What Is a Direct Report? + How to Manage a Team

Written by Coursera Staff • Updated on

Discover how to support direct reports and set your team up for success.

[Featured Image] A manager is conducting a business meeting with their direct reports.

Key takeaways

Being a direct report means you are an employee who reports to a supervisor, manager, or individual in a leadership role within an organization.

  • A direct reporting system within a company can help to define roles, delegate tasks, and improve communication. 

  • Feedback from direct reports on work processes, schedules, and other details can be invaluable when developing new directions for your team.

  • You can utilize several strategies to strengthen your team, such as adopting inclusive leadership, getting to know your direct reports, and establishing open communication.

Learn more about direct reports, including what they are and how to manage them. If you’re ready to develop your leadership skills, enroll in the Leading: Human Resource Management and Leadership Specialization, where, in as little as three months, you can learn about team management, organizational structure, team building, and more.

What is a direct report? 

A direct report is an employee who reports to a manager, supervisor, or person in a leadership role within a company. People in charge of direct reports may also be referred to as direct reportees.

You may find it useful to learn more about how organizations function, including how companies structure their teams, with direct reports at every level of the organizational chart (org chart). One of the most common ways to visualize a typical organizational structure is to think of a pyramid, with the chief executive officer (CEO) at the very top, followed by several departmental directors who report to the CEO. Managers would report to directors, and individual contributors would report to managers.

Within an organization, the direct reporting system can make it easier to:

  • Define roles and responsibilities 

  • Align expertise with the projects and deliverables 

  • Delegate tasks 

  • Improve communication

  • Deliver feedback

Direct reports vs. indirect reports

Direct reports work under a manager or supervisor, while indirect reports work under managers’ direct reports.

Managing direct reports 

If you are in charge of direct reports, you may be interested in how to support them in their roles and enhance the relationships among everyone on your team. With the following seven strategies, you can strengthen your team and the organization. 

1. Set aside time to manage your team directly. 

Reserving time to coach, mentor, collaborate, and develop your team can result in higher performance. The amount of time you devote to managing your team and individual direct reports may vary. When scheduling time to manage your team, consider how many direct reports you’re in charge of, other tasks and responsibilities, as well as their schedules. 

If your time is limited, you may find that shorter one-on-one and group meetings with focused agendas can be productive, especially if you ask for questions and feedback in advance. 

2. Adopt inclusive leadership.

As a management style, inclusive leadership can increase engagement among direct reports and inspire innovation. Inclusive leadership entails:

  • Welcoming new perspectives

  • Ensuring direct reports feel valued, heard, and supported

  • Exhibiting cultural intelligence and sensitivity

  • Listening without judgment

3. Get to know your direct reports. 

When you know your direct reports personally and professionally, you can create rapport and make it easier to coach and motivate them. When leading team or one-on-one meetings, ask icebreaker questions like “What is a unique skill you bring to this job?” or “What is your favorite line from a movie or book?”. These kinds of questions can encourage everyone to open up in a low-stakes conversation and learn more about one another’s personalities. Also, make time to ask direct reports about their career and life goals. 

4. Establish open communication. 

Invite direct reports to reach out to you with questions and concerns about their work, as well as suggestions and ideas for new projects or processes.

5. Seek feedback from direct reports. 

Direct reports often operate on the organization’s front lines, from interacting face-to-face with customers to designing and creating products. Their feedback on work processes, schedules, and other details can be invaluable when envisioning new directions for the team. In addition, you provide direct reports with the opportunity to influence team or company decision-making.

Read more: How to Improve Your Decision-Making Skills

6. Offer regular performance evaluations.

It’s important to provide performance evaluations regularly, such as monthly or quarterly. Performance evaluations are important in understanding how employees contribute to an organization’s growth and when employees need coaching or training to improve their performance. 

Different methods of performance evaluation include:

  • Objectives-based evaluation: Managers and direct reports set goals together and evaluate whether goals are met.

  • 360-degree feedback: Evaluations come from all directions, including direct reports, managers, peers, and customers.

  • Human resource accounting method: Employees are evaluated according to the monetary value they bring to the company.

7. Delegate tasks effectively. 

As you get to know your direct reports well—how they perform, the goals they’ve set, the kind of feedback that best motivates them—it’s important to delegate tasks effectively. Ask yourself which of your direct reports is best suited for specific tasks or projects. 

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