As a manager it is important for you to not just dictate instructions to your employees but to coach them along the way. Some of your employees will have more self-motivation than others but in the end they’ll all need just a little bit of coaching to help them meet their career goals. Here are a few simple tips to help you open the lines of communication as you work with each of your team members.

5. Find a Reason for Coaching

Don’t coach for the sake of coaching. Make sure you have a clear, concise objective. What are your employee’s career goals, both long term and short? What can you do to help him reach those goals? Without goals, there is no reason to begin coaching.

4. Direct without Leading

As a coach, you should offer advice as to how to reach a goal without actually paving the path for your team members. Give your mentee all of the information he needs to get from point A to point B without actually doign all oof the work for him. Be a support system instead of a crutch.

3. Ask Open Ended Questions

Questions that can be answered with a simple YES or NO won’t get you anywhere. Listen to what your employees are telling you about their goals, aspirations, and setbacks and ask probing questions. Use the answers to help them develop plans for more effectively dealing with similar situations in the future.

2. Remember – You are Human

You are human and, as such, are not a walking encyclopedia. Your trainee may ask you a question that you don’t know the answer to and it is perfectly acceptable to admit that you do not have that answer. Simply let your trainee know that you’ll have the answer for them at your next coaching session.

1. Provide Honest Feedback

Use a few minutes at the end of each coaching session to let your trainee know exactly where you think he or she needs improvement. Ask him or her to assess himself as well. Find out what he is learning and what he is able to apply in the workplace. Make sure he walks out of each coaching session with at least one new piece of information.

Great coaching will lead to great improvements – in both your communication skills and the performance of your overall team!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

While having (or being) a mentor may seem like a great idea at the start, you’ll probably be surprised to learn that not everyone is suited to having a mentor guide their tasks. I’ve found over the course of my career that there are four different types of people who are really not suited to the mentoring process.

The first type of person is a “fixer.” Fixers are people who believe they can sort everything out on their own without the help of others. They’re usually self-centered people who just can’t see the big picture.

The second type of mentoring-resistant person is a “bureaucrat”. These people are very controlling and can’t think out of the box. They won’t break the rules and are completely unflexible.

Third on the list are the “pleasers.” These people aren’t great to work with on a mentorship basis because they won’t challenge anyone or confront difficult situations. There is no use trying to teach them anything because they’ll always agree with what you say.

Finally we have the “talkers.” These individuals won’t shut their mouths long enough to build a rapport with anyone – clients or fellow employees. They’re incapable of practicing active listening and, therefore, will never absorb any of the information or wisdom you try to share.

Are you one of the above people? Are you trying to mentor with a personality like one of these? If so, you may need to consider whether or not the mentorship relationship you have is worth your time and effort.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

John Radshaw offers what I feel is an incredibly apt definition of what it means to be a coach. He says that coaching is:

“Systematically increasing the capability and work performance of someone by exposing him or her to work-based tasks or experiences that will provide the relevant learning opportunities, and giving feedback to help him or her learn from them.”

He’s absolutely right. As a coach, though, you need to know how to get your mentee started – how do you jumpstart the learning process?

There are three things that need to be in place before you can teach anyone anything. They are:

• Desire – the person you are coaching must want to learn as opposed to finding himself in a situation where he is forced to adopt a coach;
• Opportunity – you must have the time to coach your employee, he must have the time to dedicate to the things you are teaching him, and you must have the support of your organisation (in both time and materials); and
• Competence – you must be an expert in your area of specialty. Otherwise you’ll only cause confusion to the person you are coaching. The person you are coaching must be competent as well – he needs to care about his work, have the skills necessary to do the job, and be willing to work with you to make his job even better.

If these three main points do not exist you will have a very difficult time facilitating the learning process. Take the time to review your situation before you get started. Doing so will enable to you make the changes necessary to ensure you are successful.

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

When you decide to cross the line from pure manager to mentor you are taking on a burden of responsibility. You’re adding obligations to your list of tasks that many people aren’t really prepared to consider. Another human being is relying on you for proper guidance and trusts that you have the skill it takes to impart wisdom. Are you prepared?

You have four main obligations to meet as a mentor:

• You must be prepared to do good;
• You are obligated to avoid actions that will cause harm;
• You must remain fair at all times;
• And you are obligated to act with care and concern.

These concepts should call into the category of common sense but some managers neglect to think about the ramifications of their actions before they take on a mentee. You will, of course, earn credit for taking the time to help another person, but you need to make sure you’re prepared to guide them down the proper path.

If you aren’t 100% sure you have the time or skill to be a mentor, don’t do it. Ask your training department or another manager or mentor to help you out. In this case, taking on more than you can handle will be detrimental not only to yourself, but to your new employee or mentee. Be open and honest about your abilities and constraints and it will be easy to avoid disaster.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

When you begin coaching or mentoring new employees you may find yourself stuck in a difficult situation. In short, many people don’t know how to get started and, once they’re on a roll, they don’t know when to end the mentor/mentee relationship.

As you get started, keep in mind that there are four main phases of mentoring.

First you must establish some sort of rapport with your mentee. You need to spend some time getting to know each other while at the same time identifying some of his work habits, thought processes, and ethical beliefs. This should give you an idea of how easy it will (or will not be) to guide him.

Once you’ve gotten to know each other you’ll need to set a direction for your mentoring. You’ll want to develop a plan of action with specific, identifiable goals. Use both your mentee’s desires and your own experience to set goals appropriate for his level of experience.

You will, of course, want to begin making progress. This means identifying what work your mentee has that can be applied towards your mentoring goals, assigning new projects (if you are also the employee’s manager),  and providing a certain amount of training and/or resources.

Finally, once your mentee is comfortable in his job role, you should simply move on. You don’t have to make yourself unavailable to your mentee, but at some point you’ll have to cut your ties enough to let him do his job on his own. Besides, by then you may have someone else waiting in the wings for your time and attention.

Do you have a specific mentoring program in your workplace? If so, how does it work? Do you have mentoring groups or do you form one on one relationships?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Courses

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”