Coaches Not Managers

Replace traditional management with specialty-focused coaches who help people grow their skills

Cameron Adams
Inside Canva: Coaches not managers, giving away your Legos, and embracing AI

Coaches Not Managers

"We don't really have managers. So your coach is the person who thinks about you in a specialty sense... your coach really helps, your coach is a similar specialty leads, so if you're a product manager, they're a product manager." - Cameron Adams

What It Is

Coaches Not Managers is Canva's organizational structure that replaces traditional hierarchical management with specialty-focused coaching relationships. Every employee at Canva has a coach—someone from their same specialty (engineering, product, design, etc.)—who constantly works with them on skill development and career growth. This model was inspired by the founders' formative experience with external coaching.

The key difference from traditional management: coaches understand the craft because they practice it themselves. They're not just people managers; they're practitioners who can provide meaningful guidance on skill development and career trajectory within that discipline.

How It Works

The Coaching Relationship:

  • Every employee has a coach from their same specialty
  • Coach and coachee meet regularly for skill development sessions
  • Coaches help with practical work like strategy docs
  • Coaches identify when it's time to level up

Specialty-Based Structure:

  • Canva has "tens of different specialties" across the company
  • Coaches understand the skills, trajectory, and structures relevant to their specialty
  • A product manager coaches product managers, a designer coaches designers

The 800-Coach Network:

  • Approximately 800-1,000 coaches across 4,500 employees
  • Only about 5 "pure coaches" who aren't tied to a specialty
  • Heavy investment in teaching coaching skills to the broader group

Performance Management:

  • 360 feedback from colleagues you work with
  • Coach feeds into this process
  • Reviews happen on regular cycles (currently every six months)
  • More collegial/collaborative than traditional hierarchical reviews

How to Apply It

  1. Identify specialties - Map out the distinct skill areas in your organization that warrant dedicated coaching

  2. Train your coaches - Invest heavily in teaching coaching skills (growth mindset, feedback techniques, career development)

  3. Match by specialty - Ensure coaches are practitioners in the same discipline as their coachees

  4. Define coach responsibilities:

    • Regular check-ins
    • Skill assessment and development planning
    • Helping with practical work (docs, strategies)
    • Identifying level-up moments

  5. Separate from project work - Coaches focus on the person's growth, not on managing projects or deliverables

  6. Create feedback loops - Use 360 feedback from colleagues alongside coaching input for performance reviews

When to Use It

Consider this model when:

  • Craft mastery matters - Your company values deep skill development within disciplines
  • Traditional management isn't working - Generic managers can't provide specialty-specific guidance
  • Scaling quickly - You need a system that develops internal talent rather than relying on external hires
  • Culture emphasizes growth - Your values center on personal development and internal promotion
  • You have enough specialists - You have enough people in each specialty to create coaching relationships

Example: Product Manager at Canva

A product manager at Canva has:

  • A coach who is also a product manager
  • Regular coaching sessions focused on PM skills
  • Help with strategy docs and specific PM work
  • Guidance on career trajectory within product
  • Input on when to move to the next level (e.g., from IC to coach of PMs)

They don't have:

  • A traditional manager overseeing their day-to-day work
  • Someone from a different function evaluating their performance
  • A hierarchical reporting structure for project management

Source

  • Guest: Cameron Adams
  • Episode: "Inside Canva: Coaches not managers, giving away your Legos, and embracing AI"
  • Key Discussion: (00:20:10 - 00:24:09) - Cam explains Canva's coaching system in detail
  • YouTube: Watch on YouTube

Related Frameworks

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