Implementing Coaching and Mentoring

Define and differentiate between the concepts of coaching and mentoring

Both mentoring and coaching are practical approaches all aimed at developing the skills of the employees. May employers use often use these tools to enhance the knowledge, s=performance, and the expertise of their employees towards specific goals. To ensure that your firm achieves specific objectives every employer needs to use these tools. These tools help in selling the idea of what the employees are expected to do or achieve in the firm. However, this facet will give different definitions of these tools, that is, mentoring and coaching, give out the distinction between the terms, the strategy, and the need to have the two tools in and organization (Dawber, 2019).

Mentoring can be defined as a semi-structured model whereby one person is allowed to share their knowledge, experience, and skills to give any assistance to others to progress in their own lives and careers. Mentors need to be ready and prepared at all times to offer help whenever the need arises within the agreed bounds. In most cases, mentors also have their mentors. This exercise is considered as a chain of passing on good Practice so that the expected benefits can be widely shared. It can be a short time agreement as long as the desired goal of the exercise is achieved, or it can be a long-term whereby it lasts for many years. Mentoring is considered more of more than giving advice or passing on experience in a particular situation. Mentoring is more of motivating, empowering, or inspiring another person to be able to identify their goals or own issues, and helping them to find solutions and not doing it for them.

Mentoring is not doing counseling or doing therapy, but rather through the mentor, the mentee may be assisted in how to get access to more specialized avenues of help if this would be the only best way forward.

As a mentee, you have a high chance of changing or achieving your goals more quickly than when working alone. Being a mentee, you are given more ideas and guidelines on how to undergoes different challenging situations and accomplish them with ease.  As a mentee, you have an opportunity to build a strong network of your expertise, which, in return, draws many benefits to yourself and others.  As a mentor, you should understand that mentoring is voluntary but, at the same time, very much rewarding. It can also benefit both the mentor and the mentee and the others, especially in developing your skills and career progression. A good mentor is one who is reliable, trustworthy, and honest to keep things confidential. A good mentor should be empathetic, able to question someone sensitively and empowering, capable of active listening, and lastly, be interested in helping others to succeed (Bradford, 2017).

On the other hand, coaching, which is more the same as mentoring, can be defined as the process aimed at improving the performance and focus on the here now rather than relying on the past or future. A coach, in other terms, can be referred to as a facilitator of learning. Coaches are not experts, as most people think. There is a slight difference between teaching and coaching someone. In coaching, the coach is majorly concerned with improving the performance of their subjects, in other terms helping them to learn (Hansman, 2017). A good coach always believes that the individual has the answer to their problems. What they need is just a help to find the answers.

Though both mentoring and coaching involves believing that the subjects have the answers to their questions, mentoring involves a general agreement that the mentor is to guide the mentee to learn or develop their skills faster than they might when doing the task alone. Mentoring acts as a catalyst where the individual has pushed a notch higher in her thinking.

Assess the benefits of coaching and mentoring for different stakeholders in organizations

Mentoring and coaching can provide an array of benefits to an organization regardless of their sizes. A good example is a small business. When these two models are well utilized in a company or organization productively, they provide employees a way to learn, connect, and grow within a business entity and their career paths. Both mentoring and coaching involve paring experienced professionals within an organization with the employees to help the employees in adapting the working environment and the culture of the working environment.  The two help the employees settle in their new working environment and get off a good start. Coaching is often used when a new employee can benefit from personal guidance on precise job obligations. Small businesses can use mentors to help in developing other employees in a particular career path like management (Hansman, 2017)

Retention

In an organization, mentoring and coaching encourage loyalty to the company. When company professionals join as a team and coach each other to sharpen their careers, they also tend to create opportunities for mentees. Therefore these individuals may have a great sense of connection and commitment to the firm. Mentoring and coaching help individuals develop a sense of belonging and ownership, encouraging these employees to have open communication where they are free to speak about anything with one another, resulting in having positive work experience (Dalia, 2017). This helps the company save on some money that could have been used on the annual recruitments and training of the new employees.

Personal Development.

Experienced employees and professionals may take advantage of the more significant experience that they have in training the young or employees with less experience and motivate them to speed up their speed. This effect is very much experienced when new employees are recruited in the company. Coaching and mentoring help the employees to stick to their career path, therefore making them have versed knowledge in a particular area of specialization. Coaching also helps individuals solve their issues within their boundaries without necessarily hurting anyone. This, in return, helps in reducing frustrations within the firm at a personal level, therefore, improving the job satisfaction of individuals (Mohan, 2018). This benefits the firm indirectly, since a lot of time may be wasted solving disputes, which generally happen in an organization if the employees do not know how to solve their issues smoothly. The feeling of job satisfaction is essential to the employees because of the motivation that comes with it. Coaching and mentoring helps the team develop and set up the goals and objectives of the firm. It also helps team members explore the needs desires, skills, motivation, and a well-thought process

Team efficiency

Caching and mentoring on top of developing employees, it can also improve the function of the team. Coaching and mentoring encourage teamwork within the employees and the management team. It is through this teamwork that the employees and the managers get the opportunity to identify the weaknesses and strengths of the firm. Once these are identified, the firm will be able to execute measures to follow in working towards achieving their objectives and maintain their vision. Teamwork also helps in identifying the weaknesses and strengths of each individual. Knowing your shortcomings helps and individual to improvise ways of improving. Unless you know your weaknesses, it is complicated to develop. Identifying these strengths and weaknesses in a firm allows the organization to capitalize on the resources that the company has to keep the whole team working smoothly, especially when an employee requests for a vacation or may become sick one day.

Explain and assess the different types of coaching and mentoring that can be implemented within organizations.

Both coaching and mentoring can further be classified into different types. Each type has its benefits and shortcoming. Any consideration of these types is influenced by several factors which include, assessing who will be involved, what they hope to achieve at the end of the exercise, and lastly, determine how they tend to learn (Israel, 2018).

Executive coaching

The leaders in an organization mostly use this type of coaching. It helps them take an objective view of the strategy scenarios. Its impact is mainly felt by the leaders, especially in the motivation and development of their skills in the fields of expertise. The leaders who experience this type of coaching are likely to develop a bond in the company reducing the chances of leaving the company (Awdish, 2018).

Transition coaching

When it comes to a time of change, especially in the administration of the company, it becomes a time to think of the implications that the move will bring to the firm. Transition coaching supports senior management before, during, and after changing, by either offering a receptive ear or a piece of practical advice (Connor, 2017).

Career coaching

In this case, the coach is mainly concerned with the individual’s career development. It comprises a wide range of activities which include, advising, mentoring, or consulting, and it may use psychometric tools to equip individuals with skills that impact their career choices.

One-on-one mentoring

This is the most common type of mentoring model used by many people. It pairs one mentor with the mentee. It helps the two develop a relationship and a strong bond with one another for the mentor to able to provide guidance and support to the mentee. It requires minimal involvement from the human resource department. This is because the schedules are agreed between the two or more interested parties.

Resource-based mentoring

This is more similar to one-on-one mentoring.  The only real difference between the two is that in resource-based mentoring, the mentors and the mentee are not interviewed by the person who is in charge of the program. Mentors agree to put down their names on paper then the list is given to the mentee who randomly chooses the names. Even though the person requiring advice is the one initiating the interaction, the individual is not guaranteed to get their preferred mentee (Dropdown, 2019). The mentor is usually limited to the mentee that the HR assigns to them. In most cases, lack of specialized supervision which raises the risk of mismatched mentor-mentee paring.

Group mentoring

This type of mentorship, as the name suggests, requires the mentor to deal with a group of different individuals at the same time. Various topics tackled at a go are taught to the individuals in regular meetings. In group mentoring, everyone, including senior and peer mentors, is allowed to give their experiences . In this type of mentoring, the greatest challenge is getting all the mentors of the group at once. In most cases, the meetings go on with missing individuals who miss the teachings that are taught on that day. The personal relationship does not prevail in this type of mentorship, forcing organizations to choose to combine group mentoring with one-on-one mentoring whereby, the mentor and each mentee arrange for a meeting.

Training-based mentoring

This is whereby mentoring is combined with a specific training program. An individual is assigned to a mentee who helps him develop some skills and competencies in a particular area of specialization, which is also covered in the courses that the mentee is enrolled in. It is, however, limited to the subjects that are being taught and not the overall development course of the mentee (Hansman, 2017).

E-mentoring

This is the type of mentorship that is facilitated using digital technology. The mentor and the mentee use technology as the only means of passing the information. Some of the digital forums used in this type of mentorship include emails, video calling text messages. However, the process still uses the same core principals of mentorship, like any other mentoring process.

Peer mentoring

This type of mentoring involves individuals of the same level, especially the age and competency mentoring one another just to assess how their fellow peers are faring. The process can be beneficial in building a connection between the colleagues and increasing the sense of responsibility in the firm (Mullen, 2016).

For a team to achieve its goals and cater for a wide range of personalities and learning, there is a variety of coaching and mentoring styles that need to be upheld. They all help in teambuilding and making sure that the firm achieves its objectives.

The role of line managers in coaching and mentoring

One of the most significant principal responsibility of Line managers is to develop your direct reports. The most potent and well-publicized ways of supporting other people develop are coaching and mentoring. It is undeniable to say that conflicts can arise in a company mainly due to the ignorance of the team members. Therefore, it is the work of the managers to solve these conflicts and ensure that the working environment is favorable for his team members (Huemann, 2019). Coaching and mentoring play a more significant role in this part of solving conflicts. Some of the ways that the manager can use in mentoring and coaching include

• Having regular conversations with the team members to identify the possibility of arising issues
• Conducting periodic reviews to explore how the exercise of coaching and mentoring is working.
• By not expecting to be told or ask what the mentor and the mentee have discussed but rather be appreciative.
• Be transparent with the team by telling them what to expect from the whole exercise of coaching and mentoring.
• You are ensuring that your direct reports have personal development plans.
• Always be ready to pose topics that direct reports might be interested in exploring during the mentoring process(Stewart-Lord, 2017)
• A good manager should bear some of the following characteristics
• He should be able to ask powerful questions
• He should not have hidden agendas
• He should be an active listener
• Should be non-authoritative
• Should always provide directions in a firm

Factors that need to be considered when implementing coaching and mentoring

Several factors need to be considered when implementing a particular model of coaching and mentoring. These factors are discussed below:

• You should always find the ability of the people to be coached, consider how teachable the individuals are
• you should also consider the impact that the whole exercise of coaching and mentoring will bring if implemented
• always check the quality of the coaching exercise, and this depends on the professional expertise of the coach or mentor on the mentor(Munro, 2017).
• The progress of the coaching and mentoring culture is always significant because it helps the firm determine the relevant skills to impart in the minds of the mentor(Woo, 2017).
• You should be innovative and creative with your approach to coaching and mentoring.

Recommendations

It is a commonly held belief that coaching and mentoring programs help in tapping the best from individuals working as a team in a company. In a corporate setting, it is expected that those in leadership positions should work closely with their employees, especially in providing support and encouragement.  In some cases, you find that those in leadership positions do not know that they have the responsibility to train those individuals that they are leading and balance this relationship with their work. For a firm to be successful in achieving its objectives, it is mandatory that the employers have to work closely with the employees, especially in making decisions that will affect the whole team, especially the performance of the corporate, solving problems, and developing skills (Dawber, 2019). This relationship does benefit not only the mentee, but also the whole company in creating a more efficient and independent workforce.

Recommendation 1

Due to the recent diversification of the organization, especially in the field of technology, I propose that most of the coaching and mentoring programs should be moved online. This can be achieved by using most of the digital ways of communicating which include the building of the organization’s website where the mentors can be sending new tips that help the mentee sharpen and develop their skills, creating mobile applications, sending push emails and also using WhatsApp group forums, especially where there is group mentoring. The most excellent resource that this exercise will impact on is saving on time. In most cases, you find that the mentor may lack sufficient time to stay with the mentee and discuss issues concerning the working environment. Putting this exercise online will make it simple for the mentor and the mentee to interact freely, especially during their free time in the comfort of their zones and have time to relax. The cost of traveling to meet at a specific place will be cut at this point. Taking the exercise online will also allow the mentor and the mentee to try different activities, which are beneficial to you (Pathak, 2017). This makes you feel more flexible.

Improving Information technology is one of the ways which can impact positively in a firm. Excellent and reliable customer care is one of the primary objectives that a firm aims to attain. Recently, most businesses are done online. Physical contact has been drastically reduced. Therefore a company upholding and maintaining reliable customer care services can help the company keep its customers (Dalia, 2017)

Recommendation two

Due to the fast-changing world in terms of economic, social, and cultural dynamics, I propose that the executive team should always carry out extensive research on the latest updates that need to be implemented in their industry. This will help them remain relevant to the industry. There are new things that are being invented every day, and if a firm remains with the old stuff without upgrading, they might be left behind in the field of market. The mentors need to impart new and relevant skills to their mentees that will keep them helpful to the industry.

As a leader, you need to recognize that changes take time and effort; therefore, you need to devote yourself entirely to embrace these changes.

You also need to take part in the mentorship program to avoid commanding your subjects to do something. Actively take part in the activity, and the mentee will have that feeling of commitment. Whenever you find a big task, the mentor must divide the task into smaller and achievable segments that would motivate the mentee.

Recommendation three

To become a great leader, I propose that you should build an authentic connection. One of the most significant steps of becoming a great leader is by creating an environment where your mentee will feel comfortable. You need to create an environment where both parties will feel respected and appreciated. According to (Passmore, 2015), there are several steps that mentors take to establish this bond:

Greeting employees personally and warmly. (Passmor, 2015) argues that the persons who have the most power and authority have the responsibility of making the others working under them feel comfortable. Therefore, it is always good to be kind and warm to your employers.

Begin with a human connection. It is always advisable to ask open-ended questions instead of launching into an issue like, “How was your day?” or “how is it going?” this will make the employee feel free to share with you in case of a problem. Starting conversations by launching into issues in most cases ruins the attitude of the employee, and in some cases, they might not be able to open up.

Maintain a relaxed posture when the employer is meeting the employees it advisable fr him to maintain a comfortable position. Whenever an employer makes an important point, the coach or the mentor should lean in to indicate interest.

They are practicing humility and humor. These two virtues are grounded in vulnerability; they make the real and the authentic characteristics of the coach to be seen, thus creating a ground for genuine connections.

Recommendation four

I also recommend that pieces of training be offered on coaches and mentors. In most cases, you may find that a coach has no idea of what to do. Sometimes he may be forced to follow what his subjects are doing, which is wrong. Coaches should always be ahead of the others in a team. They should be able to note the possibility of danger before it happens. Coach in an organization is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the prospective organization. If the organization fails to deliver or achieve its goals, all the blame lands on the coach (Passmore, 2017). Therefore it is essential for the coach also to get involved in pieces of training. Though the process of training these individuals is costly, the long-term benefits are wild. The company has the chance to retain these individuals who will be able to impart knowledge to the other newly recruited mentees.

Recommendation five

I also recommend that frequent reviews to be done on individuals to assess their efficiency and benefits they are bringing to the corporation. This will help the firm on deciding whether to retain a specific coach or terminate its contract. It will also help them form to have the best and qualified coaches because of good competition in the firm since everyone will be working towards improving their skills.

Undeniably coaching and mentoring have become increasingly popular in the business environment of today. Many organizations are using these models as a means of developing skills, and capability, improving performance career managing as well as facilitating leadership skills this has been proven by the chartered institute of personal development (CIPD) on coaching climate survey report done in 2011. From this survey, as compared to the earlier one done in 2009, many people reported that the basic need for coaching or mentoring is to improve the excellent performance representing about 60% of the respondents. The study of (Garvey 2017) proves that coaching has a real practical impact on the development of strong self-efficacy. This helps in performing tasks more effectively.

Coaching has been linked up with individuals’ professional and personal goals attainment, potential personal enhancement, and performance improvement. According to the historical development of coaching is said to have been influenced by factors like education, business, sports, psychology, and psychotherapy.

Even though coaching has become more popular, there is a lot of uncertainty and vagueness on understanding what coaching is. Currently, there is no general agreement on the definition of the term coaching. Different scholars and practitioners do not have a coherent approach to defining the term coaching. Early definitions mostly relied on the improvement of the performance of both individual and organization.

However, linking coaching with the need for improving the performance of organizations takes the better part in the definition of the term. Coaching and mentoring are both terms used on individuals who need to improve their performance.coaching is most beneficial for both a person and a client’s organization when well implemented. It helps the individuals to achieve their results. The parties that are involved in coaching include individuals, executives, teams, organizations, and other stakeholders.the figure below shows the graphical representation of these parties

Parties that are involved in the coaching process

As indicated in the graph, the individual plays a more significant role in the coaching and mentoring process. The performance of an organization is greatly influenced by the commitment of an individual towards achieving the organizational objectives. Excellent communication with the executive plays a more significant role in an organization. It helps to identify and resolve some problems that may arise during the operations of the organization. I would advocate for a company to invest heavily in coaching and mentoring as these might have a significant impact on the business even if not now, it might do so in the future. I hope all the organizations can implement this structured coaching and mentoring provision to make good profits in the future. It should serve as a long-term investment.

References

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