Objectives come in many sizes and varieties. Research evidence shows that whilst objective-orientation is significant in overall leadership performance, the nature of effective objective management changes at different levels, from a focus on task (practical, usually short-term objectives) at lower levels of leadership to one on purpose (achievement of a broad vision) at higher levels. (more…)
This guide to coaching and mentoring conversations is based on observation over nearly 30 years of what effective coaches and mentors actually do, not on assumptions of what they ought to do, according to some (often unvalidated) theory. It has no fancy acronym (unless you think that PIESSS qualifies as one). It does, however, present...
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Even goals like “I want to achieve 20% more sales this year” are often less specific than they seem at first glance. For example, what is the client prepared to invest to achieve those sales? What level of profitability do they want to maintain? Do they want these sales to be with one-off customers, or...
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The level of confidentiality in coaching depends on who the coach is. Where the coach is an external professional or an internal person from another part of the organisation (ie “out-of-the-line”), the same principles apply generally as with mentoring. Where the coach is a peer in the same team or the coachee’s line manager, the...
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Sending line managers on courses to learn how to coach doesn’t have a strong track record of working. One of the reasons is that “it takes two to tango” – effective coaching is something you do with other people, not to them. You can engage your team with the coaching process by: Exploring with them...
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Read More Engaging your team with the coaching process & ensuring they know how to be coached
Being an effective coach to your team (or outside your team) has many proven benefits, in terms of performance, engagement, creativity and retention of colleagues. Three things in particular appear to make an effective everyday coach. These are: Mindset – how your approach your role as a coach Skills – your understanding of coaching behaviours...
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When a direct report has a mentor, they will need support and encouragement from their line manager. Practical ways, in which you can help, include: Being generous with the time you allow them to take for meetings with their mentor. You would normally encourage them to attend relevant training programmes. Mentoring provides immediate, just-in-time development...
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Because mentors are a scarce resource, it’s inevitable that not everyone can be part of a formal mentoring programme at the same time. So it’s important that people who are not selected remain positive about the programme and about their personal development. Here is an example of how you might communicate to potential mentees at (more…)
Mentee Mentor What is your need from mentoring? Help with a technical task Help with a new technical role Help in thinking through and following your career plan Help in developing management capabilities Help settling into or preparing for a new management role What kind of mentoring can you offer? Help with a technical task...
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Mentor and mentee matching process The aim of this project is to establish a more reliable set of information, on which matches between mentors and mentees can be made. While a fully automatic process is theoretically possible, it is likely in the great majority of cases that programme managers will want to work with data...
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