How employees feel today predicts how much their manager coaches them tomorrow.
A study by Stone, Nimon, and Ellinger, published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2024, surveyed 313 full-time U.S. employees at two points in time. The usual assumption is that coaching shapes how employees feel about their job. It turned out to run the other way, too: employees with clearer roles, higher job satisfaction, and stronger commitment later received more coaching from their managers.¹
Talent Takeaway: A manager who has stopped coaching may be reacting to the team rather than neglecting it. Look at the whole loop before you send them to training.
¹ Stone, K., Nimon, K., & Ellinger, A. D. (2024). Examining the predictive validity of a managerial coaching scale: A longitudinal study. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1277422
Further reading: Mowat, J. W., Haar, J., & Forsyth, D. (2025). The impact of formal workplace coaching on employee outcomes. Human Resource Development International, 29(2), 317–334. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2025.2549541