COACHING AND MENTORING

By: Prof. (Dr.) N.K. Chadha Head of Department Department of Psychology University of Delhi

COACHING
An informal training program in which the coach attempts to provide a model for the trainee to copy.

It is provided when needed rather being a part of a carefully planned program.

It is always handled by the supervisor or manager not by the HR department.

 Participation, feedback and job transference are likely to be high in this form of learning. Coaching will be ineffective if the relations between the trainee and coach are ambiguous, in that trainee cannot trust the coach. Coaching thrives in a climate of confidence, In which subordinates respect the integrity and capability of their superiors.

 Coaching takes most advantage of the possibilities of the individualized instruction concentrating on those specific stimulus situations where subordinates find it hardest to deal with, which are the hardest to improve. The kind and quality of feedback given in coaching can have a great impact on subordinates.

At management levels, coaching of subordinates by their managers is common.

immediate

Coaching is similar to apprenticeships because the coach attempts to provide a model for the trainee to copy. It tends to be less formal than an apprenticeship program because there are few formal classroom sessions and because it is provided when needed rather than being part of a carefully planned program.

It involves providing feedback, but it also uses other techniques such as motivation, effective questioning and consciously matching your management style to the coachees readiness to undertake a particular task. It is based on helping the coachee to help her/himself through dynamic interaction- it does not rely on a one way flow of telling or instructing.

Characteristics of Effective Coach

Empathizing Ability Listening Skills Capacity to confront and challenge Problem solving ability Feedback Skills Capacity to empower Goal Oriented Assertive Knowledgeable

Specific Skills

Interest and Belief in People

Coach

Listening, Analyzing and Ability of Problem solving

Influencing Skills

Coaching Process
Define Identify Issues and define Goals/ objectives Measure Collect Information

Repeat the Cycle

Analyze Explore Options, Pros and Cons

Improve Identify and Implement Initial Tasks

Control Added skills; Manage

Feedback Review Programs at the Next Session

Initiating The Coaching Process

1. Coaches should be clear about the issues and what is needed (objectives) 2. They should mentally rehearse planned coaching sessions, but always be ready to adapt changes. 3. Coaches should treat the coachee as an equal. 4. Coaches should emphasize youre their intent to support the coachee in solving issues.

Selecting a Coaching Style

Using the Push & Pull Styles: Push: The coach does most of the talking, guiding and explaining. Pull: The Coachee does most of the talking and the coach does the listening with little guidance. Transition Coaching: A good coach can move back and forth from push to pull as needed. Some people may need to be pushed and guided more than others, but the desired transition should be from push to pull. The goal is to move the Coachee from needing a lot of direction and coaching to needing very little.

The Management of Failure

The different ways in which different people react to failure: Some quit after just one failure. Unable to rise from the failure, they scale down their dreams. Others fail and fail again, but keep going, never compromising on the objectives. Failure makes some people more determined to overcome the failures. Failures are a tool for learning. A good coach can teach people how to handle failure creatively.

KEY BENEFITS OF COACHING

Increased motivation
Clarity and direction

Increased Productivity

Ownership and Responsibility

positive outcomes

Development activities are designed to suit coachees personal needs (whether aspiration or performance related) and learning styles. Fine tunes and develops skills. Can focus on interpersonal skills, which cannot be readily or effectively transferred in a traditional training environment.

Provides coachee with contacts and networks to assist with furthering their career or life aspirations. Performed in the live environment or offline. Highly effective when used as a means of supporting training initiatives to ensure that key skills are transferred to the live environment. Coaches transfer the skills to the coachee rather than doing the job for them.

Research Data on Coaching Shows:

Center for performance excellence found coaching increased productivity, diversity, team member satisfaction, customer satisfaction, & teamwork. Management training program increases a manager's productivity by 22 %, but when combined with eightweeks of one-to-one coaching, the managers productivity exploded to more than 85 %

Indian Companies Using Coaching

MENTORING
A Valuable Organizational Development Strategy

M Manages the relationship E Encourages

N Nurtures
T Teaches O Offers Mutual Respect R Responds to the Mentees needs

Some companies are smarter than others. They know people perform better if they are nurtured and therefore part of their training program is to have BUSINESS MENTORING.
They believe that they will be unable to build longterm talent competencies for supporting business growth without the mentoring function.

Who is a MENTOR ?
Task: Answer the following questions: Who is successful in my field? Who do I admire and respect? Who are the most influential people I know? Who thinks I have potential? Who has encouraged me? Who has helped me in the past, and would do again?

Mentor: A wise and trusted guide

In the business world Mentoring is regarded as:

A relationship in which one person (the mentor) usually someone more experienced, often more senior in an organization helps another (the learner or mentee) to discover more about themselves, their potential and their capability.

The purpose of Mentor is to

Provide leadership and inspiration at all levels of the organization, Have excellent business workforce instead of a few high-potential individuals, who are not sufficient to deliver the magnitude of talent, Support and assist executives in their learning on how to drive a successful organization.

Some Key Points on Mentoring

Takes place outside of a line manager-employee relationship, at the mutual consent of a mentor and the person being mentored. Is career-focused or focuses on professional development that may be outside a mentorees area of work. Relationship is personal - a mentor provides both professional and personal support. Relationship may be initiated by a mentor or created through a match initiated by the organization. Relationship crosses job boundaries. Relationship may last for a specific period of time (nine months to a year) in a formal program, at which point the pair may continue in an informal mentoring relationship.

Closely Related Terms for Mentor

Consultant Coach

facilitates decisions making Assists and motivates people to and assists with option exploration. implement plans and achieve goals. Supervisor Counselor:

Determines job responsibilities and Helps people take stock of where work objectives; they are and where they want to supervise job performance be.

Benefits to priority Mentees

Benefits within their companies. Benefits to the on mentoring to Mentors Organization Provides challenge and stimulation More effective staff Senior managers demonstrate greater commitment to training and development Improved communication across the organization Increased motivation of all parties involved

Empowers employees

Aligns employees to organization's vision and Enables them to goals identify future potential Career advancement Enables employees to grow to their potential Gives development opportunities Recognition of mentor's development skills by higher management Satisfaction at success of protg

Disadvantages for the Mentees

Disadvantages for the Mentors

Overdependence on the mentor Micro-management from the mentor

Mentee dependence on mentor Time, energy commitment to mentee

Negative halo from mentor Negative halo from mentee who fails who fails

How is mentoring viewed in corporate India today?

The best HR heads in Indian companies seem to have relegated the mentoring function to a lower priority. In spite of people and talent management issues being a top challenge today for most Indian CEOs, there are only a few CEOs who give high priority to the delivery of mentoring from their HR Directors. CEOs like Adi Godrej, Nandan Nilekani, Azim Premji, KV Kamath, Pramod Bhasin and Anand Mahindra place a high priority on mentoring within their companies.

COACHING AND MENTORING : Salient Differences

MENTORING
Focus is on career and personal development

COACHING
Focus is generally on development/issues at work

Ongoing relationship that can last Relationship generally has a set for a long period of time duration Mentor is usually more qualified than the Mentee . Often a senior person in the organization who can pass on knowledge, experience and open doors to otherwise out-of-reach Coaching is generally not performed on the basis that the coach needs to have direct experience of their clients formal occupational role, unless the coaching is specific and skills-

opportunities

focused

MENTORING More long-term and takes a broader view of the person

COACHING Short-term (sometimes time-bounded) and focused on specific development areas/issues Generally more structured in nature and meetings are scheduled on a regular basis

Can be more informal and meetings can take place as and when the mentee needs some advice, guidance or support Agenda is set by the mentee, with the mentor providing support and guidance to prepare them for future roles

The agenda is focused on achieving specific, immediate goals