COACHING MANAGERS to COACH and MENTOR

As definitions of management have changed, the role and definition of the managerial coach has likewise changed. It is no longer sufficient to have business and managerial savvy or skill sets that may prove to be dated. It is now necessary for coaches to also understand business work groups, integrated product teams, virtual employees and the ways businesses are re-structuring to meet market demands.

The coaching task is increasingly complex and challenging partially due to increasing requirements from businesses for greater employee output with declining resources. The task is also impacted by competition from companies that out-place jobs to domestic or off-shore companies, or both. As a result coaches are challenged understand ways to manage business resources, systems and processes that were never designed for these new demands. Coaches must now help managers to learn and settle in to the new roles and responsibilities required by businesses.

Coaching Managers to Coach and Mentor is one of the Essential Management Skills modules offered by Mentorsys. These modules are resources for managerial coaches when working with both new and seasoned managers.

Coaching Managers to Coach and Mentor is written for coaches to use in part, or as a workbook. It is intended as a guide for coaches who may be new to business coaching. It is also written in a manner that directly addresses and tasks the manager. Please use this method as a guide, and feel free to adapt the words to your particular coaching situation.

Foreward Current dynamics of a decreasing technically educated workforce, coupled with increasing demands from business and industry has sharpened competition for employees with technical knowledge and skills. These dynamics have prompted many companies to not only train their workforce in-house, but to help their employees with their careers through coaching by managers. Such career coaching by managers often translates into a dedicated and loyal workforce and into a recruiting tool to attract seasoned professionals and recent graduates launching their careers. Increasingly, managers are the conduit for the training and coaching of their employees. This is especially the case when managers delegate. Since delegation is the essence of managing, managers must learn and use coaching skills. This is especially important in cases when employees need guidance after having been delegated to complete a task. Managers must step up to the plate to coach and train their employees. Coaching and training differ in one important way: coaching is usually one-on-one or a small cadre of employees who are learning task specific skills. Training, on the other hand, suggests classroom presentation to employees by trainers who are not necessarily managers and who work with employees to learn general skills tasks of particular subject. As in athletics, managing is not a spectator sport. Managers do not sit in the stands and watch. Neither are they in the game substituting for the players. Good Managers coach. They show others how to behave both on and off the field. Good managers acquire coaching skills. That is what this workbook is about; coaching managers to coach.

This is a workbook. It is intended for managers and the coaches who work with them.

The workbook should be reviewed by the coach with the manager who, in turn, will be coaching direct reporting employees. Coaches may find that many managers with whom they work will have never had the experience of working with a coach. Moreover, most managers will have never considered that coaching their employees is a major dimension of managing.

Managers should know that when they delegate tasks, especially to an employee who has no experience with the task, they are obliged to coach the employee. Otherwise the employee is being set up to fail.

The experience of the coaching process for both manager and coach will be rewarding and educational.

COACHING IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT