Managerial coaching of frontline employees: The moderating role of gender
Human Resource Development Quarterly
Published online on July 13, 2018
Abstract
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Managerial coaching (also known as the leader‐as‐coach model) is becoming prevalent as a new management paradigm to develop and empower employees and help them increase their performance. At the same time, the composition of the workforce has changed, with female employees reaching almost 50% of workers and around 30% of managers. Accordingly, scholars have set out to understand if gender affects managerial behaviors and employee responses. The goal of this study is to evaluate if significant differences in performance should be expected when coaching female and male employees. The results suggest that female and male responses to managerial coaching are more complex than expected. Managerial coaching positively affects female behavioral and result performance and male behavioral performance, but—contrary to expectations—no significant effect was found for coaching on male result performance. Additionally, female and male employees differ in their self‐evaluation of the focal performance constructs, with females evaluating their contribution to performance at lower levels than their male counterparts. The results suggest that, to be an effective developmental tool, the approach taken with coaching should take into consideration the recipient's gender and address different areas of performance.
- Human Resource Development Quarterly, Volume 29, Issue 3, Page 219-241, Fall 2018.