1 PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY © 2020 International Society for Performance Improvement. Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/piq.21350 Managerial Coaching Competencies Used by Managers for Performance Improvement Karla D. Barry, PhD, Gene Gloeckner, PhD and Leann M.R. Kaiser, PhD Introduction I n today’s organizations, managers are respon- sible for employee learning and development and improving employee performance (Ellinger et al., 2003; Evered & Selman, 1989; Liu & Batt, 2010; Segers & Inceoglu, 2012). With the role of perfor- mance management shifting from human resource development (HRD) to the manager, managers coach- ing for performance improvement has become one of the most popular tools and interventions to emerge in HRD. According to Longenecker (2010), “For a man- ager to produce sustainable long-term results, they must demonstrate real skill at coaching the people who report to them” (p. 32). As early as 1952, coaching was identifed in the literature as a “worthy and acquirable management skill” (Mace & Mahler, 1952, p. 99) and a “management function” (Evered & Selman, 1989, p. 32); however, a paucity of literature exists to support that managerial coaching is occurring in organizations today. Further review of the managerial coaching lit- erature showed limited studies on the coaching com- petencies used during coaching interactions. Coaching competencies refers to the skills and behaviors used by a coach in a coaching engagement. Only 18 studies/ dissertations discussed how managers viewed or used the various competencies of managerial coaching. Terefore, our study sought to explore the lived experiences of managers coaching their direct reports with the coaching competencies espoused by the literature. Tis study examined in detail which competencies (skills and behaviors) were being used in coaching engagements with managers’ direct reports. With our extensive backgrounds in HRD, learning and development, and coaching, we often observed that HRD professionals and learning This qualitative study identifed the process through which managerial coaches use coaching competencies to improve their direct reports’ perfor- mance. Eight participants with mana- gerial experience representing four organizations were interviewed and presented cards with the 10 most fre- quently cited competencies from mana- gerial coaching literature for them to arrange into a representation of their coaching process. Findings revealed that (a) participants used all of the compe- tencies, (b) they used them daily, and (c) each participant had a unique pro- cess of using coaching competencies. Three competencies were identifed by the participants as overarching, foun- dational, or most important: supportive environment, communication, and lis- tening. All eight participants indicated that their success rate in coaching their direct reports for performance improve- ment was at or near 80% overall. This article illustrates that competencies can be efectively and successfully used in various ways as part of a manager’s coaching process.