Coaching and Mentoring

It is important to make clear that there are different kinds of coaches:

• managers who have had brief training to develop coaching skills;
• qualified internal coaches, who work within the NHS and wider public services;
• qualified external coaches, who have applied to work with the NHS and partner organisations, have been assessed, and are on a central coach register.

There are also different types of coaching. Before you embark on coaching, it is helpful to have given some thought to what you want to focus on. Hawkins (2006) differentiates four types of coaching:

• developing new skills;
• raising your level of performance in your current role. This might include changing behaviour that is holding you back;
• development coaching, which is less focused on the current role and more centred on your longer-term development. This thus has some aspects of mentoring;
• transformation coaching, which enables the client to shift levels and function at a higher order level.  Personal transformation involves changes in mind-set, behaviour, emotions and purpose.

You have some choice as to which kind of coach you choose to work with you.  Table 6 shows how Hawkins matches these issues to different types of coaches. He is at pains to say that he is describing a general pattern here, and is not being prescriptive about what coaches can and cannot do.

All of these coaches should subscribe the following assumptions about coaching (Rogers 2004):

1. The client is resourceful
2. The coach’s role is to spring loose the client’s resourcefulness – not advise
3. Coaching addresses the whole person – past, present and future
4. The client sets the agenda
5. The coach and client are equals – working together in partnership, respecting each other
6. Coaching is about change and action

Let’s start by exploring what the manager as coach looks like.

Working with a Coach: The Manager as Coach

CIPD (2009) research suggests that it is unrealistic to expect a line manager to fulfil all the functions of a specialist coach, and probably not desirable. The manager as coach role is better described as a coaching style of management.  So, if your manager adopts a coaching style with you, what can you expect? To be listened to and asked questions to help you

• develop the skills you need to do your current job;
• perform closer to your potential;
• understand your role or task;
• learn what you need to learn to do your job;
• be developed for you next role.

This can make you feel more empowered, confident and motivated to take responsibility. It can create new perspectives, develop insight and evoke excitement (Cosgrove and Hope, 2014).

For managers, this involves a shift in mind-set from telling to asking. Managers need to move from “You need to…You should…I think it would be best for you to…” to

 “How could you…? What might work…? When could…?” (Cosgrove and Hope, 2014).

Adopting a coaching style benefits both manager and direct reports, as Whitmore (2004, p.24) explains:

“In responding to the manager’s coaching questions, the subordinate becomes aware of every aspect of the task and the actions necessary. This clarity enables him to envisage the near certainty of success, and so to choose to take responsibility. By listening to the answers of his coaching questions, the manager knows not only the action plan, but the thinking that went into it. He is now far better informed that if he had told his subordinate what to do, and therefore has better control of what is going on. Since the dialogue and the relationships in coaching are non-threatening and supportive, no behaviour change occurs when the manager is absent. Coaching provides the manager with real, not illusory control, and provides the subordinate with real, not illusory, responsibility.”

This approach can be particularly beneficial when setting objectives.

It is clear that to coach their staff, managers need to have the basic skill set described earlier – be able to build a trusting relationship, listen attentively and question effectively. When coaching their staff, managers might find it helpful to know that there are three levels of listening. These are described in some detail by Whitworth et al. (1998) and Rogers (2004), but briefly, the levels are as follows. If you as manager can work mainly at Level 2, you are coaching well.

It’s important to acknowledge that coaching and mentoring are not always appropriate for everyone at all times. Table 7 can help you assess when it might be relevant to coach or mentor someone, or when other approaches might be more appropriate.

Based on: Lansberg M. (1996) Skill/Will Matrix on The Tao of Coaching. London: Harper Collins.

High skills/high motivation

People who are highly skilled and keen to learn are very appropriate for coaching and mentoring. They are hungry for development. Typically, they will work on issues between sessions and rise to the challenge of finding their own solutions.

Low skills/high motivation

Individuals who are highly motivated but lack skills, such as employees who are new to the job, could also benefit from mentoring or coaching, but might also consider face to face training sessions or e-learning as a way of making good their skills deficit.

High skills/low motivation

The first step in managing employees with low motivation is to find out why their motivation is low. For example, if it is caused by boredom in the job, then employees with low motivation but high skills might find mentoring which focused on career development helpful. If the low motivation is a result of stress or difficult relationships at work, then coaching might be effective if the individual is prepared to be open and to work on issues.

Low skills/low motivation

If, despite exploration and development opportunities, employees still lack skills and motivation, then this is a performance management issue for the line manager, and not suitable for coaching or mentoring.

In summary, motivation is key. Coaching and mentoring will not work unless the individual is prepared to take ownership and work on issues.

Whether you are working with an internal or external coach, coaching typically starts by agreeing the contract between you. You need to know, either before or during the first session, practical things like the number and duration of sessions, where you will meet, and whether meetings will be face-to-face, by telephone or online.

Your coach should tell you that the sessions will remain confidential, and he or she should abide by an ethical framework belonging to one of the professional coaching bodies.  You might be given a written contract to agree and sign, which will usually include details of what happens if you cancel or postpone a session.

Coaches will structure the session to suit you and your agenda, but many will roughly follow the GROW model, which is described in the following section. Hawkins (2006) has suggested the type of questions your coach might ask at the different stages throughout your session.

1. Contracting: starting with the end in mind and agreeing how you are going to get there together

• Where do you want to get to by the end of this session?
• What do you most need to achieve in this session?
• How can I be of most value to you?
• What in particular do you want to focus on?

2. Listening: facilitating the client in generating personal insight into the situation

• Can you say more about that?
• Are there other people involved that you haven’t mentioned?
• How do other people see the situation?
• Let’s see if I can summarise the issue.

3. Exploring 1: helping the client understand the impact the situation is having on them

• How are you feeling right now?
• Does this person remind you of anyone?
• What would you like to say to that person?

4. Exploring 2: challenging the client to create new possibilities for future action to resolve the situation

• Who might help you?
• Who has the skills you need?
• Who has the power to change this?

5. Action: supporting the client in committing to a new way ahead and creating the next step

• What are the pros and cons of each strategy?
• What’s the first step you need to take?
• When are you going to do that?
• Who needs to be involved?

6. Review: taking stock and reinforcing ground covered and commitments made. Reviewing the session and how it could be improved. Planning the future review after the action has been tried.

• What have you decided to do next?
• What have you learned from this session?
• What did you find helpful/unhelpful about the coaching process?

So, if you work with a coach, you can expect to set the agenda and decide what you want to focus on in the session. You might come to the first session with a very clear idea of what you want to work on and where you want to get to, or you might only have a rough idea and refine it during conversation with your coach. Equally your goal might change over time as your coaching progresses.

In summary, coaches are instruments of change, using their personality to create change, rather than trying to be a blank canvas like a counsellor. You coach will work with you to explore issues, identify action plans, and hold you to account. They will do this by building a trusting relationship with you, being non-judgemental, listening to you attentively, framing incisive questions, challenging your thinking and supporting you in making the changes you want.