When we look into the future and consider what an organisations needs in the present volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous VUCA world, which is moving ever faster, the strategic value of coaching and mentoring should become an intrinsic part of achieving organisation ambitions.
For the 21st Century adaptability to change has become the norm. How executive and senior teams can respond to the rapidly changing landscape context is not rooted in traditional methods of hierarchy knows best, line management directives or on completing an in-house training course. Today many contemporary organisations are moving towards a collaborative leadership style that enables managing constant and rapid change. Core to this new approach to leadership is show leaders how to integrate coaching in their organisations to achieve business results.
Do you want to guide the learning, innovation, creativity and productivity in your organisation?
Introducing a coaching approach to leadership brings into play new highly valued skills such as questioning, seeking clarity, evaluating options and identifying a way forward. Developing a coaching capacity within your organisation means that with the correct guidance and support you can expand employees capacity to learn from the challenges they face whilst on the job, day in-day out. This learning improves performance and increases innovation, energy, creativity, commitment, and productivity.
But Coaching over Mentoring, or is there a place for both?
Really depends on what your organisation is seeking to achieve! The similarities that lie between coaching and mentoring include an intentional care of the person, a desire to help someone progress and grow and to listen. Thereafter the 2 approaches part ways. A mentor is much more hands-on, side by side; a mentor brings about a transfer of knowledge, helps navigate to an end goal, can often be a ‘wise sage’ of the business or industry venerated of their knowledge, judgement and experience. Their approach includes key share skills in listening, questioning and seeking clarity but this is all with the specific aim to advise, give direction and solutions to the mentee.
A coaching relationship is entirely coachee-led. Coaching is more discreet, facilitative and supportive aimed at the clients own self directing. Collaborative coaching is clearly defined by language and style. It is less directed and more self-directive. The distinction is between ‘I tell you how…’ and ‘you know how….’. It is not to say that there is not a time when direction is needed, as you cannot coach knowledge, but the context of that conversation is all about being in service to the client. As with any service experience, it is all about being in service to the client at that moment in time.
A coach and coachee are a collaborative relationship of equals.
So what are the attributes of an effective, collaborative coaching style?
Read on for our top 6 attributes…
1. Make someone feel valued and supported by listening to them carefully. However during the session the coach is in ‘active listening’ using other skills of questioning and seeking clarification
2. Builds rapport with the coachee using the flow of the coaching conversation enabling the coacee to talk and express themselves with ease
3. Is encouraging, challenging and realistic about coachee’s goals to create a focus on their objectives
4. Acts as a mirror to reflect back thoughts, words and ideas to enable the coachee to see things more easily
5. Remains impartial and objective throughout, is present entirely for the coachee and not themselves.
6. Leads by example in terms of time-keeping, commitments made or responsive to the clients needs, particularly if either party thinks that they can no work together.
Are you interested in some 121 coaching or seeking collaborative coaching for your team or organisation?
If YES then book in a 30 minute free consultation on coaching here.
Leave a Reply