Coaching cadence

A coaching cadence makes improvement repeatable. Put the work on the calendar, give each session a narrow job, and return to the same skill until the behavior appears in live work. Repeating the process teaches people its framework and process.¹ A consistent rhythm tells representatives what to expect from their manager.²

Build the schedule

Decide what must recur and what each rhythm is for. Keep the schedule easy to recognize from week to week, while leaving room to target the development work in front of the person.

Set coaching on a defined cadence and make it part of the regular operating rhythm.^{3, 4} A recurring one-to-one is probably the most important coaching rhythm between a manager and a rep, so use it as the anchor.⁵

Start with about half an hour every week.⁶ Plan the focus before the session. Coaches should decide what to focus on, and specific objectives show the team that preparation matters.^{7, 8}

Before the meeting, write down the behavior or piece of work you want to examine. Open with that focus, then ask questions that help the person inspect what happened.

Layer team practice around the anchor

The recurring meeting gives coaching a home. Shared practice lets the team see the same skill from more than one angle.

Role plays and one-on-one settings are a coaching rhythm in their own right.⁹ One sample team cadence puts a 15-minute session into every team meeting and adds another session every two weeks.¹⁰ It also uses an hour-long skill-up meeting every two weeks and a monthly group call.¹¹

Biweekly skill-review sessions can center on one or two calls, with the manager leading group peer coaching and the team self-coaching.¹² Managers can tailor alignment one-on-one calls to the development work that best fits the representative.¹³

Keep the purpose of each rhythm distinct. The anchor meeting follows an individual development target. The team session lets people compare decisions and practice. The skill review turns actual work into a shared lesson.

Run each session

A session works when it changes what happens in the next piece of work. Move from a planned focus to reflection, then leave with a behavior that can be watched later.

Start with the focus you prepared. Ask: What happened? What did you notice? What would you change?

The right coaching questions create a learning session and give someone space to examine their actions from another perspective.^{14, 15} Managers typically turn submitted work into a coaching session by asking questions.¹⁶

Make the output an observable behavior to practice. Coaching should improve observable behaviors as part of the operating rhythm.¹⁷ When a new training point appears, reinforce it in one of the existing coaching rhythms.¹⁸ That gives the next session something concrete to inspect.

Follow behavior between sessions

Use the cadence to watch whether the target behavior appears in live work. The next meeting should pick up where the last commitment meets what actually happened.

Use the weekly one-to-one to ask, "What happens on those calls, and is the time productive?"¹⁹ The answer tells you whether the current coaching target fits the work or needs adjustment.

Frequent one-to-ones can review calls, celebrate wins, provide constructive criticism, and reinforce effective behavior.²⁰ Make room to ask, "How are you doing?"²¹ Acknowledgment belongs in the cadence alongside correction.

What not to do

• Leave coaching to occasional call review. Relying on managers to provide it that way is highly inefficient.²²
• Treat a missed number as the trigger for coaching.¹⁷
• Keep the manager as the only voice in group skill review.¹²
• Do not assume that sales success in a specific area makes someone fantastic at coaching it.²³
• Do not assume that individual contributor strength gives someone the skills to coach a team effectively.²⁴
• Do not impose your own greatness or successes on the people you coach.²⁵
• Tailor the alignment one-on-one call to the development need instead of running the same call for everyone.¹³