unfreezeGabriel Lopez

What the research says

Does coaching or leadership development work for middle managers?

The short answer

The evidence is thin. Over a year at a Fortune 500 high-tech firm, executives given outside coaching showed more satisfied needs at work, middle managers in a coaching-based leadership program seemingly did too, and gains were bigger for the executives. At Lego, reflecting jointly with researchers brought middle managers' dilemmas into view as paradoxes. Middle managers at one health authority said they needed space for development, partnerships, and mentoring and coaching. A randomized trial, not among middle managers, found training supervisors to support staff's personal lives, together with prompting employees to rethink when and where they work, modestly cut work-family conflict. Three of the five studies are rated low strength.

Based on 5 studies from the Atlas of the Middle: 0 rated high strength, 2 medium, 3 low. Designs: experiment (2), qualitative case (2), conceptual (1).

Coaching programs

In one year-long study at a Fortune 500 high-tech firm, executives given outside coaching showed more satisfied needs at work, middle managers in a coaching-based leadership program seemingly did too, and gains were bigger for the executives. One practitioner framework sorts middle managers' work by whom they deal with and whether they are sharing information or shaping views; its authors report it helps their coaching clients, which is their own report rather than a test.

Moen & Federici (2012) · experiment · LowThe Effect of External Executive Coaching and Coaching- Based Leadership on Need Satisfaction.Over a year at a Fortune 500 high-tech firm, executives given outside coaching showed more satisfied needs at work, middle managers in a coaching-based leadership program seemingly did too, and gains were bigger for the executives.Thompson et al. (2008) · conceptual · LowA Five Factor Framework for Coaching Middle ManagersThe authors propose a framework that sorts middle managers' work by whom they deal with (top managers, peers or staff) and whether they are sharing information or trying to shape others' views, and report it helps their coaching clients.

Reflecting on the dilemmas

At Lego, middle managers charged with carrying out a major restructuring struggled for meaning; reflecting jointly with researchers brought their dilemmas into view as paradoxes, and the authors set out a process for working through them.

Lüscher & Lewis (2008) · qualitative case · MediumOrganizational Change and Managerial Sensemaking: Working Through ParadoxAt Lego, middle managers charged with carrying out a major restructuring struggled for meaning; reflecting jointly with researchers brought their dilemmas into view as paradoxes, and the authors set out a process for working through them.

What middle managers ask for

Asked what leadership training they needed, middle managers at an Atlantic Canada health authority pointed to making space for development, building partnerships, and mentoring and coaching.

Grandy & Holton (2013) · qualitative case · LowLeadership development needs assessment in healthcare: a collaborative approachAsked what leadership training they needed, middle managers at an Atlantic Canada health authority pointed to making space for development, building partnerships, and mentoring and coaching.

Training the managers above

In a randomized trial in a Fortune 500 firm's IT division, training supervisors to support staff's personal lives and prompting employees to rethink when and where they work modestly cut work-family conflict without raising hours. The trial was not among middle managers specifically.

Kelly et al. (2014) · experiment · MediumChanging Work and Work-Family ConflictIn a randomized trial in a Fortune 500 firm's IT division, training supervisors to support staff's personal lives and prompting employees to rethink when and where they work modestly cut work-family conflict without raising hours.

What I take from it

My read is that the research here is too thin to promise results from coaching middle managers. If I were investing in it, I would tie it to a real change they are carrying and check afterward whether anything changed.

This is my reading, Gabriel Lopez's, not a finding of the studies above.

Common questions

Is executive coaching more effective than coaching for middle managers?

In one year-long study at a Fortune 500 high-tech firm, gains in satisfied needs at work were bigger for executives given outside coaching than for middle managers in a coaching-based leadership program. It is one low-strength study.

What development do middle managers say they need?

Asked what leadership training they needed, middle managers at an Atlantic Canada health authority pointed to making space for development, building partnerships, and mentoring and coaching.

Free guideThe 12 core answers in one 15-page PDFWhat the research says about change in the middle, with how strong the evidence is.Get the guide

Every summary on this page was written by Unfrozen from the study's abstract or full text and checked twice by independent AI reviewers. Loop coding is exploratory and AI-assisted, pending human verification. Spot an error? Email info@unfreeze.us and it gets fixed.

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