The fundamentals of coaching and mentoring

When it comes to the fundamentals of coaching and mentoring leading others means coaching and mentoring them.  In the past, employees used to be satisfied with just having jobs and enjoyment was not considered a necessary factor.  However, regarding the fundamentals of coaching and mentoring and especically in today’s business environment relationship networks are vital to achieving success.

One of the fundamentals of coaching and mentoring is that managers cannot rely on intimidating their employees into levels of high performance

When it comes to coaching and mentoring fundamentals, in this information age, managers simply cannot rely on intimidating their employees into levels of high performance.  Organisations need employees who will add value to their achievements and respect their guiding principles and goals.  Increasingly, organisations rely on teams of experts to work on special projects and problems.

In the team environment emotional intelligence or EQ is invaluable, hence a team leader may be called upon to mentor others to build their emotional and social sensitivity.  For example, one may wish to encourage contributions from a shy subordinate, or help an aggressive member of the team to show more sensitivity or be a better listener.  One of the coaching and mentoring fundamentals is the importance of remaining professional when embarking on coaching initiatives when personal characteristics are involved.  Personal traits should be related back to job performance.

It is critical to keep up-to-date on your emotional aptitudes and the most difficult part of this task can also be uncovering one’s own subconscious personality flaws.  In EQ assessments, executives often give themselves higher marks than they receive from their subordinates.  Often this gap is quite substantial.  It is wise to skilfully pursue one’s own goals and principles in determining how they compare to organisational concepts.  An uncorrected disparity between a leader’s values and those of the organisation can be extremely demoralising to subordinates.

In coaching and mentoring fundamentals we often see that leaders frequently avoid becoming too close to employees because they may have to dismiss them further down the line

Establishing good rapport with employees is vital and is one of the important fundamentals of coaching and mentoring.  Learning what motivates them and letting them know a little about you in return helps to promote good rapport.  Often, leaders avoid becoming too close to employees because they may have to dismiss them further down the line.  Yet, coaching depends on close relationships since one will not get the best work from people until they know that they are valued.  Performance should be consistently reviewed.  When praise is frequently given employees are more amenable to corrective action.  Individuals want their leaders to notice what they do and to show appreciation for work well done as well as providing them with timely and appropriately phrased corrective coaching when improvement in performance is needed.

Leading people through fear and intimidation does not go down well with people who were initially hired for their knowledge and creativity.

 “One of the most basic findings in psychology is that rewarding a behaviour increases the likelihood that the behaviour will be repeated.  When people are doing something you like, reward them for it.”   Coaching for emotional intelligence© Copyright 2007.

Acknowledging employee contributions

When integrating mentoring into one’s schedule it is wise to keep feedback to a minute or less.  Use structured conversation, and start mentoring dialogues with a uniform lead-in to differentiate coaching comments from regular conversation.  Succinctly describe the behaviour or action in question and explain the possible consequences.  Clearly explain any adjustments expected of the employee.  If offering praise simply ask the individual to keep up the good work and continually praise good performance.  Each week, make a point of acknowledging employee contributions.   Also, don’t be afraid to acknowledge others in public and help them feel proud of their contributions and accomplishments.  Consistent praise helps employees to become more receptive to constructive criticism.  Coaching is therefore a matter of continuously correcting the course of employee performance.

Another one of the fundamentals of coaching and mentoring is that employees should be made aware that you are committed to helping them improve.  Listen carefully during a corrective session.  Perhaps the employee does not fully understand the situation or perhaps they need further mentoring or even obstacles stand in their way.  When attempting to improve emotional attitudes of employees offer them alternative behaviours or actions to substitute for those behaviours that are not working.

:Lastly, in discussing the fundamentals of coaching and mentoring, most individuals are trying hard to be productive in the contributions.  In certain cases you may informally pull an employee aside to mention one or two things you may have noticed in a recent interaction.  When this occurs, try not to come across as hypercritical and do offer positive reinforcement.

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