BarCharts, Inc.® WHY HAVE A COACHING/ MENTORING PROGRAM? Solves many contemporary work force issues: • Helps businesses retain the best employees • Eases communication breakdowns due to mergers and acquisitions • Develops leaders who can deal effectively with the information age • Recent hirees can develop profiles of success by learning from others with more experience and knowledge • Provides a method to coach executives What mentors/coaches can • Give participants (protégées or mentees) knowledge, skills and insights offered by someone with greater experience • Introduce career-related activities to enhance skills • Relate personal experiences that teach a lesson • Give access to other leaders in the field • Share knowledge of emerging trends • Introduce new behaviors that relate to specific needs within the organization Who’s doing it? • 97% of corporations use coaching and mentoring, at least informally • 66% have formal executive mentoring programs • 38% have formal executive coaching programs COACHING VS MENTORING Both methods focus on helping others reach goals, share problems, seek solutions, and engender self or professional improvement • Coaching is a formal, personalized approach for individuals to assess specific or problem areas of their careers, their lives and/or their needs It is a paid position if an external consultant is used and includes specific actions and goals • Mentoring is an unpaid, informal relationship, often by a role model It may be a one-time meeting or intermittent, depending on needs 360 DEGREE ASSESSMENTS • Multi-rater’s tool used for leadership coaching of an individual or an entire management team • Rapidly gaining favor to define development needs of an entire organization; helps to identify already present skills and behaviors as well • Important to have a skilled coach involved in this process to avoid divisiveness and finger pointing; climate of trust is necessary to build competencies • Accurately focuses on developmental needs of individuals with confidential and anonymous feedback • Assesses perceptions of other stakeholders in the organization, i.e., peers, direct reports and supervisors, as well as one’s own strengths and weaknesses • Is non-judgmental and can be Web based • Measures competencies and behaviors demanded by the organization; can include more than 100 specific leadership behaviors • Results are collated into one report from all respondents to determine appropriate actions and strategies • Assessments and prices differ from publisher to publisher; coaches usually have preferences for using the one that they are most familiar with • Can be used for entire management teams and multi-departments to increase leadership skills • Can be re-administered over time to measure and track ongoing observable behavior, and provide ongoing feedback WORLD’S #1 QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE HOW ARE THE PROGRAMS STRUCTURED? There are as many models and design structures to coaching and mentoring programs as corporations researched The most successful results have the following in common: • Use of a comprehensive approach to leadership development • Use of coaching and mentoring as one component • Driven by strong CEO business initiatives • Begin with clearly defined goals, objectives, and measurements • The most effective coaches are external consultants rather than current staff, but mentors are internal or external • Build strength within organizations BASICS OF COACHING/ MENTORING PROGRAMS • Mentoring is a recognized workplace practice that establishes personal contact and interaction between management and staff • Mentoring programs became more formal when well documented research proved that a personal interest in someone is an appropriate intervention to combat a faceless technological and global business world • The terms, “mentoring and coaching,” are often used without discrimination, but they differ in style and in substance (see Coaching vs Mentoring) • Whether one enters a coaching or mentoring relationship, it is important there be a commitment from both persons • Providers and recipients must be able to communicate with one another and agree upon setting goals and learning new behaviors The goal must involve the advancement of the mentee • Disciplining employees has no part in either mentoring or coaching programs because these sessions or meetings are separate from performance reviews • Completing a coaching or mentoring program may be part of the performance expectations developed during review sessions • Participants who serve in either role must be willing to consider “out of the box” ideas to promote outcomes of leadership skills and superior work habits • Two Main Categories - Highly structured, short-term: º Established for introductory planning or for a short period to meet a need within the organization (such as employee orientation) º To prepare someone to take over for a vacated or newly created position - Highly structured, long-term: º Established for secession training º Preparation for leadership roles as a career path and part of a career ladder program MENTORING AND COACHING AS AN ORGANIZATIONAL AND CORPORATE SOLUTION Mentoring is successful when it meets one or more of the following key needs: • Provides a support system for new staff, introduces them to company culture, and provides role models; often improves staff retention rates • Eliminates need to go outside the company for new hires; allows easy identification of skills and abilities, as well as those with leadership potential • Gives management the tools to identify appropriate candidates for fast tracking • Supports diversity in the workforce; minorities and under-represented groups benefit professionally and personally • Develops and motivates those employees who are isolated from the company culture due to technology needs, working off site or at home • Provides incentives to individuals to accelerate learning and goal attainment • Reduces stress and burnout; provides a challenge or an appropriate time out • Supports continuous learning in changing business climates and environments FINDING THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR THE JOB The mentor/coach: • Has a long lasting effect on another person • Gives others knowledge, insight or perspective • Encourages exploration of ideas • Listens to complaints and offers assistance in identifying and solving problems • Provides appropriate training and counseling • Encourages appropriate risk taking • Provides opportunities for new contextual beliefs • Has a high degree of knowledge and experience in their field • Is able to exert influence on behalf of participant • Does not attempt to make participants adopt uncomfortable roles or challenge their value systems Selecting mentors/coaches: • Appoint an internal committee or external consultant to determine objective selection criteria • Committee can direct the program as it selects and pairs mentors/coaches with participants • Selection aide – some questions to help select the right coaches/mentors: - What are the personal strengths of the coach/mentor? - How well does the mentor/coach communicate? - How does the mentor/coach approach issues and make decisions? - How does the mentor/coach react under stress or when challenged? - What interaction style, belief systems, and assumptions will each person bring to an interaction? CAVEATS When hiring a coach or working with a mentor: • Coaches and mentors are not created equal and many persons have jumped on the bandwagon to provide coaching or become involved in mentoring programs to promote themselves in the company’s eyes • Be a wise consumer or staff member Make certain the person you hire or who has been assigned to you is willing to address your expectations, can explain how they diagnose problems and be creative in offering solutions • Coaches should also exhibit good listening skills, have an understanding of your business and your industry, not waste time in scheduled sessions, and be accessible to you when you need them • If, anytime during the coaching process, any of these things cease to exist, then it may be time to question the relationship or terminate the coaching program with that person and seek out someone more compatible • Keep in mind, coaching and mentoring programs are to help individuals learn and succeed in the business world SETTING UP PROGRAMS FORMAL TRAINING NEEDED Companies need formal training programs for mentors/coaches to ensure consistent relationships and understanding of roles and competencies required Evaluations take place during and at conclusion of formal programs • Develop resources for formal mentoring programs - Search the internet for resources on mentoring topics - Library of written materials should be readily available - A trained research librarian should be able to help you find what you need • Recruit mentors/coaches - Schedule information session for qualified persons - Announce program: goals, objectives, time commitment and expectations - Discuss benefits to mentors/coaches; what will they get out of participating and the value of the program to organization • Communication skills and counseling training for the mentor involves evaluating needs assessment and developing related activities - Role-playing will help determine how communication skills work in different situations and help develop listening skills, as well as teaching how to ask appropriate questions - Setting goals that help people grow should be the main focus - Skill building: Practice sessions and activities encourage and motivate participants - Must work at establishing trust and building rapport - Conflict resolution techniques crucial- where there is growth there will always be at least a little conflict - There must be a method to determine issues of confidentiality (see QuickStudy® Guide, Managerial Skills) - There must be a set evaluation/ “accountability strategy” - Sample questions for beginning mentoring discussions º Keeping in mind the goal of the discussion, ask, “What activity are you presently working on?” (May be about a new project; about employees normal work routine, i.e., customer service) º What you hope to accomplish on a short or long term basis? º Are you completing a project goal (a finished design) or a performance goal (communication skills)? º How can I or others assist you? • Participant orientation session topics - Explain program goals and objectives as defined by company needs - Discussion of the roles and expectations of all participants - Importance of scheduling and meeting with participants • Training curriculum should include the teaching of coaching skills - Styles of coaching differ as learning styles; use assessments to identify communication and learning style - Some assessments (e.g Myers Briggs/Firo B, Consulting Psychologist Press) will identify communication styles, needs, developmental issues and suggest action plans; these assessments serve to take the issues into an objective mode COACHING FOR PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS When setting up programs and selecting participants, the focus should be on meeting the needs of the organizational structure as well as those of the participants • Informal mentoring and coaching roles can take the place of, or coexist with, formal programs - Informal supporters are peers or management who often have no formal role but provide emotional and psychological support that ultimately keeps employees motivated - Role models have skills and expertise or hold a position that employees may be aiming for; there can be multiple role models for any one person - When an individual agrees to serve as a coach or a mentor in a formal or informal role they must: • Be able to communicate effectively with others • Be willing to spend the time and effort to assist another individual to succeed • Be willing to consider “out of the box” ideas to ensure leadership skills and superior work habits are result Coaching for performance improvement is often necessary and differs from other coaching Coaching in this instance is based upon reviews and or reports of poor behavior or inappropriate skill levels that can lead to termination In this model, coaching is tied to performance reviews and carries consequences beyond an individual’s desire to change The immediate supervisor often provides the coaching, but it can be carried out by an independent coach Identify unsatisfactory performance yes Is it essential to employee to change in some way? no It may be a one time reaction or a value judgment not essential to performance no Let employee know; provide feedback no Let employee know; determine if a coach or a mentoring program would benefit the person and if they are willing to become involved yes Does employee know performance is unsatisfactory? yes Does employee know what is supposed to be done and when? SETTING GOALS • The mentor/mentee relationship must be based on meeting specific goals, rather than on the development of a friendship or sporadic counseling relationship • If is often effective to hire external consultants to set up these goals, as the success of the entire program is dependent on them • What should the goals be? - Goals should meet the SMART goals criteria; Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time sequenced - Goals should fit into company plans - Must be written to gain support from others within department or organization and be aligned to organization’s goals or strategic plans • Developing Contracts - Must take into consideration others involved in goal or project - Include actions that must be taken to reach this goal - Include strategies for overcoming obstacles that would impede progress - Involve options and alternatives to be considered as plan progresses - Include a statement of commitment yes Are there obstacles beyond the employee’s control? yes yes It may be a one time reaction or a value judgement not essential to performance Does employee know how to it? no Provide training and set goals; provide practice yes Does negative consequence follow performance? no Does positive consequence follow performance? yes Consult with mentor or coach for appropriate consequences; redirect employee’s behavior no Provide rewards no Repeat consequences for non-performance and have coach or mentor reinforce final consequences yes Could employee it if he or she wanted to? yes Transfer or termination COACH/MENTOR AND PROGRAM EVALUATION CRITERIA • On regular, predetermined intervals, review coach/mentor effectiveness and participant growth through surveys and random interviews Routinely gather data from participants • Schedule evaluations for improvement of organizational communication, retention rates, work/life balance satisfaction, and career guidance of all participants There are many effective human resources tools available to complete this part of the process Sample Development Plan to Track Progress • Putting it in writing makes it easier for everyone to agree on the plan and to evaluate progress of participants in a coaching or mentoring program • There are many forms for doing this, however, it should be kept simple and easy for participants at all levels to understand if they are to buy into these programs as a way to develop themselves • Programs should never be seen as mandatory, but, rather as an opportunity to be involved in a professional development program Individual Development Plan Employee Name: Present Position: _Date Assigned Present Position: Development Goals Needed Skills Employee Comments: Mentor Comments: Consultant Comments: Recommended Plan of Action Est.Completion Date MENTEE BENEFITS How mentees can benefit most by coaching from manager • Help the coach or mentor by asking for clarification, and giving feedback if there is a question or disagreement about anything being suggested • Accept responsibility for yourself Either the mentor or the coach can initiate coaching sessions If they feel a need to meet with the coach outside regularly scheduled sessions, they should ask • Respond positively to the coach’s feedback, advice and factual information, and seek to receive understanding and support • Be realistic and avoid being defensive They should not expect goals to be given a higher priority than those of the company; they should be in alignment • Seek steady progress Focus on shorter range milestones instead of forcing themselves to take gigantic leaps towards agreed upon goals POSITIVE COACHING VS PROBLEM SOLVING COACHING Coaching takes on many formats and can be used as a continuous supportive program or when specific performance problems require immediate attention Positive Coaching Problem Solving Coaching Purpose: Review strengths or opportunities A meeting to develop a performance improvement plan for growth and enrichment Goals: Improve motivation, Behavior change, corrections, and adjustments growth in organization Time Focus: Future The present - what is happening right now Role of Coach: To assess and support person’s needs and manage the problem solving Improving current situation process; results in effort put forth relative to organizational needs and the encouragement of risk taking for greater contributions EXECUTIVE COACHING EXECUTIVE OR PERSONAL COACHING Executive coaching is a benefit to senior level management While mentoring and coaching can be used at any level of the organization, Executive Coaching is becoming more of an integral necessity for executives in leadership roles • Coaching often relieves the “loneliness at the top,” when CEO’s and their counterparts deal with the complex issues resulting from their decisions and actions • Egos, ethics, and perceptions that ultimately influence the stakeholders and shareholders of a company require the introspection that executive coaching can bring • Executive coaches in corporate life can address needs in leadership development, speech delivery, business etiquette, people skills, management or even appearance It may be necessary to have coaches who specialize in these different elements WHY SENIOR EXECUTIVES HIRE EXTERNAL COACHES • To observe their performance and give feedback - Impartial feedback is less threatening from an external coach • Time and attention of the coach is devoted solely to learning and gaining new knowledge about the mentee and the impact of the behavioral changes on others • Coaches must have appropriate business background, be experienced in coaching skills and be able to administer appropriate assessment tools • Coach certification guarantees a specific level of competence WHAT THE EXECUTIVE COACH CAN TEACH Coaching partnerships involve sharing the leader’s vision of the organization with employees Research supports increase of employee loyalty to company • How to deal with the stress of the changing environments within the workplace • How leaders become helpers, not supervising critics • To avoid confrontation and focus on teamwork and positive reinforcement • To overcome internal barriers and discover new opportunities • More effective communication • Management of sensitive issues relating to business relationships • To create credibility in presentations • To strengthen stress management and coping skills • To manage time productively • To develop a personal and effective leadership style • To create guidelines for moving up the ladder • To develop and maintain a consistent professional image • To create authority and credibility in a professional image • To develop skills for delegating with authority • How to deal with issues of self esteem, personal and professional confidence CONCEPTS OF COACHING FOR LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES Senior managers and executives in organizations who want to be consistently upward bound rely on professional coaching to be certain they are effective leaders They understand the benefits of having a coach in the same way a sports hero continues to be coached even when he or she has risen to the top of their field • Old-line thinking and executive management can be a block to dealing with pressures of managing organizations New competencies are needed to be successful The global economy and changing economic systems require new Leadership Competencies (Scholtes) • These include: - Learning to think in terms of leadership of systems; understanding the variety of work, planning and problem solving - Understanding how people learn, develop and improve - Providing leadership in real learning and systems improvement - Understanding human behavior and cultural differences - Understanding interdependence and interaction between systems, variation, learning and human behavior; knowing the effects on one another - Providing vision, meaning, direction and focus to the organization IMPROVES EFFICIENCY Coaching improves performance and enhances efficiency of staff members • Creates less need for constant supervision • Focuses on and brings out employee potential • Increases job satisfaction • Provides mutual support • Lessens stress • Allows for empowerment • Provides methods for problem solving • Teaches balancing of life skills • Creates authority and credibility in a professional image • Develops consistency • Deals with self-esteem issues and personal and professional confidence • Deals with difficult people successfully • Identifies problems that interfere with professional success • Provides career development • Creates ongoing feedback • Allows for incentives for goal setting • Develops conflict resolution skills • Focuses on teamwork and positive reinforcement IMPROVES EFFECTIVENESS All management becomes more effective when executive coaching programs are in place • Executives allow for delegation of routine tasks to managers and supervisors • Problem solving and planning for the future takes place at all levels so there is ready buy-in • Managers and supervisors are encouraged to become proactive instead of reactive • Teaches conflict resolution by involving open discussion and free exchange of ideas at all levels • Learning to value every employee increases productivity and as a result a return on the investment in human capital • Provides feedback for ongoing projects for risk management and reduction of costly errors • Provides ongoing new ideas to increase efficiency TRAINING VS COACHING Coaching skills are also used to train; however, it is important to know the differences, when to train and when to coach This model differentiates the two, relative to desired outcomes Training Coaching Imparts basic skills Teaches skill application Helps break old habits Helps build new habits Encourages/molds behaviors Sculpts/guides behaviors Increases confidence Challenges Narrows range of freedom Broadens range of freedom Requires close supervision Decreasing supervision Frequent feedback Frequent feedback Builds skills/knowledge Builds results COACHING SMALL GROUPS THE COACH AS TEACHER/FACILITATOR: Effective coaches model the behaviors they want staff members to live by The role of a coach is to develop highly performing people and often becomes that of an instructor The process includes the know-how to facilitate learning for growth opportunities • Steps to the Instruction Process - Understand adult learning - Knowledge of instructional design and skills for meaningful teaching - Knowledge and skills to facilitate learning in different ways and to use various techniques • Consider using the following Four Step Process by Mink, Owen, and Mink in Developing High Performance People, The Art of Coaching: - Telling: Explain to the participant exactly what the task is, how it fits into the big picture of the team or the company, how it is done and how well it must be done to reach a satisfactory level of competency - Showing: Demonstrate how to perform the skills, and explain the relevance of each task as you proceed - Doing: Allow participant to actually perform tasks after you have demonstrated them As they are doing so, ask questions that will demonstrate their understanding Learning by doing is often favored by many - Correcting: Positive feedback is an appropriate way to enhance learning Coaches should provide feedback that allows errors to be immediately corrected before they become habit Also gives positive reinforcement while learning and skill building are taking place Builds selfesteem and confidence • To Become A Successful Coach One Must: - Know how to develop a learning plan that includes essential steps - Know how to set up mutually agreed upon learning goals for buy-in - Define gaps between ambitions and current situation - Determine gaps between current situation and life needs - Include feelings and recognized desires or wants - Cognitive component of a competency: Involves acquisition of specific set of facts or knowledge - Affective component of a competency: Involves a value component - Behavioral component of competency: Involves acquiring a set of behavioral skills EFFECTIVE COMPETENCY BUILDING Tell the staff person what he is supposed to Show how it is to be done Make your explanations clear Demonstrate each task step by step Show what you tell Explain the work as you go along Point out spots where mistakes occur Allow for questions at any time Go at an appropriate pace Ask questions Be clear in your use of terms Allow for questions at any time Illustrate the work using media Video Sketches Charts Films, interactive software, models Allow for questions at any time • Goal is to give staff opportunity for practice and experience in performing skills that demonstrate competency • Final mode of coaching is counseling to enable associates to consciously make changes in behavior CULTURAL COMMUNICATION CULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN COACHING See also QuickStudy® guide “Managerial Skills.” • Impact of styles across cultures is as different as their languages, even when using the same language to communicate • Essential for good managers to understand cross cultural communications to eliminate confusion, blunders, lost confidence and opportunities to succeed as a coach or mentor • Learn to expect and identify cultural differences • Draw cues from non-verbal communication • Be careful of humor • Examine your own cultural conditioning • Review cultural experiences from the past • Identify any prejudices and biases that you may have • Identify your own cultural discomfort zones • Modify your style and expectations to match cultural differences CULTURAL CASE STUDY Li will not look Gayle in the eye during their coaching sessions He does not adhere to deadlines Gayle feels that he is unorganized, evasive and disrespectful of her as a manager Li’s cultural background dictates that he not look a “superior” directly in the eye and that deadlines are not a firm commitment unless agreed to In actuality, there is a cultural difference that needs to be addressed openly and in a trusting manner Differences are not bad, inferior or wrong Gayle had some biases and stereotypes to overcome The entire coaching process will deteriorate and be unprofitable without getting training for both the manager and the employee in cultural expectations and how to cross cultural barriers COACHING AND CULTURAL CAVEATS When coaching Aggressive attitudes don’t individuals from a work; tact and diplomacy different culture, never are a must be aggressive Set time related goals that are realistic to the cultural preceptions Time differs with each culture Make certain the coach Coaching may be seen as fully understands that the a reprimand by certain purpose is performance cultures improvement COACHING ACROSS CULTURAL DIMENSIONS Cultural understanding requires special knowledge of a coach The Three C’s (from the Center for Creative Leadership, Greensborough, NC) are three basic rules used to access better cross cultural communications • Capture: Focus intently on the conversation Capture what is said and refer back to your own knowledge of other cultures to discover meaning before speaking • Clarify: Look for non-verbal cues and/or ask questions • Confirm: Paraphrase and clarify your responses as well as speaker’s points Write down message to share for understanding or schedule a follow-up meeting CROSS-CULTURAL TIPS Tips to avoid insensitivity to cultural differences when coaching and mentoring Examples of behavior to watch for and to immediately change It not only destroys the trust that must be present in a mentoring or coaching relationship; but may be grounds for dismissal or even litigation • Off-color humor: Jokes and attempts at humor that may be construed as sexual in nature or make fun of a certain race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or disability • Ridiculing or insulting remarks: Any innuendos or poking fun that personally attacks another person or persons Even subtle comments can and anger or hurt those on the receiving end • Profanity and vulgarity: The use of profane, vulgar or lewd language Since it is highly unprofessional under any circumstances, such language should be strictly controlled when in the workplace • Stereotypical remarks: Broad generalizations of a subtle but degrading nature about groups of people Comments that start out as, "Those kind of people are all like this," or "I'm not prejudiced, but… " are usually stereotypical remarks that cross the line of respect • Subtle-to-overt sabotage: Withholding information, not giving help that people need to their jobs, or deliberately presenting information in such a way that the person cannot understand it • Threats or slurs: Intimidation about someone's job situation or threats aimed at someone's physical safety, derogatory name-calling; commonly aimed at race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and sexual orientation • Mimicking: Ridicule that usually involves imitating another person's accent • Exclusion: Leaving someone out from the work group that will isolate the person and consequently influence productivity NOTE: This QuickStudy® chart is an outline of basic principles of Coaching and Mentoring Due to its condensed nature, we recommend you use it as a guide, but not as a replacement for expert, in-depth advice Customer Hotline # 1.800.230.9522 Author: Toby Berger, IAOP, Human Resources/ Organizational Development Consultant US $4.95 CAN $7.50 October 2007 All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher ©2003 BarCharts, Inc ISBN-13: 978-142320434-3 ISBN-10: 142320434-4 hundreds of titles at quickstudy.com ... needs and the encouragement of risk taking for greater contributions EXECUTIVE COACHING EXECUTIVE OR PERSONAL COACHING Executive coaching is a benefit to senior level management While mentoring and. .. understanding the variety of work, planning and problem solving - Understanding how people learn, develop and improve - Providing leadership in real learning and systems improvement - Understanding... consistent relationships and understanding of roles and competencies required Evaluations take place during and at conclusion of formal programs • Develop resources for formal mentoring programs -