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Coaching and the line manager's role.

What is the role of a line manager when providing coaching to their employees?
If they are coaching them direct then it requires them to use their relationship and communication skills to help their employee to focus on the requirements of their job in order to maximise their performance or to resolve any other issues that they may have which are inhibiting this performance. The subject matter could also be about their relationships or about other changes in direction, approach or processes or new skills to acquire to become more effective and efficient.
The difficult question for the line manager here is to decide on the balance of the agenda - how much comes from the manager and how much from the employee? Getting this balance right is crucial if the employee is to feel involved, listened to and committed to taking positive action to improve their approach, behaviour and performance. While it is important to acknowledge that the line manager has a vested interest in the performance outcomes produced by their employees and also sometimes in the style and approach that they take, if the line manager only concentrates on their agenda for the employee, then there is the danger that the employee may not get the opportunity to discuss the other issues that are concerning them and which may be inhibiting their ability to perform to their maximum.
The style and skills which the line manager adopts with their employee during these coaching sessions will be a crucial factor in determining how effective and successful these coaching interventions are. The better job that the line manager does in actively listening to their employees and the stronger the relationship from an honesty and trust point of view, the more likely it is that a positive performance improvement outcome will be achieved.