Raising culturally-derived awareness and building culturally-appropriate responsibility Using the Cross-Cultural Kaleidoscope Abstract Whitmore (2002) defined the essence of good coaching practice as “building awareness and taking responsibility.” A phenomenological approach to a research study conducted as part of an MA in Coaching and Mentoring Practice (Name author, 2009) built on the Whitmore definition through (more…)
Evaluating coaching assignments Why evaluate? Evaluation is important because it: When to evaluate What to evaluate You might think that evaluating external coaching is simply a matter of asking the client whether they found it useful and /or of establishing whether a specific performance goal has been achieved. However, it is more complex than (more…)
It’s a common occurrence in organisations, which have invested in building an internal pool of coaches. After two or three years, there is a noticeable drop in enthusiasm and participation and some may even drop out of the programme altogether, usually citing pressure of work as a catch-all excuse. There seem to be several main (more…)
Summary The aim of any training course in coaching is to equip participants with the skills they will need to be confident and safe in the role, for the particular level, at which they are expected to operate. For most organizations, it is convenient to categorize training programmes as: Given the small number of people, (more…)
For a line manager to return to a team, having been on a short coaching course, and expect them to embrace the idea of being coached is highly optimistic. The typical reaction of a team is passive resistance, because: Hardly surprising that many, if not most, programmes to turn line managers into coaches have a (more…)
In a newly-merged multinational organization, there is typically an urgent need to ensure quality and consistency in talent development – even if the strategy is to continue to operate largely as separate entities within the same group. One of the key areas to examine, and one where it is possible to have a large impact (more…)
The design of effective coaching and mentoring programmes consists of seven key elements: The design, implementation and continual evaluation of programmes are all key stages. Not fully addressing any stage can impact on the overall effectiveness of the programme. Programme aims and purpose Programmes are developed in response a specific need. (more…)
Difference can manifest itself in many ways, from sexual orientation to race and disability, but a common factor is that it is a contributor to inequality and stereotyping in the workplace. Diversity mentoring is a process of open dialogue that aims to achieve both individual and organisational change, through shared understanding and suspending judgement, within (more…)
At the level of international good practice, informal mentoring works best when it is an outcome of formal mentoring. People have a reasonable idea of what is expected of mentor and mentee and are able to avoid major pitfalls, such as dependency or abusive relationships. Among the benefits of informal relationships is that they tend (more…)
The immediate aftermath of a merger poses a number of major challenges. While many of these challenges relate to integration of systems and structures, the people challenges are often the most difficult and long lasting. In particular: Introducing a well-designed mentoring programme for top talent can make radical and positive difference to managing each of (more…)