Personal Leadership: Mentoring and Coaching

Olusanya Oyeyemi

Walden University

MMSL 6660

Dr. Gina Smith

27 September 2015

Abstract

Based on the recent research on under usage of workers’ potentials, Gallup Consulting Group have found that larger part of workers population are not maximizing their potential in the survey studied in both Australia and U.S. organizations (Vamos, 2009 as cited in Introduction to Coaching and Mentoring).

Coaching and Mentoring have been suggested as a solution to fully engage workers in their potential in this era. This paper look into how to begin the coaching dialogue, rewire one's brain to make a different as a mentor, make single conversation, and understanding and selecting coaching Models.

Beginning The Coaching Dialogue

Ordinarily I feel more comfortable coaching what I know than be a coachee because, I believe one learns more when you share your knowledge. Coaching is not totally difficult for me unless I am completely novice. Transiting through the different types of question is not difficult for me most especially when the questions follow a chronological order, it make it easy to transit from one to the other.  The lesson I learn through these experience is how powerful great question can make a productive different in the mood of both coach and coachee.

I have had challenges with coaching people without the desired result, but now I know what question is the most appropriate with time for desire result in coaching and mentoring. If we have to do the exercise again I would prefer coachee, a good listener who is ready to benefit from other person’s skills because Marquardt pointed out that “in today’s turbocharged environment, no one can master all the date needed to address all globally complex problems (2007).

Rewire The Brain

Our resources for this week shed more light on my personal observation about attitude and how people relate with me or perceive my habit both at work and home. I used to ask friends, colleagues, and subordinate to give me feedback on how my habit affects them. Goleman made me understand that “people don’t tell leaders the whole truth about their emotional impact for many reasons” (2001). But with my observation of coming out from behind myself into the conversation and facing the reality of life, I realize that I need to be more patient, even though I love to share my knowledge. Flaherty pointed out that, “we learn a new thing if we would listen to someone with whom we don’t agree” (2010).

Using Goleman suggestion to rewire my brain to work more emotional in my behaviour, my plan are to; first, define my purpose in life, accurate timing that could aspire me to be entrepreneur, picturing myself on how I want my company's working environment to be for worker to put in their best creativity. I want to see my staff as an extended family members catering for each other beyond paid responsibilities. Secondly, leverage my status with workers the way leadership ego will not deprive workers from asking probing questions, as it is necessary.

I will establish a listening atmosphere where everyone could say their mind freely without the fear of losing their job or trust of their superior. Thirdly, invest time to know everyone better, beyond official responsibility. For instance, formal, longest, and last military president of the federal republic of Nigeria, president Babangida was referenced as the bravest leader due to his listening ability and exceptional memory for names and faces to recollect the names of colleagues, subordinates, opponents, and even their wives and other family members” (2013). This enables him the longest military regime in Nigeria. Fourthly, endeavor to make these activities a continuous culture, make sure every modality for its enforcement is supported. And fifthly, make it a common practice that will result in organization culture.

As coach or mentor, such memory will prepare the floor for experience with new behaviours and seizing opportunities inside and outside of work to practice them… - eventually triggers in our brain the neural connections necessary for genuine change to occur” (Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A., 2001).

Single Conversation

As a coach, I usually venture into it as it comes but situation are different because the quality of the response is affected by content, manner of delivery, pace and timing (2007). Therefore, I am not saying I dedicate a special time to preparation other than my initial acquired skill or working experience that I intend to share.  With this course, I have learned that it is necessary to prepare and release our coaching techniques even though in the process of listening. It is not prospering to be thinking of the next question but to make our own suggestion if not mention.

 In the past, I have not had a credible record because I don’t usually see the targeted result even though they may realize my point latter and reference it when it is too late to apply. To me, the first step is the most challenging if I can get the person to be interested at the initial stage of the coaching, transitioning is easy thereof. I would have the same challenge if I need to coach someone superior to me, once I have his attention at the initial state, to build upon his/ her response to coach would not be a problem. In the past, it is difficult to see a coach that will listen to my own side of the story like what I had in my conversation with my partner. I think her listening skill have to do with all she learn in the leadership program as a whole. We both exchange our experiences.

Understanding and Selecting Coaching Models

FLOW	GROW	DEVELOPMENTAL	MINERAL RIGHT
MAIN STEPS
·      Establish Relationship ·      Recognize Opening ·      Observe/Assess ·      Enroll Client ·      Coaching Conversation	·      Goal Setting ·      Reality ·      Option ·      Will do	·      Defining Success ·      A Coaching-Friendly Context ·      Coaching Mindset Coachable Coachee ·      A Challenge That can provoke Learning ·      A “coachable Mind-set” on the part of the manager ·      Stopping the Dialogue creating coaching Opportunities ·      Observing Effectively and Providing Balanced and Helpful Feedback ·      Collaboratively Interpreting the Meaning of Performance Gaps ·      Creating a plan for change and following Up.	·      Keeping Partner focus on current impact and result ·      Probe Feeling ·      Don’t comment on the response ·      Ideal outcome(what do you feel ?) ·      Follow-up
CHARACTERISTICS
Framework for coach to creatively design their coaching method	·      Genius: is to set the goal ·      Energy: of the coachee to achieve the desired end ·      Nurture: Coach’s ability to explore creative ideas ·      Inhibitors: projected setbacks. ·      Utopia: make the end result feel real	Developmental coaching model that works for fast and new-economy companies	Debrief yourself
USES
FLOW enables coaching to be structured chronologically to achieve the end result. FLOW is a tool to design actions to be taken during coaching and diagnose coaching failure.	GROW is useful for coaching innovation from old style to meet the demand of new era.	Mineral Right influence: reason for coaching, context, own behavior, and coaching the right people	To be here, Prepared to Be Nowhere Else

Coaching models:                           

With my understanding of all the coaching models from different authors, FLOW is more appropriate for me than any others because it follow step-by-step guide on how to coach and achieve the desired end. Its steps are easy to understand and put into practice. My leadership style has always been based on friendship, which is the first stage in FLOW method.

In my present organization (Navy), GROW will be more appropriate because it more of a standardized method, the emphasis is on goal setting which is the military slogan of all day and priority. The reality is designed in Military via all feasibility studies with all alternative means in place to avoid all obstacle and still reach or achieve the desired end.

So far, I have not been able to really differentiate mentoring from coaching, I see the two as intertwine because the friendship and emotion that seem to be more important to mentoring is also necessary to effective coaching. That been said, with my understanding of this topic all those four model could be applied to mentoring because in most cases friendship relationship always ends up in emotional feeling which is the unique quality of mentoring.

The value of having a specific framework in both coaching and mentoring is that they could focus on their unique role in organizational building.  Lankau et al pointed out “Mentors foster nurturing environments wherein protégés may develop faster and more completely than their peers and are therefore better prepared to compete in the organization and as leaders” (1996). While Kram and Hall see “mentoring as an antidote to stress during corporate trauma” (1989). Meanwhile, Showers and Joyce inferred that “successful peer coaching teams developed skills in collaboration and enjoyed the experience so much that they wanted to continue their collegial partnerships after they accomplished their initial goals” (2002). Such specific framework implies that mentoring could be concentrate on staff development while coaching could be a means to an effective collaboration in an organization.

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