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The Pharma Career Ladder · The first-line manager · Step 1: Becoming a manager · Lesson 5

The difference between coaching and telling

One missed call, two very different conversations

By Ahmed El Menshawy · 20 years in pharma, from medical rep to country manager in the UAE. Founder of RepPharma. LinkedIn
Published

The fastest debrief after a double visit is the one where the manager does all the talking.

It is also the one the rep forgets by Thursday.

Same missed call, two conversations.

  • Telling:
  • "You should have mentioned the new dosing."
  • The manager explains what went wrong.
  • Three fixes for next time.
  • The rep agrees, and moves on.
  • Coaching:
  • "What did you want the doctor to leave with?"
  • The rep names what went wrong.
  • One change, chosen by the rep.
  • The rep remembers it, because it was their idea.

Michael Bungay Stanier's The Coaching Habit puts it simply: stay curious a little longer, and rush to advice a little more slowly. I found that hard as a new manager. I had been a rep. I knew the answer. Saying it felt like helping.

Telling still has its place. If it is a fact, a compliance point or a rule, say it clearly. If it is a skill, ask first.

And one trap: asking questions when you only want the rep to guess your answer. Reps spot that immediately.

“Tell a rep the answer and you fix one call. Help them find it and they fix the rest.”
The difference between coaching and telling: One missed call, two very different conversations

Lesson 5 of 5 in Step 1: Becoming a manager, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.

More lessons in step 1: Becoming a manager

Lesson 1From best rep to new managerThe skills that do not transferLesson 2The first ninety days as a managerListen before you change anythingLesson 3Where a manager's week goesAudit your own calendar firstLesson 4The manager who still sellsWhen to step in and when to stop

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