What features are part of Coach?

This article explains what Coach is, where to find it, and what each of its five features does, so you understand how Ambition supports consistent, structured development conversations between managers and their reports.

What is Coach?

Coach is a section of Ambition accessible from the side navigation bar, below Analyze. It brings together six features - Sessions, Programs, Managed Programs, Notes, Action Items, and Cadences - that give managers the structure to run consistent 1:1s, assign development programs, and hold reps accountable to agreed-upon actions between sessions.

All three roles can access Coach, though what each role can create and view differs by feature. Sessions and their contents are private between the manager and the people assigned to them.

The Six Coach Features

Sessions - Structured 1:1 and Group Coaching Conversations

A Session is a coaching conversation, either a 1:1 between a manager and a rep, or a group session with multiple participants. Sessions are built around a written agenda where participants can write their own responses or, in the case of a "Now" Session, the manager can respond on their behalf.

A Session can include:

• A written agenda with response fields

• Associated metrics and goals for easy in-session tracking

• Gong call data, which can be referenced and reviewed directly in the Session

• An AI coaching pre-read generated by Ambition AI, providing guidance and performance insights ahead of the session

• A Session rating after the conversation is complete

• A coaching history showing all previous Sessions for that individual

• Co-Coaches - additional managers who can participate in and view the Session

Sessions can be created from an Ambition default template, a company-created template, or written from scratch. A Session can be a one-time conversation or part of a recurring coaching Program. Sessions can be exported.

Programs - Multi-Session Coaching Tracks

A Program is a series of coaching Sessions organized around an overarching topic or development theme -- for example, weekly pipeline reviews or improving discovery call performance. Program agendas have the same format as individual Sessions and can include metrics, goals, Gong data, Pipeline, and Co-Coaches.

Once a Program is created and assigned, it automatically generates the individual Sessions within it on a set agenda. Managers do not need to create each session manually.

Unlike a Cadence, which connects unique Session structures over a set timeframe, a Program repeats the same Session structure throughout its duration.

Managed Programs - Admin-Created Programs Assigned At Scale

Managed Programs are coaching programs created by an Admin on behalf of a manager. They work the same way as standard Programs -- generating sessions automatically and supporting agendas, metrics, goals, and Co-Coaches -- but the setup is handled by an Admin rather than the manager themselves.

This is useful when an organization wants to standardize coaching programs across multiple managers without requiring each manager to configure their own.

Notes and Action Items - Persistent Records and Follow-Through Between Sessions

Notes are written records that can be attached to an individual employee or to a specific Session. They support rich text including images and links, and can have files attached. Notes can be shared or private -- a private note is visible only to the manager or Admin who wrote it. Reps cannot see private notes.

Action Items are tasks that can be created in the context of a coaching relationship or assigned independently to any user. They can be tied to a specific Session or exist on their own.

Action Items support the following:

• Assignment to any user -- a rep, a manager, or an Admin

• Optional due dates

• Status tracking: open, completed, or incomplete

• Editing after creation

• Deletion

Cadences - Multi-Step Situational Coaching Plans Across A Set Timeframe

A Cadence is a structured, multi-step coaching plan created by an Admin for a manager for a specific situation -- for example, onboarding or re-education. Each step in a Cadence can have its own topic, agenda, and Action Items -- making it well suited to mapping out a development journey that evolves over time. This is the same feature referred to as Coaching Cadences elsewhere in the platform.

Cadences can be created from a templates, or built from scratch.

The key distinction between a Cadence and a Program is variety. A Program repeats the same agenda structure throughout. A Cadence connects multiple different agendas into a single coordinated plan.

What can each role do in Coach?

While all permissions are fully customizable in Ambition, below you'll find a quick reference across all default permissions for the five Coach features by role.