Importance Of Coaching And Mentoring

Coaching and mentoring play a key role in learning within an organisation.

Coaching is a short-term personal and confidential learning process to improve performance and provide personal feedback of both strengths and weaknesses. (CIPD, 2004)

Mentoring traditionally involves an individual with expert knowledge in a specific domain passing the knowledge on to someone without that knowledge or expertise. In contrast, coaching is a process in which the coach facilitates learning in the client.

The shift from training to learning – from skills to skilfulness – has quite profound implications for the scope of HRD work. In contrast to other forms of organised learning, such as training and facilitating, coaching and mentoring are based on the

They have a common aim to help clients formulate and achieve specific measurable, realistic goals within clear timeframes. (Mullins, 2007) The coach helps the client to identify interference and then to work with it to minimize its impact. Neenan and Palmer (2001: 17) describe the coaching relationship as ‘a collaborative relationship that helps individuals to focus on problem-solving in a structured and systematic way’. Connor and Pokora (2012) argue that cognitive behavioural coaching is useful in enabling clients to self-challenge by questioning whether their thoughts and beliefs are justified and whether they are helping or hindering the situation. Self-limiting beliefs can be replaced with ones which help rather than impede

These are supported by a coaching or mentoring relationship characterized by respect, genuineness and empathy.

The three stages are designed to move the client forward towards change and action. The effective coach or mentor tries to maintain the right balance of support and challenge throughout. Reviewing the working alliance openly and honestly through frequent evaluation can be a direct source of learning and change.

There are several features in common between Alexander’s GROW model and The Skilled Helper model (Egan 2010). Both approaches highlight the important relationship between wanting and acting. Both focus on articulating specific goals for change. Both test commitment to the goal and expect the coach or mentor to be flexible and not to follow the model rigidly. However, they differ in the sequencing of events. In Egan’s approach, commitment is tested before options and action plans are drawn up. In both models it is important for the coach or mentor to be flexible and not to follow the model