Mentoring and Coaching Skills

MENTORING AND COACHING SKILLS
CHARLES COTTER PhD, MBA, B.A (Hons), B.A
www.slideshare.net/CharlesCotter
THABAZIMBI
APRIL 2021

TRAINING
PROGRAMME
OVERVIEW
(DAY 1)
• Defining mentoring and coaching
• Differentiating between mentoring and coaching
and their respective roles
• The benefits of mentoring
• Best practice guidelines for mentoring
• Key roles of the mentoring process
• Understanding and applying the 4-phase
mentoring process
• Video clip: What is Mentoring?

TRAINING
PROGRAMME
OVERVIEW
(DAY 2)
• Mastering the fundamentals of coaching
• Understanding and applying the GROW model of
coaching
• Applying the coaching process
• Mastering and applying the 6-step task/skills
based coaching process
• Article: Critical conversations
• Applying the 5-step task delegation process
• Performance Management of Interns
• Case study: Poor performance of an Intern

INTRODUCTORY LEARNING ACTIVITY
• Individual activity:
• Complete the statement by inserting one (1) word only. In
order to be an effective mentor at Northam Platinum, I need
to/to be………………………………………………………
• Jot this word down and find other learners who have
written down the same word.
• Write this word down on the flip-chart.
• You’ll be given the opportunity to substantiate your choice
of word.

DEFINING
MENTORING
• Mentoring is a process for the
informal transmission of
knowledge, social capital and the
psychosocial support perceived by
the recipient as relevant to work,
career, or professional development.
• Mentoring entails informal
communication, usually face-to-face
and during a sustained period of
time, between a person who is
perceived to have greater relevant
knowledge, wisdom or experience
(the mentor) and a person who is
perceived to have less (the protégé).

DEFINING
COACHING
• Coaching, is a teaching,
training or
development process
via which an individual
is supported while
achieving a specific
personal or
professional result or
goal.

Mentors focus on the person, their career and support for individual
growth and maturity whereas the coach is job-oriented and
performance oriented.
Coaching and mentoring use the same skills and approach, but
coaching is short term task-based and mentoring is a longer term
relationship.

DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN MENTORING
AND COACHING (CIPD)
Mentoring Coaching
Ongoing relationship that can last for a long period
of time
Relationship generally has a set duration
Can be more informal and meetings can take place
as and when the mentee needs some advice,
guidance or support
Generally more structured in nature and meetings are
scheduled on a regular basis
More long-term and takes a broader view of the
person
Short-term (sometimes time-bounded) and focused
on specific development areas/issues
Mentor is usually more experienced and qualified
than the ‘mentee’. Often a senior person in the
organization who can pass on knowledge,
experience and open doors to otherwise out-of-
reach opportunities
Coaching is generally not performed on the basis that
the coach needs to have direct experience of their
client’s formal occupational role, unless the coaching
is specific and skills-focused

DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN MENTORING
AND COACHING (CIPD)
Mentoring Coaching
Focus is on career and personal development Focus is generally on development/issues at
work
Agenda is set by the mentee, with the mentor
providing support and guidance to prepare
them for future roles
The agenda is focused on achieving specific,
immediate goals
Mentoring resolves more around developing
the mentee professional
Coaching revolves more around specific
development areas/issues

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1
• Group discussion:
• By means of a cost-benefit
analysis, build a business
case (viable, feasible and
sustainable) for the merits
and value of mentoring –
for the mentor; protégé
and Northam Platinum.

BEST PRACTICE MENTOR-PROTÉGÉ
RELATIONSHIP GUIDELINES
• Respect confidentiality. Information shared within the
relationship must remain private.
• Seek occasional feedback on how the relationship is working, and
propose ways that it can be enhanced.
• Establish as soon as possible the parameters and expectations of
the relationship: How often will you meet? Will you meet over
coffee or in an office? Is your partner open to communicating by
email or messenger? Is the length of the relationship open-ended,
or will it come to an end after, say, two years?
• If a third-party inquires about how the relationship is working,
always focus on the positive elements.

BEST PRACTICE PROTÉGÉ GUIDELINES
• Find out if your department has a formal mentoring program in
place, but don’t rely on just this one “assigned” mentor.
• Identify in advance what specific types of knowledge and
guidance you need, and determine which mentor you
will approach for each need or cluster of needs.
• Before approaching someone to act as your mentor, undertake
informal and tactful inquiries to ascertain who would best match
each of your identified needs. Consider not only their areas of
expertise, but also whether they will “click” with you in terms of
temperament.
• Tell your mentors clearly and specifically the areas of
development you would like to enhance with them, and the areas
that you are working on with other mentors.

• Be inquisitive. When you meet with your mentor, come with questions
prepared in advance, and supplement them with other queries that occur
on the spot.
• Respect the amount of time your mentors can devote to working with you,
and be accommodating of their schedules.
• Act promptly when a mentor offers to introduce you to another potential
mentor, or suggests that you make contact with someone.
• Be ready to accept frank feedback with grace and good humour. If need
be, ponder such feedback for a few days before responding to it.
• Express your gratitude: a verbal thank you, a card at the end of every term,
an occasional note, sharing your appreciation of your mentors with their
colleagues and so on

• What should a mentee/intern do?:
❑ Take increasing responsibility for managing the mentoring relationship and setting
the agenda for the meetings
❑ Think through the questions and issues you might wish to raise with your mentor
prior to the meeting. These might relate to your job or a programme of study
❑ Mentees, like mentors, need to treat all that is exchanged as confidential
Listen carefully to the suggestions the mentor makes and clarify any points you do
not fully understand
❑ Don’t make impossible demands of the mentor. The mentor is there to guide you
but not to do the work for you
❑ Don’t neglect your line manager! Let them know if you are going off to a mentoring
meeting

BEST PRACTICE MENTORING GUIDELINES
• Advocate for your protégé by putting him or her in
touch with other potential mentoring partners.
• Estimate how much time you can actually devote to
your protégé, communicate that estimate to him or her,
and then follow through on it.
• Listen carefully and without judgement when meeting
with your protégé.
• Give concrete and specific advice, as appropriate.

BEST PRACTICE MENTORING GUIDELINES
• Give candid, tactful and constructive feedback on those aspects of
your protégé’s development that fall within the parameters that
you initially agreed upon.
• If your protégé asks you for feedback on an area in which you lack
expertise, refer him or her to someone who can better help.
• Provide emotional support (“morale boosting”), as appropriate.
You should not take on the role of therapist for your protégé, but
encouragement, reassurance, and empathy will sometimes be as
useful as practical career advice.
• Help foster your protégé’s mentoring network by introducing him
or her to colleagues beyond your department or university.

CHARACTERISTICS OF
EFFECTIVE MENTORS
• Integrity
• Show genuine interest in their protégés as a
person
• Share their experiences and insights
• Ask open questions to encourage reflection
• Listen be an objective sounding board
• Offer positive (constructive) feedback
• Offer only solicited advice
• Celebrate and acknowledge achievements

10 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS OF
MENTORSHIP PROGRAMMES
#1: Training #2: Rapport
#3: Purpose #4: Balance
#5: Mentoring
requires specific
design

10 CRITICAL SUCCESS
FACTORS OF MENTORSHIP
PROGRAMMES
• #6: Commitment
• #7: Mentoring is about
relationships
• #8: Mentoring requires time
• #9: Mentoring is about
development
• #10: The immediate manager
should only be indirectly
involved

INFLUENTIAL ROLE OF THE MENTEE’S
SUPERVISOR

THE HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIP
TRIANGLE

LEARNING ACTIVITY 2
• By referring to the best practice guidelines,
critically evaluate the current mentorship
programme (for interns) at Northam
Platinum. Focus on the following key aspects:
❑ Mentor-protégé/intern relationship (refer to
paragraph 4.1)
❑ Role of protégés/interns (refer to paragraphs
4.2 and 4.3)
❑ Role and characteristics of mentors (refer to
paragraphs 4.4, 4.5 and 4.6)

LEARNING ACTIVITY 2
• By referring to the best practice guidelines,
critically evaluate the current mentorship
programme (for interns) at Northam Platinum.
Focus on the following key aspects:
❑ Critical Success Factors of the Mentorship
programme (for interns) (refer to paragraph 4.7)
❑ The role and responsibilities of the
mentee/intern’s immediate supervisor (refer to
paragraph 4.8)
• Identify gaps and recommend improvement
strategies.

4-PHASE MENTORING
PROCESS
Phase 4 Closure and Evaluation of the
mentoring relationship
Phase 3 Facilitating learning, advocacy and
professional networking
Phase 2 Negotiating and Contracting the
mentorship relationship
Phase 1 Preparing and Initiation of
mentorship

PHASE 1: PREPARING AND INITIATION OF
MENTORSHIP
• Invest time and careful planning to ensure that the mentor and mentee
have an open and trusting space in which to explore the best ways to work
together.
• In conducting a self-assessment, mentors can explore the following areas:
❑ Exploring their personal motivation to be a mentor
❑ Becoming clear about the expectations and role of a mentor
❑ Determining readiness to become a mentor
• Preparation:
❑ Staff
❑ Workplace environment – physical, psychological and emotional
❑ Provision of Information
❑ Documentation

PHASE 1: ASSIGN A MENTOR
• A specific boss or mentor who is committed to the intern's learning is essential.
• Provide internship programme supervision and mentorship throughout the
internship experience.
• Most interns are new to the workplace environment, so organizations should offer
direction and support to maximize interns’ productivity.
• However, it is also important to offer interns autonomy and responsibilities.
• The interns will improve their skills and learn to problem solve on their own.
• Give the interns meaningful responsibilities and projects with foreseeable
deadlines in order to build a sense of task accomplishment and completion.
• This will motivate the interns to think outside the box and bring fresh, creative
ideas into the organization.

PHASE 2: NEGOTIATING AND CONTRACTING THE
MENTORSHIP RELATIONSHIP
• Negotiation is the phase of the relationship when mentoring
partners reach agreement on:
❑Learning goals
❑Define the content and process of the relationship
• The development of the Learning Plan
• Conducting the first meeting
❑Confidentiality
❑Boundaries
❑Meetings Management

• “The initiation phase
seems to have two
components – rapport-
building and direction
setting”
(David Clutterbuck, 2004)

PHASE 3: FACILITATING LEARNING, ADVOCACY AND
PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING
• Mentors are facilitators of learning and must be
resources for learning:
❑Establish a supportive climate conducive to learning
❑Involve learners in planning how and what they will learn
❑Encourage learners to identify and use a variety of resources
to accomplish their objectives
❑Help learners implement and evaluate their goals and
aspirations for the mentorship
• Advocacy, promotion of mentee’s best interests
• Creating professional networking opportunities

PHASE 4: CLOSURE AND EVALUATION OF
THE MENTORING RELATIONSHIP
• The final stage/phase indicates that an evaluation of the relationship (reflection) and process should be carried out.
• Mentor and mentee should:
❑ Critically analyse their relationship and how it has developed
❑ Identifying the goals that have been achieved and those that haven’t
❑ They should reflect on the process, identifying areas where they could have done better
• A good exit strategy and process can answer the following three questions:
❑ Have we followed a helpful approach for reflecting on learning outcomes and discussed a process for integrating
what was learned?
❑ Have we decided on a meaningful way to celebrate the successes within the mentorship?
❑ Have we had a conversation to redefine our relationship and to acknowledge this transition? Has our
conversation included a focus on talking about whether it will move from a professional mentoring relationship to
colleagues, friendship, to staying in contact, etc. and where to go from here?
• Both formative and summative evaluation data are useful for process improvement and reporting results.

PHASE 4:
SCOPE OF THE
EXIT
INTERVIEW
• What has the intern learned and how has he/she developed over the internship;
• How well he/she has met the objectives set at the beginning of or during the
internship;
• What have been the proudest achievements;
• What projects have been completed or contributed to;
• In what ways is the intern better prepared for the job market after completing
this internship;
• How well in general he/she has performed;
• What are his/her main strengths and development areas?

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3
• Apply the 4-phase Mentoring process within
the Northam Platinum working
environment.
❑ Phase 1: Preparing and Initiation of
mentorship
❑ Phase 2: Negotiating and Contracting
the mentorship relationship
❑ Phase 3: Facilitating learning, advocacy
and professional networking
❑ Phase 4: Closure and Evaluation of the
mentoring relationship

VIDEO CLIP
• What is Mentoring?
https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=qoy5MifHuLs
• Debriefing: Extract the
lessons from this video
clip

TYPES OF
COACHING
• Personal/Life
• Business
• Executive
• Skills/Task-
oriented
• Performance-
based
• Career

THE PURPOSE AND VALUE OF COACHING
• Coaching often provides positive feedback about employee
contributions.
• Regular coaching brings performance issues to an employee's attention
when they are minor, and assists the employee to correct them.
• The goal of coaching is to work with the employee to solve
performance problems and improve the work of the employee, the
team and the department.
• Coaching offers the vehicle to accelerate employee development
towards the achievement of individual and organizational
effectiveness.
• The core of coaching is building rapport, asking powerful questions
and setting goals.

THE DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF
COACHING
• It consists of one-to-one developmental discussions.
• It provides people with feedback on both their
strengths and weaknesses.
• It is aimed at specific issues/areas.
• It is a relatively short-term activity, except in executive
coaching, which tends to have a longer timeframe.
• It is essentially a non-directive form of development.
• It focuses on improving performance and
developing/enhancing individual’s skills.
• It is used to address a wide range of issues.

THE DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF
COACHING
• Coaching activities have both organizational and
individual goals.
• It assumes that the individual is psychologically
healthy and does not require a clinical
intervention.
• It works on the premise that clients are self-aware
or can achieve self-awareness.
• It is time-bound.
• It is a skilled activity
• Personal issues may be discussed but the emphasis
is on performance on work.

GUIDING
PRINCIPLES
OF
EFFECTIVE
COACHING
• Strengthen communication
between you and the intern
• Help the intern attain
performance objectives
• Increase intern motivation and
commitment
• Maintain and increase the
intern’s self-esteem
• Provide support

KEY ELEMENTS OF THE
COACHING PROCESS
• Coach when you want to focus attention on any specific aspect of
the employee's performance.
• Observe the employee's work and solicit feedback from others.
• When performance is successful, take the time to understand why.
• Advise the employee ahead of time on issues to be discussed.
• Discuss alternative solutions.
• Agree on action to be taken.
• Schedule follow-up meeting(s) to measure results.
• Recognize successes and improvements.
• Document key elements of coaching session.

COACHING QUESTIONS
• How is the employee expected to perform?
• Does the employee understand these expectations? If not, why
not?
• Does the employee know what successful results look like? How
do you know?
• Does the employee know the performance is marginal? How do
you know?
• Are there obstacles beyond the employee's control? Can you
remove them?
• Has the employee ever performed this task satisfactorily?
• Is the employee willing and able to learn?
• Does satisfactory performance result in excessive work being
assigned?
• Does unsatisfactory performance result in positive consequences
such as an undesirable task being reassigned?

BEST PRACTICE COACHING BEHAVIOURS
• Focus on behaviour, not personality.
• Ask the intern for help in problem identification and
resolution.
• Set specific goals and maintain communication.
• Use reinforcement techniques to shape behaviour.
• Use active listening to show you understand.

THE GROW MODEL OF COACHING
• As a leader, one of your most important roles is to coach your
people to do their best. By doing this, you'll help them make
better decisions, solve problems that are holding them back,
learn new skills and otherwise progress their careers.
• The GROW Model is a simple yet powerful framework for
structuring your coaching or mentoring sessions.
• Goal
• Reality
• Obstacles/options
• Way Forward

COACHING PATHWAY
WHERE
THE MAGIC
HAPPENS

LEARNING ACTIVITY 4
• Discuss the merits and utility
value of coaching in the
Northam Platinum working
environment.
• Discuss the merits and utility
value of adopting the GROW
coaching model in the
Northam Platinum working
environment.

EFFECTIVE AND SUPPORTIVE COACHING
• Show confidence in the intern's ability and willingness to solve the problem.
• Describe the performance problem.
• Determine whether issues exist that limit the intern's ability to perform the task or
accomplish the objective.
• Discuss potential solutions to the problem or improvement actions to take.
• Agree on a written action plan that lists what the employee, the supervisor, and
possibly, the HR professional, will do to correct the problem or improve the
situation.
• Set a date and time for follow-up.

STEPS OF A PERFORMANCE-BASED COACHING
SESSION (CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK)
• Describe the positive performance result or work habit using specific details.
• Solicit your employee's opinion of the same product or behaviour.
• Ask the employee to identify elements that contributed to success
• Discuss ways in which you and the employee can support continued positive
results.
• Reinforce for the employee the value of the work and how it fits in with the
mission, vision, values and goals of the work unit or department.
• Show your appreciation of the positive results and your confidence that the
employee will continue to perform satisfactorily.
• Document your discussion for the employee's file, as you would all coaching and
counseling sessions, noting day, date, time and key elements.

STEPS OF A PERFORMANCE-BASED
COACHING SESSION (CAPABILITY)
• Describe the issue or problem, referring to specific behaviours
• Involve the intern in the problem-solving process
• Discuss causes of the problem
• Identify and write down possible solutions
• Decide on specific actions to be taken by each of you
• Agree on a follow-up date
• Document key elements of the session

STEPS OF A PERFORMANCE-BASED
COACHING SESSION (CONDUCT)
• Describe in detail the poor work habit observed
• Say why it concerns you. Tie it to the performance standards and
goals.
• Ask why it occurred and listen non-judgmentally to the
explanation. Describe the need for change and ask for ideas.
• Discuss each idea and offer your help
• Agree on specific actions to be taken and set a specific follow-up
date
• Document results from the session

CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK
(B-E-E-R TECHNIQUE)
• BEHAVIOUR
• EFFECT
• EXPECTATION
• RESULT

LEARNING ACTIVITY 5
• As a manager, describe how
you will conduct a session, by
referring to the coaching
process:
❑Before the coaching session
❑During the coaching
session
❑Follow-up discussion

WE HAVE TO TALK: A STEP-BY-STEP
CHECKLIST FOR DIFFICULT
CONVERSATIONS (Judy Ringer)
• Working on Yourself: How to Prepare for the Conversation
• Before going into the conversation, ask yourself some questions
• 4 Steps to a Successful Outcome
❑ Step #1: Inquiry
❑ Step #2: Acknowledgment
❑ Step #3: Advocacy
❑ Step #4: Problem-Solving
• Practice, Practice, Practice
• Some additional tips and suggestions
• How Do I Begin?
• Write a possible opening for your conversation

LEARNING ACTIVITY 6
• Group Discussion:
• Review the article and
extract the most relevant
coaching lessons within the
Northam Platinum work
environment.

STEPS OF THE SKILLS/TASK-ORIENTED
COACHING PROCESS
• Step 1: Needs/skills gap analysis
• Step 2: Task analysis and explanation of task
requirements
• Step 3: Demonstrating/Presenting the task
• Step 4: Trying out performance
• Step 5: Assessment of learner’s competence
• Step 6: Self Evaluation

SKILLS/TASK-ORIENTED COACHING
PROCESS - ILLUSTRATED

DECIDING WHAT JOBS TO DELEGATE?

LEARNING ACTIVITY 7
• Apply the 5-step
delegation process within
the Northam Platinum
working environment to a
defined task with the
objective of
performance/skills
improvement of interns.

OBJECTIVE #3:
Performance Management

PERFORMANCE
REVIEW/APPRAISAL
• Monitoring,
Measuring/Evaluatin
g performance
against the pre-
determined
performance
goals/objectives and
standards and
criteria.

PERFORMANCE REVIEW OF INTERNS
• Schedule regular performance reviews to provide students with an honest critique so they can measure how
they are doing.
• A good performance review is an opportunity to help then intern learn and gives them a true measure of if they
are meeting an employer's expectations.
• Don’t make the mistake of using a performance review to outline everything the intern is doing wrong.
• You’ve probably heard of the sandwich approach used when evaluating employees or when giving constructive
criticism, so be sure to use this approach when evaluating your intern.
• This is a very simple approach where you offer your intern praise on work he or she has accomplished so far,
then add some constructive criticism to help them to improve, followed by more praise to let them know they
are doing well and are meeting expectations.
• Communicate and meet with the interns regularly to review progress and plan ahead.
• Communication is the key to building trust between the interns and the employers so that the interns can
effectively make progress and accomplish tasks.
• Interns are eager to receive affirmation that their mentors are pleased with their work. Mentor and support the
interns to maximize the interns’ potential and to maximize the value of the internship program for both the
organization and the intern.

CAUSES OF POOR
INTERN
PERFORMANCE
❑#1: Skills/competence
❑#2: Personal problems
❑#3: Lack of resources
❑#4: Organizational
factors

PERFORMANCE MATRIX –
APPLYING COTTER’S 4 C’s (2018)
CAREER
FLUIDITY
COUNSELING
CAPITALIZING
COACHING

PERFORMANCE COUNSELING PROCESS
• Preparing for a Performance Counseling session
• Conducting a Performance Counseling session
(Interview)
• Performance Improvement Action Plan
• Monitor, review and evaluate the effectiveness of
the Performance Improvement Action Plan

LEARNING ACTIVITY 8
• By referring to the performance
equation, by using a 10-point scale (1
= very poor; 5 = average to 10 =
excellent), calculate your intern’s
performance potential score. Identify
gaps and recommend improvement
strategies.
• Apply performance management
principles to the four (4) quadrants of
the Performance Matrix to the
performance management of interns
at Northam Platinum. Describe your
performance management strategies
in each of the 4 quadrants.

LEARNING
ACTIVITY 9
• Group Discussion:
• Answer the following 5 questions:
• 1. Critically evaluate the proposed
approach/procedure recommended by Elaine, the HR
Manager, to David in addressing Carol’s poor
performance.
• 2. What are the likely causes of Carol’s poor
performance? Differentiate between capability and
conduct-related causes. What is the actual cause of
Carol’s poor performance
• 3. Critically evaluate the performance counselling
session conducted by David.
• 4. What are the benefits of the approach adopted
and applied by David in managing Carol’s poor
performance?
• 5. What post-counseling monitoring and
evaluation measures has David proposed? Do you
believe that these are effective? Motivate your
answer.

CONCLUSION
• Key points
• Summary
• Questions
• Training evaluation

DR CHARLES COTTER’S CONTACT DETAILS AND SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE
• Mobile number: +2784 562 9446
• Email address: charlescotterhrdconsultant@gmail.com
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• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlescotter/ and
https://www.linkedin.com/company/dr-charles-cotter-and-associates
• Twitter: @Charles_Cotter
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• SlideShare: www.slideshare.net/CharlesCotter

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