3LCM Supporting Individual Learning through Coaching and Mentoring

Supporting individual learning through coaching and mentoring (3LCM)

The aim of Coaching and mentoring are essential in empowering and improving skills of HR specialists. 3LCM is based on things that should and need to be done. Learners are expected to assume the role of HR manager and bring out the culture of coaching and mentoring by showing them and putting into practice. Coaching and mentoring have different meanings though they also have some similarities. They both purpose to improve an individual’s competence and ability either from careers angle or in aspects of life. However, Coaching is the act of offering trainings either as a group or as an individual with an aim impacting skills or personal development. It focuses on specified objectives that need to be met at a specified time. Its main concern is performance and developing specified skills.

Mentoring on the other hand is a process of a long-term engagement between an individual and a mentor mainly with the purpose of assisting one in life or in their career. Its focus is to impact wisdom, knowledge, ability to apply skills and experience to new processes. The two major models and techniques used in coaching and mentoring are:

1. GROW Model, which is an acronym for Goal, Reality, Options and Will.
2. OSCAR Model, which is an acronym for Outcome, Situation, Choices and consequences, Action and Review.

Benefits of coaching and mentoring to the learners.

• Promotes better relationship and engagement between employees and the management
• It gives employees an opportunity to share ideas and sensitive issues with the employers.
• It helps to increase employees confidence when dealing with challenges
• It improves productivity and job performance in an organization
• Provides opportunity to develop and improve special skills essential in good management
• Helps in improving self awareness, career options and opportunities
• Helps the employees to embrace and adapt to change
• It gives employees a sense of belonging and being valued
• It helps to identify organizational and individual strengths
• Helps in empowering individuals

Students will learn the different types of coaching and mentoring depending on the target audience.

Types of coaching that students will learn include:

• Executive coaching. Deals with assisting executives, directors, managers and high potential employees to unlock their potentials, reach their goals and self awareness
• Leadership coaching. Meant for all business leaders to help them leverage the leadership skills within them for better work performance.
• Career coaching. Is for those clients who needs help in managing their learning and work journey of life.
• Business coaching. This is meant for the business owners with an aim of having a clear mission and vision for the business and how it fits with personal goals.

The difference on the above-mentioned coaching methods depends on the target groups, the purpose of the coaching and the type of facilitator. To obtain a successful coaching process, the coach is responsible in building a good relationship with the client and identifying their strengths and their weaknesses. Coaching process is executed into four major stages to meet the targeted outcome. These stages are:

• This is the first stage where the coach and the client agrees on what is required of both teams and the terms to be used.
• This is the second stage where the coach comes up with the number of sessions they will need to conduct the process.
• This is the third stage where the actual coaching is taking place with all the necessary tools.
• Thus is the forth and final stage where the whole process is completed and all the Contracting terms are met.

To have a successful mentoring process, proper preparation and planning is essential. Here you are required to define your role as a mentor where the primary role should be to provide guidance, give advice and provide support. For a mentoring process to be successful, a mentor must apply mentoring techniques that include:

• Actively listening to the client
• Pose open-ended questions e.g. What? How? When? Where? Who? Why?
• Appreciating inquiries from the client
• Must maintain a personal quality profile helps incase the client is suffering from low self esteem.
• Mind mapping
• Force field analysis to help consider the argument for and against a course of action.
• Career scenarios to help form the basis for a series of meetings.

Learning objectives

At the end of this unit, learners should be able to:

• Understand the similarities and differences in coaching and mentoring
• Outline the purpose and process of coaching
• Outline the purpose and process of mentoring
• Be in a position to apply the models used in coaching and mentoring
• Be able to use the different techniques used

Summary

Supporting individual through coaching and mentorship is a course unit that guides people professionals into gaining more knowledge and skills through the support of highly experienced professionals. Coaching and mentorship programmes are designed to support the learning and growth process. By the end of the course, professionals become aware of the importance of implementing coaching and mentorship programmes to support the junior professionals.