We don’t expect coaches and mentors generally to have a deep understand of psychology or psychotherapy. But understanding the principles of projection and counter-projection can help you recognise and manage common situations, where the dynamics of the learning relationship aren’t working as they should. Projection refers to the process, by which people unconsciously disown their...
Keeping a reflective journal Maintaining a personal reflective journal during a coaching or mentoring relationship improves the quality of reflection and the depth of personal learning. Good practice in maintaining the learning journal includes: The SAID process (see Reflection in coaching and mentoring) can be a useful framework for reflective notes. Other useful tips: Boud,...
Gestalt therapy is one of the major disciplines of psychotherapy. It takes years of study and practice to become proficient in using this powerful approach, but it is common for coaches and mentors to use some of the basic concepts and techniques. One of the key principles of Gestalt is that what is happening for...
Being a mentee is both a privilege and a responsibility. It is a privilege, because it is a valuable opportunity to learn from and with someone more experienced. It is a responsibility, because it requires you to invest time and energy in making the relationship work and in ensuring that you make the best use (more…)
Mentoring is one of the most powerful and impactful development methods an organization can use to support and grow its people from within. It brings significant, long lasting and wide-ranging benefits not only to the mentees and mentors, but also to teams, the wider organization as well as to key third parties such as the (more…)
Once people have experienced a good mentoring relationship, they often seek to build a portfolio of mentoring relationships. These relationships often overlap in time and scope and may vary from short-term, relatively narrow focus to longer-term, broad focus. These relationships may be ad hoc, unplanned and vaguely defined (or not even seen as mentoring at...
There is a lot of vested interest by people, who promote particular services, to claim the moral high ground for whatever they do. So it is easy to find exactly the opposite distinctions being claimed with equal forcefulness. The reality is a lot more complex. Just as there is more than one model of mentoring, (more…)
The term coach originated in the nineteenth century – the first recorded mention is in a novel by Thackeray in 1849. It is therefore a much more recent concept than mentoring, although it is possible to find links with a variety of ancient philosophies. A coach at this time was a form of tutor, working (more…)
