Generation gaps aren’t what they were. It used to be a reasonable assumption that each younger generation was simply going through the growing pains of its predecessors; that the experience of an older generation was, by and large, directly relevant to them. Much of mentoring theory is based on this assumption. Yet the evidence has (more…)
Everyone feels overwhelmed from time to time. Sometimes it is simply a matter of volume of work. In this case, we can apply tried and tested practices: We can also aim to manage our energy efficiently, apportioning the times when we have most energy to the tasks that fall into the urgent and important quadrant,...
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How can I continue to develop as a coach? What to read There’s no shortage of reading material on coaching topics. Many of the leading coaches and writers on coaching produce frequent blogs and articles, which you can access for free. Each of the three main coaching professional bodies (ICF, AC and EMCC) has newsletters...
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There are lots of models of change, but this one can be particularly helpful when the learner is struggling to work out what to do or keeps experiencing setbacks to their plans. Essentially, Robert Dilts’ model proposes that change occurs at different levels of complexity and that it’s important to work on the appropriate level(s),...
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One of the most frequent causes of anxiety amongst coaches is whether they are living up to the client’s expectations. Our need to be valued and feel we have done a good job pushes us towards the role of coaching expert – it’s important to us that we exhibit the competence and the confidence we (more…)
Coaching textbooks are full of advice for coaches to develop their skills of empathy. It might seem to make common sense, but this advice doesn’t seem to be based on any credible evidence. In fact, the contrary may be true — empathy may be a dangerous and unhealthy addiction for the coach and an unhelpful...
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Read More Empathy versus compassion in coaching and mentoring
Ethical mentoring is a fairly new term, but it’s likely to be one we are going to hear a lot more of. The concept comes from a recognition that unethical and illegal behaviour in organizations rarely happens because an individual or group of people set out to do wrong. Rather, it starts with small breaches...
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When a coach / mentor is truly attentive to a client, they listen intently. They do so not just with their ears, but with their eyes and their intuition. Of course, being in that state of high attentiveness continuously isn’t easy – internal and external distractions constantly interrupt our total attention and cause us to (more…)
Levels of meaning are like the layers of an onion: each layer conceals another, deeper, layer of information. Goodman (2002) identifies four levels of meaning that can give structure to exploring an issue in a coaching or mentoring conversation. These are: In using this approach, it’s important to give sufficient time to understanding each layer...
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Read More Getting to the heart of a problem or issue, using levels of meaning
Giving and receiving feedback are essential to someone who wants to develop themselves and others it is also a critical element in performance improvement. How we both provide and receive feedback will impact on the overall success and on the outcomes of our mentoring / coaching relationships. But the skills of giving and receiving feedback (more…)