Coaching and Mentoring

Transcription

1 Coaching and Mentoring TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 2 Setting Goals 4 Checking Reality 5 Exploring Options 6 Wrapping it Up 7 The Art of Mentoring

2 Coaching and Mentoring Printable Guide 2 Introduction Coaching and mentoring are important responsibilities for supervisors and managers in every organization. Many people rely on common sense and their own experience to guide them in coaching and mentoring employees. But an unstructured approach may overlook important steps in the process and fail to achieve your desired results. This course will provide you with a few easy-to-remember models for coaching and mentoring that will help you enhance performance and productivity while building positive relationships with employees. While we will definitely give you examples of the right way to coach, let's first get on the same page by watching a style that is not good coaching. Coaching does not just take place in formal meetings. Coaching takes place in every interaction you have with your employees--in everything you say and even in what you do not say. Since you are constantly coaching, you need to become very aware of how what you say and do motivates and de-motivates employees. Basic Coaching Rules 1. Coach ALL employees Let's take a look at same basic rules that should govern all your coaching interactions with employees. Be sure to coach all employees not just the "star" or the "problem" employees. Coaching should not be a reward OR a punishment. 2. Be Consistent Do not change your expectations or the kind of feedback you give from day-to-day. One of the most demotivating factors for employees is a boss whose praise or criticism seems almost random and has less to do with the employees' performance than what kind of day the boss is having. 3. Be Respectful Belittling an employee is never going to get the positive results that you want. Just as people rise to meet high expectations, so their performance sinks when it is clear that their contributions are not valued. PAGE 2

3 Coaching and Mentoring Printable Guide 3 Watch your employees for signs of personal problems that may be affecting their work. You may be able to direct them to resources that can help. Finally, find a variety of ways to reward your employees and celebrate even the smallest of successes. Formal Coaching Formal coaching which focuses on helping employees achieve specific goals or skills is a more planned and structured activity than the kind of coaching you do everyday. Formal coaching sessions should be available for all employees at least once or twice a year. Both managers and employees may, unfortunately, avoid formal coaching meetings because of past negative experiences. Managers may: Lack confidence in their coaching abilities Be afraid to bring up issues Feel awkward in the coaching process Feel the results will not be worth the time invested Employees may: Be afraid of hearing criticism Lack confidence that they can improve their performance Have a bad relationship with their coach If any of these have been true in the past, it is important to start afresh. Be sure to keep the coaching experience positive. Use positive body language and tone of voice. Listen carefully to what the employee says. Remind the employee that the purpose of coaching is to help move them forward in their career not to criticize them. Work on building trust so they believe you will be fair, respectful, and competent in the coaching process. There are many ways to conduct a formal coaching meeting. Whatever coaching method you use, it must be consistent and systematic so important steps are not overlooked. PAGE 3

4 Coaching and Mentoring Printable Guide 4 In this course, we will explore the GROW model of formal coaching. GROW stands for: Set and Review Goals Check Reality Develop Options Wrapping it Up In the next sections, you will learn more about these four steps. Setting Goals If this is your first coaching meeting with the employee, you will start by setting formal goals for professional development. If you have already done this in past meetings, your first task will be reviewing progress towards achieving these goals. An easy way to learn to write effective goal statements is to remember that they should be SMART. To begin with, the goal should be written in a way which is as specific as possible. Another mark of a well-written goal is that it is measurable. This means that there must be a clear way to know whether or not the goal has been achieved. Although it may seem too obvious to mention, it is important to choose a goal, which is attainable. For example, if you set a goal of increasing sales by 25 percent in a down market, you are simply setting up the employee to fail. It is also important to be realistic in setting a goal. Will achieving this goal really result in enhanced performance? What support will the employee have in meeting the goal? Finally, it is important that the goal be timely, that is, it should always have specific timeframes. For large goals, it may be best to break the goal down into smaller components assigned to short-, mid-, and long-term timeframes. If you have already set goals in a previous meeting, begin the coaching meeting by reviewing progress in achieving these goals. Ask: PAGE 4

5 Coaching and Mentoring Printable Guide 5 What goals are you working on right now? Where are you in the process of meeting these goals? Is there anything holding you back from achieving these goals? When will you reach the goal and how will you know when you have? If a goal has been met, cross it off the list. If the goal is still in progress, re-evaluate the timeframe and determine if it is sufficient to meet the goal. Identify new goals that you and the employee would like to begin working towards using the SMART method. Checking Reality Now that you and the employee have reviewed established goals and set new ones, it is time to explore the gap between the reality of the employee's current performance and the future goals they hope to achieve. You need to identify issues that may be hurting the employees' performance and keeping them from achieving their goals. For example: Projects are frequently late or behind schedule The employee is not seen as a team player or is often in conflict with other employees Employee has a problem with absenteeism or coming in late These can be very difficult subjects to handle and it is important not to put the employee on the defensive, which is a natural response to the perception of being attacked. When presenting feedback you should also: Only focus on one concern at a time. Do not get sidetracked onto other issues. Always keep it impersonal. You are critiquing performance, not judging the employee as a person. Never bring up negative comments or complaints about the employee made by a third party who is not present. It is not fair to the employee and is certain to create resentment. PAGE 5

6 Coaching and Mentoring Printable Guide 6 Keep it positive. The goal is to work together to find a solution to the problem, not to beat the employee over the head about their shortcomings. As you can see, when presenting feedback, HOW you say it is just as important as WHAT you say. So think carefully about how you are going to present your feedback to an employee before you sit down in a coaching meeting. Exploring Options In the first two parts of your coaching meeting you have already: Reviewed progress to previously set goals and identified new goals Discussed the reality gap between the employee's current performance and where you would like them to be Now you are going to explore options that will help the employee to overcome obstacles and move forward in achieving their goals. It is important to fully consider all the factors involved before settling on a proposed solution. Review all possible causes of the problem with the employee and get their input. You and the employee must agree together on the causes of the problem. Otherwise there will be no buy in to the proposed solutions. Now, examine each factor contributing to the problem and brainstorm at least five possible options for addressing the issue. A good solution often has multiple parts that address different aspects of the problem. But for any solution to be effective, the employee must: Take ownership of the problem Be confident that a solution is possible Buy into the proposed solution This means that the employee: Takes responsibility for the solution of the problem Knows that they have the support of management Is convinced that solving the problem will be of benefit to them PAGE 6

7 Coaching and Mentoring Printable Guide 7 Wrapping it Up You are now almost done with the coaching meeting. You have: Set goals Identified performance gaps Explored options for closing the gaps Finally you need to wrap it all up with a written plan. Just as in setting goals, the plan should be written as specifically as possible. It should include standards by which progress in carrying out the plan can be measured. The employee should have all the resources needed to attain completion of the plan. The plan must be realistically tied to enhanced job performance and be likely to increase career opportunities. And the plan must have clear short-, mid-, and long-term timeframes. Your plan should also include a provision for reviewing the plan on a regular basis. Do not wait a year to check how much has been accomplished Ask the employee to send regular updates on the plan Minor changes may be made without scheduling another coaching meeting Although coaching is an iterative process, it does have a beginning and an end. Typically coaching ends when the employee: Is promoted to a different position Moves under a different manager In a final coaching session, in place of creating a new plan: Review all the goals that the employee has worked on. Look at where they employee was at the beginning of the coaching process and how far they have come. List all the strengths that the employee has developed through coaching. Discuss remaining weaknesses or gaps that the employee will need to work on. Talk about how the employee will use the new skills that they have obtained to meet future challenges. PAGE 7

8 Coaching and Mentoring Printable Guide 8 Congratulate the employee on all they have achieved and express your confidence in their continued success. Finally congratulate yourself for mastering the skills needed to be a great coach. The Art of Mentoring While all employees deserve structured coaching to: Help improve performance Enhance productivity Close skills gaps Advance in their careers Mentoring may only be appropriate for selected employees. Mentoring Versus Coaching Mentors are typically people who have had long and successful careers who are willing to share their knowledge and experiences with those seeking a similar career path. Unlike coaching, mentoring may not be appropriate for every employee nor may every manager be an appropriate mentor. Mentoring is not "manager driven," as coaching is. It is a relationship, not a process. The relationship is primarily for the benefit of the protégé. But, the protégé will get no more from the relationship than they invest in it. You can use the GROW model in mentoring as well as coaching. While the GROW model is used in coaching to structure the manager's dialogue with the employee, it is used in mentoring as a guide to questioning the protégé about their long-term career goals what development path they seek. You can blend a mentoring model with a coaching model to make it: Less time consuming Available to more employees The heart of mentoring is learning, so make use of training opportunities both internal and external for all employees. PAGE 8

9 Coaching and Mentoring Printable Guide 9 Develop a peer mentoring process in which employees which are further along in their career paths mentor those who are just beginning. Use team meetings as a venue for team learning giving employees opportunities to ask questions and explore the ideas of others. Whether coaching, mentoring or blending the two approaches, when you show that you are willing to invest: Time Effort Money...in an employee, you will always get more back. Updated Thursday, January 14, 2016 PAGE 9