|
MENTORING
Everything you ever wanted to know about coaching and mentoring,
and quite a lot that you probably didn't
What are Coaching and Mentoring?
Both coaching and mentoring are processes that enable both individual and corporate clients to achieve their full potential.
Coaching and mentoring share many similarities so it makes sense to outline the common things coaches and mentors do whether the services are offered in a paid (professional) or unpaid (philanthropic) role.
 |
Facilitate the exploration of needs, motivations, desires, skills and thought processes to assist the individual in making real, lasting change. |
| |
Use questioning techniques to facilitate client's own thought processes in order to identify solutions and actions rather than takes a wholly directive approach |
|
Support the client in setting appropriate goals and methods of assessing progress in relation to these goals |
|
Observe, listen and ask questions to understand the client's situation |
|
Creatively apply tools and techniques which may include one-to-one training, facilitating, counselling and networking. |
|
Encourage a commitment to action and the development of lasting personal growth and change. |
|
Maintain unconditional positive regard for the client, which means that the coach is at all times supportive and non-judgemental of the client, their views, lifestyle and aspirations. |
|
Ensure that clients develop personal competencies and do not develop unhealthy dependencies on the coaching or mentoring relationship. |
|
Evaluate the outcomes of the process, using objective measures wherever possible to ensure the relationship is successful and the client is achieving their personal goals. |
|
Encourage clients to continually improve competencies and to develop new developmental alliances where necessary to achieve their goals. |
|
Work within their area of personal competence. |
|
Possess qualifications and experience in the areas that skills-transfer coaching is offered. |
|
Manage the relationship to ensure the client receives the appropriate level of service and that programmes are neither too short, nor too long. |
 |
Useful definitions
The common thread uniting all types of coaching and mentoring is that these services offer a vehicle for analysis, reflection and action that ultimately enable the client to achieve success in one more areas of their life or work.
>Here are some published definitions we particularly like...
Coaching is…
"a process that enables learning and development to occur and thus performance to improve. To be a successful a Coach requires a knowledge and understanding of process as well as the variety of styles, skills and techniques that are appropriate to the context in which the coaching takes place"
Eric Parsloe,
The Manager as Coach and Mentor (1999) page 8.
Eric is a respected author and Director of the
Oxford School of Coaching and Mentoring
Mentoring is...
"off-line help by one person to another in making significant transitions in knowledge, work or thinking"
Clutterbuck, D and Megginson, D, Mentoring Executives and Directors (1999) page 3 (available in the
bookshop). David Clutterbuck and David Megginson are both directors of The European Mentoring Centre and highly respected authors, academics and consultants in the mentoring arena.
The difference between coaching and mentoring
As can be seen above, there are many similarities between coaching and mentoring! Mentoring, particularly in its traditional sense, enables an individual to follow in the path of an older and wiser colleague who can pass on knowledge, experience and open doors to otherwise out-of-reach opportunities. Coaching on the other hand is not generally performed on the basis that the coach has direct experience of their client’s formal occupational role unless the coaching is specific and skills focused.
Having said this, there are professionals offering
their services under the name of mentoring who
have no direct experience of their clients' roles
and others offering services under the name of
coaching who do. So the moral of the story is,
it is essential to determine what your needs are
and to ensure that the coach or mentor can supply
you with the type and level of service you require,
whatever that service is called.
Coaching and mentoring
are STILL training
It is essential
that coaching and mentoring projects:
Work to a
statement of outcomes (or standard)
- Run
to a programme
- Have
sessions directed to learning outcomes
- Are
assessed and moderated
- Are
evaluated (for more,
click here)
The
following diagram shows the entire Outcome-based
Value Chain and indicates what parts are common
to each and every training intervention, and
what parts vary if they are other training
delivery formats (such as training and
mentoring).
Business
coaching and mentoring
Organisational development, changes brought about by mergers and acquisitions as well as the need to provide key employees with support through a change of role or career are often catalysts, which inspire companies to seek coaching or mentoring.
At one time coaching and mentoring were reserved for senior managers and company directors, now it is available to all as a professional or personal development tool. Coaching and mentoring are also closely linked with organisational change initiatives in order to help staff to accept and adapt to changes in a manner consistent with their personal values and goals.
Coaching and mentoring, both of which focus on the individual, can enhance morale, motivation and productivity and reduce staff turnover as individuals feel valued and connected with both small and large organisational changes. This role may be provided by internal coaches or mentors and, increasingly, by professional coaching agencies.
Coaching and mentoring programmes generally prove to be popular amongst employees as coaching achieves a balance between fulfilling organisational goals and objectives whilst taking into account the personal development needs of individual employees. It is a two-way relationship with both the organisation and the employee gaining significant benefits.
There is also an increasing trend for individuals to take greater responsibility for their personal and professional development and even those who are employed in large organisations are no longer relying on employers to provide them with all or their career development needs. There has been an increase in the number of individuals contracting coaches and mentors on a private basis. Some are looking for a career change, but many are also seeking to maximise their potential with an existing employer or achieve greater balance with their work and home lives.
Executive Coaching and Mentoring
There is a great deal of overlap between business and executive coaching or mentoring. Many people will offer either service, but there is a growing body of professionals who are calling themselves executive coaches and mentors and are differentiating themselves in the marketplace. The key differences between business and executive coaching and mentoring are that Executive coaches and mentors typically…
|
Have a track record in professional and executive
roles |
|
Work exclusively with the ‘high-flyers’ or
with those who have potential to be a high flyer |
|
Work at board or CEO level within high profile
or ‘blue-chip’ organisations |
|
Offer total confidentiality |
|
Work with potential 'captains of industry'
and high profile business leaders |
Performance Coaching and mentoring
Many coaching clients will seek coaching or mentoring for performance enhancement rather than the rectification of a performance issue. Coaching and mentoring have been shown to be highly successful intervention in these cases. When an organisation is paying premium rates for development services, performance is usually the key payback they are looking for. Even if an executive or manager receives support in balancing work and home life, it will be with the aim of increasing their effectiveness and productivity at work and not for more altruistic reasons.
Performance coaching derives its theoretical underpinnings and models from business and sports psychology as well as general management approaches.
Skills coaching and mentoring
Skills coaching has some commonalities with one-to-one training. Skills coaches and mentors combine a holistic approach to personal development with the ability to focus on the core skills an employee needs to perform in their role. Skills coaches and mentors should be highly experienced and competent in performing the skills they teach.
Job roles are changing at an ever-increasing rate. Traditional training programmes are often too inflexible or generic to deal with these fast moving requirements. In these instances one-to-one skills coaching allows a flexible, adaptive ‘just-in-time’ approach to skills development. It is also possible to apply skills coaching in ‘live’ environments rather than taking people away from the job into a ‘classroom’ where it is less easy to simulate the job environment.
Skills coaching programmes are tailored specifically to the individual, their knowledge, experience, maturity and ambitions and is generally focused on achieving a number of objectives for both the individual and the company. These objectives often include the individual being able to perform specific, well-defined tasks whilst taking in to account the personal and career development needs of the individual.
One-to-one skills training is not the same as the ‘sitting next to Nelly’ approach to ‘on the job training’. What differentiates it is that like any good personal or professional development intervention it is based on an assessment of need in relation to the job-role, delivered in a structured (but highly flexible) manner, and generates measurable learning and performance outcomes. This form of skills training is likely to focus purely on the skills required to perform the job function even though it may adopt a facilitative coaching approach instead of a 'telling' or directive style.
Personal coaching
and mentoring
Personal or ‘life coaching’ is growing significantly in the UK, Europe and Australia. Personal coaches may work face-to-face but email and telephone based relationships are also very common. These coaches and mentors operate in highly supportive roles to those who wish to make some form of significant change happen within their lives.
Coaches offer their clients a supportive and motivating environment to explore what they want in life and how they might achieve their aspirations and fulfil their needs. By assisting the client in committing to action and by being a sounding board to their experiences, coaching allows the individual the personal space and support they need to grow and develop. The coach's key role is often is assisting the client to maintain the motivation and commitment needed to achieve their goals.
In many cases personal coaching is differentiated from business coaching purely by the context and the focus of the programme. Business coaching is always conducted within the constraints placed on the individual or group by the organisational context. Personal coaching on the other hand is taken entirely from the individual's perspective.
|
