Commissioned by the UK Government and conducted by the London School of Economics (LSE), managers from 62 organisations across 14 sectors generated measurable improvements in staff retention, engagement and productivity. LSE proved, to a level of statistical significance, that managers spent, on average, 70% more time coaching their teams in the flow of work whilst delivering a measurable return on investment (ROI).

As part of their 2030 People Strategy, The University of Warwick put STAR® to the test in a pilot programme of over 100 managers and found it delivered:

• 113% increase in the time they spent coaching others in the flow of work
• 24% increase in the time they spent leading
• 20% improvement across nine management competencies measured
• 900% RoI

In addition, 100% of managers who completed the programme reported that they now use an enquiry-led approach as part of their management style, and 97% believe they're better managers and have won time back to invest in higher-value work.

In the words of some of the participants:
"It’s given me more time back and has allowed my team to grow in confidence. We’ve seen an upturn in the results the team have achieved."

“It’s helped to create more effective working relationships, and I’m now able to effect change in ways that bring the team with me."

As a result of the strong results from the pilot, STAR® Manager will be rolled out across all 2,500 managers and leaders. STAR® Manager will lead in meeting the University’s 2030 people strategy to fully engage the talents of their workforce and engage teams in a modern, respectful way that cultivates a coaching culture intended to grow organisational capability and nurture talent.

STAR® Manager has already been delivered to managers and leaders in over 40 countries and clients, including Virgin Atlantic, NBC Universal, Hitachi Rail and Morgan Stanley.

Anna Chapman, Leadership Development Manager at The University of Warwick, said: “STAR® Manager is allowing us to take a transformational, scalable approach to management development, empowering our leaders to collaborate with their teams.

"It recognises the power of coaching and will enable us to embed coaching behaviours across managers and leaders at all levels to underpin an Operational Coaching® style of management.

"Following a successful pilot, we’ve seen our managers develop the confidence and ability to encourage performance improvement in their direct reports, provide constructive feedback, hold challenging conversations with positive outcomes, listen effectively and reclaim time to spend on more impactful activities – all by learning to incorporate coaching-related behaviours into their day-to-day management style.

"I’m delighted to introduce Operational Coaching® across the University, working with Notion to certify all 2,500 managers and leaders over the next five years.”

Chris Hunt, Executive Commercial Director at The University of Warwick, emphasised the strategic importance of this commitment: “In a time when organisations need to retain talent, our investment in management training underscores the value we place on our people.

“Great managers inspire and support their teams, and by developing these skills across our leadership, we’re investing directly in the success of every staff member and, ultimately, in the success of the University itself.”

Co-founders of Notion, Dominic Ashley-Timms and Laura Ashley-Timms said: “Once you become a manager, learning to effectively engage with people is vital. Yet, there’s no unifying idea of what it means to be a line manager. According to the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), 82% of managers in the UK are so-called ‘accidental managers’ promoted to leadership roles for reasons other than their people management skills. We need to change this.

"We’ve spent the last 15 years examining the elements of behaviour that need to change to better engage with people. We’ve honed this into a set of skills that the STAR® Manager programme helps managers adopt to transform their management style. We’ve worked with groups of managers worldwide in multiple cultures to pull these insights together.

"Once you become a line manager, the core of your role should be enabling other people's talents. When you have a group of managers who all share that same mindset and can engage with people intentionally, cultures start to change, and you have the power to unlock the massive potential of your teams.

Our team are very proud to be working with the managers at the University of Warwick to embed an Operational Coaching® approach and help the university to deliver its 2030 people strategy.”

Pictured: Chris Hunt, Commercial Director, The University of Warwick