and ask two exploratory questions first—this builds thinking, not dependency.
• Use the rubric as a conversation starter, not a judgment. Share scores with the coachee to co-create development plans.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Turning the session into a status update — keep the focus on the person's growth and choices.
• Over-prescribing next steps — prefer experiments the coachee can own.
• Skipping the follow-up — without scheduled accountability, momentum is lost.

How this serves the Hunger

This template targets managers' hunger for reliable practices that help people grow, take ownership, and solve problems independently while staying aligned to goals. It reduces wasted time and builds consistent capability over repeated cycles.