AI-Powered Coaching by Kona
Kona is an AI-powered leadership coaching tool designed to assist managers, particularly in remote scenarios, with various aspects of team leadership. The tool ...
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What is AI-Powered Coaching by Kona?
Kona is an AI-powered coaching tool designed as a sidekick for remote managers, integrating seamlessly with Slack and video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Google Meet. It automatically joins meetings to generate instant notes, action items, and personalized real-time feedback based on the company's leadership philosophy and training content. Over time, Kona builds context from interactions to assist managers in preparing for 1:1s, drafting performance reviews, running effective meetings, and navigating difficult conversations, all delivered directly in Slack without disrupting workflows.
Key features include AI-generated meeting agendas, emoji-based team check-ins for morale boosting, anonymous feedback collection, team alerts for timely support, and a confidential Meeting Notes Hub for organized, searchable recaps. L&D teams can upload custom documents like company values and workshops to reinforce specific competencies, providing 24/7 on-demand expert advice while maintaining strict privacy by not storing transcripts or using data for AI training. It saves managers significant time on admin tasks, enhances leadership skills, and delivers anonymized insights on skill gaps to People teams.
Kona targets remote-first companies, busy player-coach managers, L&D and HR leaders seeking scalable enablement, and organizations investing in manager development to improve team happiness, retention, and performance. Testimonials highlight its impact on reducing meeting prep time by up to 1.5 hours weekly, building confidence in performance reviews, and acting like an additional HR headcount for quick advice. Note that as of the website, Kona's standalone platform is shutting down on August 31, transitioning to integration within 15Five's manager products.
AI-Powered Coaching by Kona pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Website does not detail specific pricing for Kona; previously offered free startup option. Now part of 15Five's manager enablement products including Kona AI coach, with overall platform pricing not specified on pages reviewed - contact sales for plans.
AI-Powered Coaching by Kona pros
- Joins Zoom/Google Meet automatically for notes
- Generates action items post-meeting in Slack
- Provides real-time personalized coaching feedback
- Customizable to company leadership philosophy
- Builds context for 1:1 prep and performance reviews
- Emoji-based check-ins boost team morale
- Anonymous feedback encourages openness
- Team alerts notify for support needs
- Saves 45-90 mins weekly per direct report
- Confidential, no transcript storage
- Meeting Notes Hub for searchable organization
- Upload custom docs for tailored advice
- Anonymized skill gap data for L&D
- Supports difficult conversation navigation
- Reduces HR bandwidth for manager queries
- Enhances performance review confidence
- Integrates natively with Slack workflow
AI-Powered Coaching by Kona cons
- Platform shutting down August 31
- Transitioning to 15Five required
- Slack-only, no native Teams support
- Limited to managers, not ICs yet
- Requires Google Calendar edit access
- Dependent on Zoom/Google Meet
- Admin access to anonymized data
- Waitlist for Microsoft Teams
- Custom uploads not used for AI training
Frequently asked questions about AI-Powered Coaching by Kona
How does Kona join meetings?
Anyone with edit access to Google Calendar events adds Kona by inviting [email protected]; for recurring meetings, ensure changes affect future instances. Kona then joins Zoom or Google Meet, generates notes, action items, and coaching observations sent to Slack.
Is Kona confidential and private?
Yes, everything is 100% confidential; transcripts are never stored and deleted immediately after meetings. Only bullet-point recaps and observations are shared in Slack without verbatim quotes, and DMs remain private. Admins see only anonymized usage trends.
What integrations does Kona support?
Built for Slack and meetings in Zoom/Google Meet. Currently Slack-only for chat; Microsoft Teams on waitlist. Integrates with tools teams use without pulling them out of flow, and supports custom document uploads.
Can Kona be customized to our company?
Yes, L&D leaders upload company documentation, workshops, values, and training content. This provides context for personalized feedback aligned to your leadership philosophy and reinforces best practices.
Who receives coaching from Kona?
Managers receive full notes, action items, and unique coaching observations based on their meeting performance. Teammates get only notes and action items. Focused on manager development, with IC features in development.
How does Kona help with performance reviews?
Kona uses built context from meetings and conversations to draft performance reviews, making managers more confident. Users report excitement sharing AI-generated feedback that's fair and aligned to company standards.
What is the Meeting Notes Hub?
A web platform where AI-generated meeting recaps, action items, and observations are stored for easy searching and organization, helping managers track progress without manual documentation.
Does Kona train on customer data?
No, customer data is never used to train Kona's AI models, nor shared with model providers for their training. Uploaded documents reinforce advice but aren't used for model improvement.
How does Kona save time for managers?
Automates meeting notes and admin, saving up to 1.5 hours weekly on prep, 45-90 mins per direct report. Acts as personal admin for people management, reducing manual follow-ups.
What happens after August 31 shutdown?
Kona’s standalone platform shuts down August 31 as part of transition to 15Five. Kona continues as AI assistant and coach within 15Five's manager products for ongoing enablement.