COACHING - 1

Coaching & Mentoring
by Steve Banhegyi
CIDA City Campus, African Leadership School

A Quote…..

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Mark Twain (1835-1910, American Humorist, Writer)
What is Coaching?
"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"

What is Coaching? …

Coaching 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.

What is a Coach? or Who is a Coach?

A person who wants to see you win for the rest of your life.

A person to talk to when you run into problems or want to prevent problems from developing.

A person who will stay in contact with you across time and settings.

What is Mentoring?

"off-line help by one person to another in making significant transitions in knowledge, work or thinking“

Mentoring 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 & Mentoring

Coaching & 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 & Mentoring.

Actively taps potential.

Fine tunes and develops skills.

Development activities are designed to suit client’s personal needs and learning styles.

Eliminates specific performance problems.

Can focus on interpersonal skills, which cannot be readily or effectively transferred in a traditional training environment.

Provides contacts and networks to assist with furthering their career or life aspirations.

Performed in the ‘live’ environment

Highly effective when used as a means of supporting training initiatives to ensure that key skills are transferred to the ‘live’ environment.

Coaches and mentors transfer the skills to the client rather than doing the job for them.

Coaching & Mentoring.

A therapist will explore your fears about riding a bike.

A consultant will tell you how to ride a bike.

A mentor will show you how to ride a bike.

A coach, when you decide you want to ride a bike, will run along beside you to provide support.

Traditional Training

Wholesale transfer of new skills, e.g. change in procedures, new systems (e.g. software application training), new job function.

Programmes are mostly generic and not tailored to individual needs. Delegates generally have to complete standard modules, so there is little room for tailoring the programme to account for existing knowledge, skills or preferences.

Not always sufficiently similar to the ‘live’ working environment to ensure effective skills transfer.

Best suited to transfer of knowledge and certain skills rather than the development of personal qualities or competencies

Reasons to Coach

The higher up you go in management; the value of your technical skill declines while the value of your interpersonal skill increases

Growing organisations need emotionally mature employees

Personal growth and development can seem like a painstaking process, especially when you approach it alone

Excessive employee turnover can rob a company of its base of knowledge

Ongoing interaction with a personal coach makes it easier to cope with the chaos (the sounding board)

360 degree Feedback (how well am I doing?)

Chaos

Rapid Change

Coaching Topics

Motivation

Goal Setting / Problems in reaching priorities

Interpersonal relationships (work & personal)

Personal / professional plans

Progress benchmarks

Personal roadblocks, blind spots & other concerns

Pressing decisions (To get perspective.)

Benefits to the Coach

Become better listener

Become better learner

Have clearer understanding of leadership styles requiring to ‘let go’

People want to work for them

Become better leader

Learn strategy & empowerment

In the Past..

On the farm / in the village:

Parent / Child

Grandparent / Grandchild

Society of Artisans:

Craftsman / Apprentice

University Scholar / Student

Knight / Novice

Artist / Protege

And Today…

In the home: decreasing parent-child conversations

In school / university: faculty & students rarely meet outside the classroom

In industry: the craftsman has given ground to the technician