Make the most of mentoring at work

We all know that having strong team and work relationships makes your job more enjoyable. One particularly rewarding aspect of a team situation can be the opportunity to coach. The ability to unlock a person’s potential to maximise their own performance through guiding rather than teaching is an excellent skill to develop.

Whether you are coaching other people on learning a new system, or using a new process, the key to success is understanding the right tactics to take.

Firstly, you need to understand the stage at which the person you are coaching is at and alter your style accordingly. The following approaches can be helpful in helping you become a succesful mentor.

A directive style involves taking a bold lead and requires a lot of commitment to the coaching from you. You will be required to take control in terms of making decisions about what, when and with whom. You will be responsible for providing specific direction and instruction to meet the desired outcomes and goals.

The coaching style includes involving the employee in more of the decision-making and problem-solving process. Although you will make the final decision, you will reach this only after taking into account the employee’s ideas and feelings. Listening to your team member is a key element of this style.

A supporting style focuses more on the person you are coaching taking the lead in planning and problem resolution. You are required to provide reassurance, support and encouragement for more self-reliant behaviour.

The final style, delegation, requires very little support from you and instead enables the employee to take charge. When setting goals, planning a course of action and making decisions, you should be expecting them to take control and challenge them to achieve a even better performance.

When working through the various levels of coaching styles, remember the equation that the collaboration of knowledge and trust will lead to results.

Hemsley Fraser is a global innovator and leader in learning and people development and aims to help employees succeed in their careers through its pioneering and robust learning solutions. Find out more at hemsleyfraser.co.uk