Why Every Manager Needs a Coach (Even Lane Kiffin)
NOTES FROM NORTHWOOD
Last fall, Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels handed Georgia their first regular season loss in 42 games.
The morning after the win, Kiffin did something that caught my attention.
He praised his coaching staff.
Not himself. Not his game plan. Not even his star quarterback.
His coaches.
The same man who once fled Tennessee in the middle of the night after just one season is now crediting others and talking about the importance of building a complete coaching system.
What changed?
Kiffin got coached.
The “Good Hunter” Myth is Killing Your Business
Every generation has a set of “rule of thumb” beliefs that everyone parrots but no one actually tests.
One of the most dangerous in business is the idea that “good salespeople are born, not made.”
I had this conversation with a friend last week:
Him: “I know you need a really good sales guy.”
Me: “What’s he going to do?”
Him: “He’s just going to bring in a lot of business.”
Me: “And what are you going to do?”
Him: “Well, I’ll kind of help out, but I’m moving toward retirement.”
Me: “So let me get this straight… you’re not going to do much, but he’s going to bring in all the business you need to grow?”
Him: “Yes.”
Me: “If he’s that good, why would he stay with you?”
This stopped him cold.
Here’s the reality: Even the best performers want (no, NEED) good coaching.
The best sales guy I know in Austin is absolutely crushing it for software companies. He has natural talent, yes. But he’ll tell you directly:
“This is my craft. I work REALLY hard to get good at it.”
He didn’t do it straight out of the box. He invested in himself. He found managers who pushed him. He treated selling as a discipline to be mastered, not a personality trait.
Why Leaders Resist Development
I see this problem over and over again when companies hire us for training.
They say, “We need to train our sales team” or “Our frontline people need development.”
But what about the managers? What about the people setting expectations and (supposedly) coaching their teams?
When I tell CEOs that we need to focus on the managers first, they often resist:
“But our managers are experienced. They’ve been in the business for years.”
Just like Lane Kiffin had been coaching for years before Nick Saban got hold of him.
Experience without reflection and development just means you’ve been doing the same things wrong for a longer time.
What Real Coaching Looks Like
We recently worked with a company called Delta Faucet. They’d been around for 70 years but were facing higher-than-expected turnover. Their leaders reported not feeling supported.
After implementing our frontline leadership program, something interesting happened. The managers didn’t just report feeling “more supported”. They felt “significantly more important.”
Why? Because for the first time, someone was investing in THEM.
Over 10 modules across 20 weeks, we walked them through:
- How to communicate effectively with their teams
- How to set clear expectations
- How to give meaningful feedback
- How to develop their people systematically
100% of participants recommended the program. Retention improved. Communication strengthened across departments.
All because they stopped looking for “born managers” and started developing them instead.
Back to Kiffin
After Kiffin’s early career flameouts, he joined Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama as an offensive coordinator.
For three years, he watched how Saban built systems, developed coaches, and created standards. He learned that great players can win games, but only great systems win championships.
Now at Ole Miss, Kiffin has built a development system for his coaches that rivals what they do for players.
Every coach has performance metrics. Every coach receives weekly development. Every coach contributes to the system.
This is exactly what the best companies do with their managers.
Your Biggest Opportunity
The biggest miss I see in companies is this: They think training their frontline people will fix their performance problems.
It won’t.
Not without managers who can reinforce that training, coach to those skills, and create accountability for implementation.
Instead of chasing “unicorn” salespeople or employees, invest in your managers.
Because just like Lane Kiffin learned from Saban, even your most experienced leaders can reach new levels with the right development.
The most effective system I’ve ever seen is:
- Train the managers first
- Have them participate in all frontline training
- Give them specific coaching tools to reinforce what’s been taught
- Hold them accountable for developing their people
This isn’t a one-week fix. Cultural transformation takes six to eight months of consistent effort.
But unlike trying to find mythical “natural-born talent,” this approach actually works.
