One-third of supervisors find that coaching employees is too time-consuming, according to a survey of 710 North American managers by global consultants BlessingWhite.

The new study, "The Coaching Conundrum 2008, is based on input from 2,000 employees and managers in 17 countries and explores a range of issues including coaching's prevalence and effectiveness.

Globally, the concern over the time spent coaching also holds true with 32% of managers identifying it as their biggest challenge. Managers in the UK/Ireland and Australia/New Zealand were even more overwhelmed, with almost half (42%) indicating that coaching takes too long.

Managers who participated in the study noted the top challenges they face in coaching employees who report to them, said BlessingWhite's coaching practice leader Cathy Earley. "Some responses reflect managers' understandable uncertainty about their own coaching ability, such as 'I don't have all the answers.' But the time issue is the kind of complaint that could undermine managers' willingness to continue coaching. This issue or perception needs to be addressed.

What is the biggest challenge you face in coaching others? (Responses of North American managers)

I don't have all the answers.                 30%
It takes too long.                 29%
I have too many direct reports.             16%
I don't see the results of my effort.         10%
I am not sure where to start.                9%
I am not comfortable having coaching discussions.         4%
I don't like to coach.                 1%

"Despite a broad commitment by managers to coach their employees, there's growing concern that the process may take up too much valuable time and competes with other priorities, said Earley. "The widely-held assumption that any successful executive is naturally an effective coach isn't realistic.

Coaching may become time-consuming, Earley believes, because some managers get overly involved in their subordinate's work and feel like they need to solve all the problems. "These coaches lack not for energy and commitment, but focus and a clear understanding of what coaching is and is not. "

According to the findings, many coaches are given the job with inadequate preparation. "In some cases it's little more than a pep talk," Earley said.

Of the 2,041 survey respondents, about half were managers. The survey was conducted between August and September 2008. Seventy percent of the respondents reside in North America.


BlessingWhite is a global consulting firm dedicated to creating sustainable high-performance organizations. Founded in 1973, the firm has worked with almost three million professionals in thousands of organizations. www.blessingwhite.com