The manager as coach as a driver of organizational development

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the manager as coach (MAC) role as an organisational development strategy, in particular, aspects of the relationship between manager and employee that make it successful. The purpose of the MAC in the business context is to help employees consider how they might work and behave differently with more effective behaviours that produce better outcomes, without a reliance on the formal authority the manager possesses. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative case study approach was adopted in which individuals shared their experiences as MAC and/or as an employee receiving coaching from a manager in an asynchronous online discussion forum. These discussions were then qualitatively analysed.