Effective managers realize that they need to take an active and positive role in employee performance to ensure goals are met. They define their role in managing employee performance as one of empowering employees. Their role is to ensure that employees know specifically what to do, can actually do it, and do not face unnecessary obstacles. When changes in the environment, goals, or tasks occur, employees are informed and given the opportunity for training so they can adapt to the changes.

Managing employee performance effectively requires that managers and supervisors become coaches rather than controllers. We believe coaching is one of the most important functions a manager or supervisor can perform. A manager can be a superb planner, organizer, and decision maker, but without the effective management of employee performance that coaching provides, objectives will be difficult to achieve. Coaching can create a partnership between a supervisor and an employee that is dedicated to helping get the job done.