Kona, Coaching, and Content are three separate 15Five products that support manager development. This article describes what each product does, how impact is measured, and where to find setup and usage instructions.
Availability: Content and Coaching are available as add-ons on any 15Five pricing plan. Kona is available as an add-on on the Perform or Total Platform plans.
Feature Structure
The Manager Effectiveness tools are three distinct products:
| Product | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Kona | AI assistant that joins 1-on-1 meetings, captures notes, and delivers personalized coaching feedback to managers via Slack and 15Five |
| Coaching | Live 1:1 and group coaching sessions led by 15Five-certified coaches, assigned through Action Plans |
| Content | On-demand manager training courses and microlearnings, available to managers at any time |
Each product can be used independently. See for details.
Kona
Kona joins recurring 1-on-1 meetings between managers and direct reports after a calendar sync. During and after each meeting, Kona:
- Captures structured meeting notes and action items
- Analyzes manager behaviors against 18+ leadership skills using 15Five data
- Delivers personalized coaching feedback to managers via Slack, email, and 15Five
- Tracks manager growth over time and surfaces areas for improvement
Coaching
Coaching is delivered through a token-based system. 1:1 sessions require 1 token per session. Group sessions (up to 10 participants) require 5 tokens per session.
Admins assign coaching sessions as part of Action Plans. Once assigned, managers schedule their sessions from their Actions List in 15Five. Managers complete a coaching profile and add goals and talking points before each session.
Content
Content provides an on-demand course library for managers. Courses are created by 15Five's in-house coaching team and external thought leaders. Courses cover leadership skills at multiple experience levels.
Measuring Impact
Impact across the Manager Effectiveness tools is tracked through four data sources:
- Action Plan success metrics — Admins select outcome-focused metrics when building Action Plans. See Create a Manager Effectiveness Action Plan.
- Manager Effectiveness Assessment data — Surveys and reviews measure growth across key leadership behaviors. See Manager Effectiveness Assessment — What It Is and How It Works.
- Participation and engagement tracking — 15Five tracks attendance, completion, and usage across all three tools. See Understand the Kona Usage Report.
- Manager reporting in the HR Outcomes Dashboard — Dashboards display behavior trends and coaching impact at the individual and organizational level. See Kona Reporting in the HR Outcomes Dashboard — Feature Overview.
Key Rules
- Kona requires a calendar sync to join meetings. See Connect Your Calendar to Kona Meeting Assistant.
- Group coaching sessions support a maximum of 10 participants per session.
- Coaching sessions are assigned by admins through Action Plans — managers cannot self-assign sessions.
- Content courses are accessible on demand once access is provisioned. See Access On-Demand Manager Training Content.
- Kona is only available on the Perform or Total Platform plans. Content and Coaching are available on any plan.
What You Can Do
Set Up
- Set up Kona Meeting Assistant (Admin)
- Invite a Manager to Kona Coach via Account Settings
- Create a Manager Effectiveness Action Plan
- Assign a Group Coaching Session to Managers
- Assign bulk actions to managers
Use
- Kona — Feature Overview
- Kona for Managers — Feature Overview
- Kona Meeting Assistant — Feature Overview
- Access On-Demand Manager Training Content
- Complete your coaching profile
- Schedule an assigned 1:1 coaching session
- Add session details to a 1:1 coaching session
- Microlearning — Feature Overview
Analyze
- Understand the Kona Usage Report
- Kona Reporting in the HR Outcomes Dashboard — Feature Overview
- Manager Effectiveness Assessment — What It Is and How It Works
- Manager Effectiveness Indicator (MEI) — Feature Overview
Common Issues
- [Does Kona Record Audio or Video?]
- [How Long Does Kona Keep Meeting Transcripts?]
- [Who Can Access My Kona Meeting Transcripts?]
- [What Is Kona Pre-Trained On?]
- Report a Kona issue from your 1-on-1s
Related Articles
- Kona — Feature Overview
- Kona for Managers — Feature Overview
- Kona Meeting Assistant — Feature Overview
- Kona Reporting in the HR Outcomes Dashboard — Feature Overview
- Manager Effectiveness Assessment — What It Is and How It Works
- Manager Effectiveness Indicator (MEI) — Feature Overview
- Microlearning — Feature Overview
- Create a Manager Effectiveness Action Plan
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