Designing a Model for Developing Manager as a Coach in the Government Sector in Iran: A Synergic Approach

Nowadays, exploiting human capitals and developing and tarining human resources is unavoidable for organizations; regarding the advancement of human resources, raising managers is important. Since to manage current employees, the majority of whom are knowledgeable, “command and control” is no longer effective and employees are looking for trust-based relationships in organizations. To this end, coaching is accepted as an effective strategy for developing managers. A review of the theoretical literature about coaching and manager as coaching revealed that coaching is not considered as a strategy for developing managers. Therefore, the present study aims to introduce a model for developing manager as coach with a synergic approach. Theoretical Framework: of the Study A meta-analysis of texts, literature and theoretical background of the study helped identify the factors affecting the development of manager as coach which were subsequently placed into two individual and oragnizational categories. organizational factors were divided into three clusters: structural cluster (including: role and clear job description, feedback channels and networks, a vast communication network among colleagues and organizational units, transfer of ownership to employees, lowest levels of hierarchy and specialization) cultural cluster (including: the culture of cooperation and association , learning culture and being evolution based, trust-building and ethics-based culture), and management cluster (including: formulating strategies for developing human resources, collaborative decision making, performance-based management and management support) clusters. Individual factors were divided into two categories: factors related to the coach (including: coaching knowledge and experience, coaching skills, asking skills, listening skills, observing skills, analytic skills, communication and discussion skills, skill in setting objectives and building teams, and personality traits: creativity, self-confidence, independence, patience, positive attitude, being responsible, being affable, emotional intelligence) and the trainer (including: readiness and willingness to learn, having objectives, age and gender). In the present study, a mixed methodology is used for formulating the model. To establish the validity and the reliability of the components of the model, experts (both academic and those employed by the government) were asked to fill in the expertise questionnaire which was sent to 40 academic experts and 5 chief executives in the government sector. Overall, 32 questionnaires were completed. To confirm or delete the components, average ( ) and content validity ratio (CVR) were used. Components with importance averages equal to 4 or higher and with a CVR of 0.68 or higher were confirmed. Findings and Discussion: The findings revealed that among components of organizational factors, transfer of ownership to employees, and among the components of individual factors, observing skills, innovation and patience, age and gender were removed due to their low averageand CVR values and the rest were confirmed. Conclusion and Suggestions: The findings showed that a clear job description, communication networks and channels, limited division of labor and hierarchy, a culture based on development and cooperation, trust and ethical values, development of human resources, collaborative decision making, performance management, mentoring knowledge, coaching skills and a manager's personality traits, employee's willingness to learn and change, and having an objective leads to managerial coaching in organizations which is in line with the opinions of researchers and previous studies.
Developing manager as coach in government organizations is the product of “a synergic interaction” among both organizational and individual factors. Neither organizational nor individual features, on their own, can lead to managerial coaching in government organizations, but together and in a synergic interaction, they can have influence managerial coaching. To foster managerial coaching in organizations, we suggest: Job descriptions and performance expectations for each manager and employee should be clear.
 Organizations should have a flat, dynamic organizational structure and reduce levels of hierarchy.
 Organizations should try to employ and use employees who have a teamwork mindset and replace the competitive mindset with a cooperative, collaborative one and encourage collective teamwork.
 In line with the above suggestion, organizations should, through reinforcing social capital, pave the way for knowledge management and hence knowledge sharing and a learning organization and with foresight, they should lay the ground for continuous improvement and effecting changes in line with environmental needs such that a learning-based environment governs the organizations.
 Organizations should emphasize values and ethical behavior and turn ethical behavior into a norm and behavioral habit in the organization through creating ethical auditors and codes.
 Organizations should formulate policies for developing and training employees and pay specific attention to managerial mentoring styles as the dominant style and encourage managers for assuming coaching roles and compensate them for that.
 Managers should have an employee-based attitude and treat them with respect; delegating authority to employees for resolving managerial problems in organizations can lay the ground for employees’ cooperation, development, and empowerment and at the same time makes them responsible.
 Managers should pay attention to individual development and performance and compensations should be commensurate with skill development and individual behavior and performance.
 In appointing managers, organizations should take individual abilities, interpersonal and mentoring skills along with positive personality traits and positivist psychology into account.
 Through motivating employees and providing the necessary incentives for them, organizations should pave the way for their improvement, development, transformation and change.
 Through goal-setting theory, organizations should give employees a purpose in both the organization and their jobs.