Engineering Coaching and Feedback
Engineering coaching helps engineers think through goals, obstacles, and next actions. Feedback gives them specific information about observed behavior and its impact so they can repeat or change it.
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Intro
Engineering Coaching and Feedback
Engineering managers help people improve without taking every problem away from them. Coaching and feedback are two different tools for that work.
Coaching helps an engineer think. You ask, listen, test assumptions, and support an action the engineer owns.
Feedback supplies information. You describe an observed behavior and its impact. The engineer can then decide what to repeat or change.
Both tools serve development. Neither replaces clear expectations, technical instruction, performance management, or formal support when those are needed.
Choose the right conversation
Start by naming the purpose.
| Need | Best starting move |
|---|---|
| The engineer needs to examine a goal or obstacle | Coach with questions |
| The engineer cannot see the effect of a behavior | Give specific feedback |
| The engineer lacks required knowledge | Teach, demonstrate, or pair |
| A standard or deadline is unclear | State the expectation |
| A repeated gap has employment consequences | Follow the formal performance process |
| Health, safety, harassment, or legal risk appears | Escalate through the proper channel |
A manager holds authority over assignments, evaluation, and opportunity. That power does not disappear during coaching. Be clear about which kind of conversation you are starting.
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Sources
- https://coachingfederation.org/credentialing/coaching-competencies/icf-core-competencies/
Supports
- Coaching agreements, trust, active listening, reflective questions, and client autonomy
- Translating insight into client-owned action and accountability
- Ethical boundaries and an open, curious coaching mindset
- https://coachingfederation.org/credentialing/coaching-ethics/icf-code-of-ethics/
Supports
- Agreement on roles, responsibilities, confidentiality, and other engagement terms
- Clear rules for information exchange, records, privacy, and required disclosure
- Managing conflicts created by multiple roles and organizational relationships
- https://www.performanceconsultants.com/solutions/performance-coach-certification/
Supports
- Performance Consultants as a co-creator and long-term practitioner of GROW
- GROW as a flexible framework rather than a mechanical isolated script
- Goal, Reality, Options, and Will as the coaching conversation structure
- https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/closing-the-gap-between-intent-vs-impact-sbii/
Supports
- Situation, Behavior, and Impact as a direct feedback method
- Specific observed behavior rather than assumptions or personality judgments
- Inquiry about intent as the step that turns feedback into a two-way conversation
- https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/leadership/
Supports
- Coaching as a conversation that helps people think, find answers, and commit to action they design
- Regular feedback, separate coaching sessions, and direct communication
- Feedback checks for actionability, specificity, kindness, objectivity, and role relevance
- https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/leadership/underperformance/
Supports
- Timely coaching and feedback before formal employment decisions
- Private verbal discussion, shared documentation, clear improvement areas, and timeframes
- Coaching as an early response that does not erase formal performance processes
- https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome
Supports
- Discovery of the Awesome Engineering Team Management list under Business
- https://github.com/kdeldycke/awesome-engineering-team-management
Supports
- Discovery of engineering-manager resources for one-to-ones and feedback
- Inclusion of Lara Hogan's first one-to-one questions and the open one-to-one question bank
- https://larahogan.me/blog/first-one-on-one-questions/
Supports
- Questions about feedback medium, timing, recognition, goals, and manager support
- Collecting preferences before difficult feedback is needed
- https://github.com/VGraupera/1on1-questions
Supports
- Open question bank organized around manager feedback, career development, obstacles, and job satisfaction
- Prompts that ask reports to choose actions and identify needed manager support