Learner Guide

Mentoring and Coaching

October 2013

Learner Guide

Mentoring and Coaching

October 2013

A training programme delivered by

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ContentPage

Learning Unit 1: Mentoring-related concepts7

Learning Unit 2: Steps in the mentoring process10

Learning Unit 3: Initiate the mentor-mentee relationship12

Learning Unit 4: Define the mentor-mentee relationship15

Learning Unit 5: Plan the education, training and 20

development of the mentee

Learning Unit 6: Review the planned education, training and41

development of the mentee

Learning Unit 7: Perform continuous mentoring-related51

activities

Learning Unit 8: Coaching-related concepts59

Learning Unit 9: Steps in the coaching process61

Learning Unit 10: Initiate the coach-learner relationship63

Learning Unit 11: Identify the task that the learner must be65

able to perform

Learning Unit 12: Prepare the learner for the coaching71

Learning Unit 13: Conduct the coaching sessions83

Learner Guide

Mentoring and Coaching

October 2013

Version 02: 2-Sep-13

Page | 3

Welcome Note

Welcome to the Mentoring and Coaching Workshop. We hope that you will enjoy attending it as much as we will enjoy presenting it.

The purpose of the workshop is to teach you skills and knowledge that will enable you to effectively mentor and coach others.

You will be introduced to

mentoring and coaching-related terminology and

the steps in the mentoring and coaching processes.

The workshop (and this Learner Guide) consists of learning units.

Some learning units include activities that you have to complete during the workshop. The activities will assist you to apply the skills and knowledge that you learn during the workshop.

You will also find useful mentoring and coaching-related templates in the relevant learning units. You may use the templates to create mentoring and coaching-related templates for use in your organisation or to revise or update your existing organisational templates.

Please note that this workshop is non-credit bearing. This means that

you will not be assessed in terms of this workshop and

we will not award any credits towards a unit standard or qualification to you in terms of this workshop.

However, the workshop is designed in such a way that you will have the opportunity to participate in and contribute to the learning process and thus gain mentoring and coaching-related skills and knowledge that will enable you to effectively mentor and coach others when you are back at your workplace.

Mentoring

Activity 1

Reading by learners

Group discussion

Group written exercise

Feedback by learners

Individual written exercise

Role-play

X

X

X

Find a partner and discuss the following questions with him/ her. Record your joint response to the questions in the space provided.

Why do you mentor employees in your organisation?

Who (i.e. what employees) do you mentor?

How and when do you mentor employees?

Learning Unit 1: Mentoring-related concepts

After this learning unit, you will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of mentoring.

Name the advantages of mentoring to the Mentor, mentee and organisation.

Mentoring1.1 What is mentoring?

The term mentor has its roots in ancient Greek mythology.

According to Greek mythology, Odysseus, prior to going to fight in the Trojan War, appointed a guardian for his young son, Telemachus. The guardians name was Mentor. (Mentor was actually the goddess Athena who disguised herself as a man for the job).

The idea was that Telemachus would emulate (imitate, copy, simulate) Mentor to learn the skills he would need. Mentor served as a trusted advisor, teacher, friend and nurturer and hence the term mentor came to be associated with those qualities in todays world.

Mentoring has been defined in the following ways:

The process whereby an experienced veteran helps to shape or guide a newcomer.

The process whereby one person helps another person to become what he/she wants to be.

A relationship between two people (i.e. the Mentor and the mentee) which exists for a given purpose i.e. to assist the learner to develop professionally and personally.

It has also been defined metaphorically in the following way:

The process whereby an angel will take you by the hand, catch you when you fall and eventually give you wings to fly alone.

For the purpose of this workshop, mentoring is

a caring relationship

in which a person with more experience (i.e. the Mentor)

works with a less experienced person (i.e. the mentee)

to promote the professional and personal development of the mentee.

Mentoring can be an informal practice in an organisation or be implemented as a formal programme.

During formal Mentorship programmes, the organisation will design a Mentoring Policy and processes (i.e. a Mentoring Procedure), identify Mentors and mentees, pair Mentors and mentees and implement and monitor mentoring-related processes. In this case, the mentor-mentee relationship is managed and guided by means of organisational procedures.

During informal mentoring, Mentors and mentees come together on their own, define their own relationship and determine their own rules for the relationship.

(NOTE: For the purpose of this learning programme, we will mainly focus on formal mentor-mentee relationships in organisations.)

1.2 Who mentors?

The person, who mentors others, is called a Mentor.

1.3 Who is mentored?

The person, who is mentored, is usually referred to as a mentee (or protg).

(The word protg is derived from the French verb proteger which means to protect.)

NOTE: For the purposes of this workshop, the term mentee will be used.

1.4 What are the advantages of mentoring?

The following table indicates the advantages of mentoring to Mentors, mentees and organisations:

Advantages to Mentors

Advantages to mentees

Advantages to organisations

Creates opportunity for Mentors to share their experience and thus enriches Mentors.

Creates opportunity to be recognised.

It provides an opportunity to do something different (than normal duties).

Provides professional recognition and affirmation.

Reduces isolation.

Provides meaningful learning experiences and an opportunity for personal and professional growth.

Improves integration of new employees.

Increases communication, networking and openness/ transparency in organisations.

Improves employee satisfaction.

Enhances career development.

Creates a learning culture.

Learning Unit 2: Steps in the mentoring process

After this learning unit, you will be able to:

1. Name the steps in the mentoring process.

1. Steps in the mentoring process

The following diagram illustrates the steps in the mentoring process:

Initiate the mentor-mentee relationship(Learning Unit 3)

Define the mentor-protg relationship(Learning Unit 4)

Plan the education, training and development of the mentee(Learning Unit 5)

Review the planned education, training and development of the mentee (Learning Unit 6)

Perform continuous mentoring-related activities(Learning Unit 7)

Learning Unit 3: Initiate the mentor-mentee relationship

After this learning unit, you will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the process whereby a mentor-mentee relationship is initiated.

Initiate the mentor-mentee relationship

During the first step of the mentoring process, the HR/ Training Department has to

initiate the mentor-mentee relationship.

1.1 What should the HR/ Training Department do to initiate the mentor- mentee relationship?

The following diagram illustrates what the HR/ Training Department should do:

Step 1

Identify the Mentor and the mentee.

Notes

If a formal Mentorship programme is implemented in an organisation, the HR/ Training Department will usually initiate the mentor-mentee relationship.

If mentoring is an informal practice in an organisation, any employee i.e. the mentee, can approach another employee i.e. the Mentor and request his/ her mentorship. Alternatively, any Manager, Supervisor, professional person, trade worker, etc. can approach another employee and offer to mentor him/ her. In this case, other employees in the organisation might not even be aware of the mentor-mentee relationship.

Who can be a Mentor?

Senior professional employees (e.g. Accountants, Engineers, Technicians, HR Consultants, etc.).

Senior trade workers (e.g. Carpenters, Mechanics, Electricians, etc.).

Senior employees from other occu