Why the next manager you hire might need to be a coach? (Not just a manager)

By: Elizabeth Kingston

Do you need a manager or a manager-coach?

..and why the difference matters more than most hiring panels realise.

Most government hiring decisions for managers start with the same goal: We need someone who can deliver great outcomes with integrity. That makes sense. But it’s also where many teams unintentionally cap their future performance.

I’ve worked with multiple government teams who are building capability while under constant delivery pressure. Two teams in particular stood out, not because of their mandate or funding, but because of how they were led.

They started the year in similar places. But twelve months later, the gap between them was clear, and it came down to leadership style.

The two leadership styles that lead to very different outcomes.

The Manager-Manager

This leader:

• Sets direction
• Manages tasks and priorities
• Drives outcomes and deadlines
• Keeps work moving and visible

Manager-managers are often effective. They deliver. They stabilise. They get things done. In the right context, short-term delivery, compliance-heavy work, crisis response... they can be exactly what a team needs.

The Manager-Coach

A manager-coach does everything from the manager-manager and:

• Coaches people daily, not occasionally
• Builds judgement, not just process adherence
• Lifts confidence and decision-making capability
• Develops people while delivering outcomes

They don’t choose between delivery or development. They deliberately do both.

Where the real difference shows up

Here’s the part that often gets missed in hiring panels...Both leadership styles can deliver results. But only one of these styles consistently increases the team’s capability over time.

After a year, the differences between teams were clear;

• One team delivered results, but remained heavily manager-dependent, with a high level of issues and challenges
• The other delivered results and improved decision quality, confidence, and autonomy, while experiencing a significantly lower level of issues and challenges



The second team’s work became easier, they delivered more and better outcomes. Not because the workload reduced, but because their capability increased.

Think of team capability as an asset

This is the simplest way I’ve found to explain it.

A team’s skill level is an asset. Under some leaders, that asset appreciates. Under others, it slowly depreciates, even if outputs look acceptable.

Most organisations are excellent at measuring:

• Delivery milestones
• Outputs
• Timeframes
• Activity

But what we rarely measure is this: Is this leader increasing the capability of the people producing those outcomes? Because that difference compounds. Two teams can start the year looking identical. By the end:

• One is sharper, calmer, and more resilient
• The other is just busier and more stretched
  

Why manager-coaches outperform over time

Manager-coaches create teams that:

• Make better decisions without escalation
• Handle ambiguity with confidence
• Reduce rework and risk
• Require less hands-on management

The return isn’t just performance. It’s sustainability and a stronger overall team capability. So which one do you actually need? Before you hire your next manager, ask this question:

Do we need someone to manage the work, or someone to grow the people doing the work? Do we need a Manager-Manager or a Manager-Coach?

If the role is:

• Highly transactional
• Short-term
• Narrow in scope

A manager-manager may be enough.

If the role requires:

• Uplifting capability
• Reducing dependency
• Improving judgement
• Building future leaders

You may need a manager-coach.

How to identify a manager-coach in an interview

Manager-coaches are less common... but they’re easy to spot if you listen properly.



They tend to:

• Speak naturally about development, not just outputs
• Explain how they build skill, not just that they do
• Reference coaching frameworks or ways of thinking
• Prioritise the skills that move the needle
  

These are ten of my go-to interview questions for separating manager-managers from manager-coaches:

1️⃣ How they think about capability (not just delivery)

Question

How do you define capability in a team, and how do you know when it’s improving?

Manager-manager answers tend to focus on:

• Output
• Timeliness
• Reduced errors
• Meeting KPIs

Manager-coach answers tend to include:

• Judgement and decision quality
• Confidence and independence
• Reduced escalation
• How people think, not just what they produce

2️⃣ How intentional they are about skill-building

Question

When you inherit a team, how do you decide which skills to develop first?

Listen for:

• Prioritisation, not “everything matters”
• A clear diagnostic approach
• Linking skills to risk reduction or outcomes

Red flag

• “I assess as I go” with no structure

3️⃣ What they do under pressure

Question

Tell us about a time you were under delivery pressure but still invested in developing your team. What did you do?

Manager-manager

• Development paused due to workload

Manager-coach

• Development integrated into daily work
• Coaching through real tasks, not separate sessions

4️⃣ Their coaching muscle (or lack of it)

Question

Can you walk us through a recent coaching conversation you had with a team member?

Strong coach-manager answers include:

• Clear intent
• Questions they asked
• How they guided thinking, not just gave answers
• What changed afterward

Weak answers

• General encouragement
• Performance feedback only
• No structure or follow-up

5️⃣How they build judgement (critical in government)

Question

How do you help your team develop good judgement in complex or ambiguous situations?

Listen for:

• Scenario-based coaching
• Reflection after decisions
• Teaching how to think, not what to think

6️⃣ Their approach to mistakes and risk



Question

Tell me about a mistake someone in your team made. How did you handle it, and what did the team learn?

Manager-manager

• Focus on correction and prevention



Manager-coach

• Focus on learning, judgement, and system improvement
• Clear distinction between blame and accountability

7️⃣ How they reduce dependency on themselves

Question

What are you doing today so your team needs you less six months from now?

Coach-managers will talk about:

• Decision frameworks
• Delegated authority
• Capability uplift
• Letting people struggle safely

8️⃣ Their definition of success as a leader



Question

At the end of a year, how do you know you’ve been successful as a manager?

Manager-manager

• Delivery metrics
• Stakeholder satisfaction
• Project completion

Manager-coach

• Strong delivery metrics and
• Stronger people
• Better decisions
• Increased confidence and autonomy

9️⃣ Their daily leadership habits

Question

What leadership behaviours do you practice daily, not occasionally?

Listen for:

• Coaching in real time
• Regular check-ins
• Observation and feedback
• Intentional repetition

🔟 The long game

Question

If I spoke to your team in two years, what would they say you helped them become better at?

Coach-managers answer in terms of:

• Thinking
• Judgement
• Confidence
• Leadership

So next time you’re hiring a manager, ask yourself: "Do I need a manager-manager or a manager-coach?"

One type of manager delivers results. The other delivers results and builds a team that performs better over time — growing capability like an asset that appreciates. In government, where judgement, performance and continuity are critical, that difference is strategic. Before your next hire, be clear: do you need a manager-manager or a manager-coach?

Good luck with your next hire - Elizabeth Kingston, Kingston Human Capital.

If my team or I can help you hire great leaders, contact us at Talent@kingstonhumancapital.com.au

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