GUEST BLOG It has taken a long time but suddenly business leaders have started to listen to what HR has been telling them for decades – it’s time to get serious about diversity. Among the problems in taking this beyond rhetoric, however, is that traditional recipes, such as implicit bias training, don’t work. The reason […]
How to create a coaching and mentoring culture in your organisation
GUEST BLOG: Most organisations of more than a few hundred people have some experience of coaching. They may have employed a professional coach to support an executive, or given line managers some instruction on how to coach. But this is a long way from achieving a coaching and mentoring culture. Indeed, we can identify four […]
The Critical Art of Reflection
Reflection is a critical part of the process for mentoring pairs and for people who manage mentoring programs. A skilled mentor offers the mentee a quiet space in which to reflect on issues, on self, on interactions with others, and on systemic issues at play. As mentors become more experienced, they develop the ability to […]
Team Coaching Virtual Teams
Team coaching virtual teams Virtual teams have a number of differences compared with co-located teams. On the plus side, their geographical dispersion means that they can draw upon a wider and more diverse pool of talent. It is also easier to maintain 24-hour oversight of issues, if people are in multiple time zones. There is […]
Career Advice: What to do when the Mentee has No Clear Career Goals?
The “sweet spot” on career advice When it comes to career advice, it makes mentoring a lot easier, when the mentee knows exactly where they want to go in their career. The trouble is, many mentees – particularly those in the early stages of their careers – have only a general sense of direction (if […]
Procrastinating and How to Stop It!
Procrastinating or procrastination, is typically a repeating cycle with four stages: Putting off something we aren’t positively motivated (energised) to do Feeling guilty Reduced self-esteem and self-efficacy Reduced energy, which makes us more likely to put things off Coaches and mentors can help clients break the vicious cycle of procrastinating by firstly helping them to […]
Coaching: How Much Should Line Managers Give Direct Reports?
Coaching: it’s a natural assumption that the more coaching and mentoring a line manager gives his or her direct reports, the greater the positive impact on performance and engagement. In reality, however, according to a study by Gartner[1], there is very little correlation. The study suggests instead that quantity of coaching is much less important than […]
Fast Knowledge Transfer – FKT – is not Mentoring
Fast Knowledge Transfer – FKT – is not Mentoring In recent months, there has been a spate of articles and webinars extolling the virtues of “speed mentoring”, “flash mentoring” or similar means of fast knowledge transfer (FKT). We have also seen the rise of “Mentoring Lite” from major dot-com providers, providing rapid matching between people […]
What if the Coachee or Mentee Appears Delusional
What if the coachee or mentee appears delusional Although only one person in 500 is receiving treatment for a delusional disorder at any time, the rest of us are much more susceptible to bizarre and irrational beliefs than we like to admit. A recent study asking people about 17 delusional beliefs (for example: Do you […]
What is the conversation you need to have
What’s the conversation you need to have We all have conversations we avoid. We can wall these conversations off to the extent that we are not even aware we are avoiding them. In helping someone get to know themselves, a coach or mentor can encourage them to acknowledge and explore these conversations. Some of the […]