How can you develop leadership skills while coaching or mentoring?

Coaching or mentoring isn't just about the mentee's growth; it's a two-way street. As you guide others, seize opportunities to sharpen your leadership facets. Listen more than you speak; this fine-tunes your ability to understand nuances, cultivating patience and empathy. Each challenge offers you a scenario to hone your problem-solving prowess. Embrace moments of disagreement. They're not hurdles but chances to enhance your negotiation and conflict resolution skills. Remember, every feedback session is a dance between honesty and compassion, refining your communication finesse. Dive deep into the emotional currents of your mentees; this boosts your emotional intelligence, making you more attuned to the pulse of human nature.

Use coaching sessions not just as an opportunity to support others in their growth, but as an opportunity to fine-tune self-awareness, self-management, and impact/presence. Practice curiosity, use open-ended questions, be clear on your "Why" for entering in to coaching. What skills do you wish to hone and evolve? What is *your* growth action plan as a leader through coaching? What is your action plan post-coaching session? How will you self-reflect? How will you support your client in their accountability plan?

🚀 Foster Continuous Growth! I'd emphasize the role of experiential learning in leadership development during coaching or mentoring sessions. This involves creating immersive scenarios or simulations where leaders can hone their decision-making, emotional intelligence, and problem-solving abilities. Integrating real-time challenges with feedback loops fosters a culture of continuous learning. Why? Adaptive leadership anchored in real-world experiences paves the way for sustainable growth and resilience in an ever-evolving corporate landscape. 📈🌱

In my experience alll coaching should start by looking at what the coachee wants to achieve or get out of the program. This allows the coach to review what it is they can add to and what aspects others need to be engaged to accomplish the objectives. In a professional setting where the coach is also the manager it is important to clearly distinguish between skill coaching (to become better at the current job) and development coaching (simplified: to become better at the next).

Identifying objectives also includes the clarification of the distinction between coaching and mentoring as those concepts often seem to be synonyms to many leaders. There is a certain overlap, although knowing when and how to coach or mentor is the key to a successful relationship. Telling someone what to do or what you would do is neither coaching, nor mentoring, no matter how much somebody believes it. Coaching is about letting someone figure out a solution and see situations from different perspectives so they could make better decisions while mentoring is more about sharing real life experience in a relevant area of expertise. Once this is done, setting and achieving objectives is much more successful.

The most valuable coaching skill is DEEP listening. Over the past decade, I ran an entrepreneurship center at a major business school. And listened to A LOT of ideas. The experience completely changed the way I direct my "listening attention." Deep listening requires a leader to pay attention to the other person's idea. (Content.) While simultaneously listening for... 1️⃣ What the person is explicitly saying. (Frames.) 2️⃣ What is being expressed implicitly. (Metaphors.) 3️⃣ What is being left out vs called out. (Omissions.) Helping someone rethink... ✅ the frame they're using, ✅ the unspoken metaphor behind what they say, ✅ the things that are not said and glossed over... ...often leads to a profound shift in perspective.

One of the most important skills in leadership is listening. One powerful form of listening is Active Inquiry. This is involves asking questions and engaging in critical thinking to gain a deeper understanding. It includes: - Asking questions that are open-ended - Analyzing and evaluating information - Focusing on curiosity to learning more - Reflecting on the insights gathered

If you don't already know that listening to understand and with empathy are critical coaching skills you really should be looking at a different career!

Listen beyond words to grasp emotions and motivations. Empathetic listening builds trust, uncovers root issues, and garners insights. Truly understanding alternative perspectives expands your leadership. Let the mentee's lessons shape your personal growth. Listening shows respect and enables breakthroughs for both parties.

Listening to what is unsaid and then getting the client to say is the key to effective coaching. It is the only way to develop understanding and trust, the essentials for a coach and Coachee relationship.

You are the number one supporter and critic at the same time. Facilitate your mentees or coachees search of the best road to reach their goals with guiding questions. You're there to listen, observe and help your coachee or mentee eliminate roadblocks and obstacles on their journey. Furthermore, expand their mind and cheer them on to find new solutions and approaches when obstacles or roadblocks cannot easily be removed.

Great mentors and coaches ask more questions than they give advice. In fact, every time you give advice you are intervening in the coachee’s ability and creativity to solve their own problems. Great coaches and mentors know their role is to facilitate the answers in others and hold space for the discomfort in that process. Great questions to respond with when people come to you for advice can be: 1. What’s been your current approach? 2. What else could you try here? 3. Who do you admire who has handled this type of thing before - is there a tactic you could emulate? 4. If completely stuck, ask for permission before giving options. Then, give multiple options and ask - which one of those might you try?

As coaches we're trained in the art of asking powerful questions, including open-ended as this article points out. Think of questions as a GPS system that can lead to a dead-end (yes or no answer that stops the inquiry) or the open road (reflection, considering multiple pathways, going deeper.) The open ended approach also avoid implying judgement in the question: consider the difference between "Did you handle that conflict well?" versus "What approaches could you have taken to resolve that conflict differently?"

Effective feedback is an art form. As a coach, ensure that the feedback you provide is precise, actionable, and timely. Celebrate the successes and navigate areas of improvement with care. Remember, the goal is growth, not demotivation :) Equally important is to invite feedback on your coaching techniques.

In a mentoring conversation, we usually kick off with a "what's going on?" or "where do you want to focus?" type question to get the conversation started. Without refining it further, it's easy to get drawn in by something we find interesting. To thwart this and ensure that we're being of service to our mentee, one of the best questions in a coaching or mentoring conversation is "what is the real challenge here for you?" It does two things: - makes sure that address the issue that they need help with - focuses the discussion - you can use it more than once if needed to refine the topic Try it in your next conversation and see how much more quickly you get to the meat of the problem.

Out of many ways for the constructive feedback frameworks, the one which I found pretty useful is the OSCAR Model. It starts with observing the situation in hand before you actually detail and deep-dive in the situation. Sometimes, the aftermath repercussions are something which is not seen and that's where helping the person with what could be the possible consequences helps. The best part of this framework is not just providing constructive feedback but also helping with what could be the additional way to solve the situation. This can be tackled by proposing an alternative situation/way ahead to manage before you finally paint the ideal result picture. Feedback as nature is very tricky but having a scientific approach helps.

Giving constructive feedback is as difficult as it is to take it on board for most people. Once it is clear that growth requires the right amount of friction within and between people, that the feeling of discomfort is the wrapping paper on the gift of learning, then it is easier to reframe the experience as a sign of growth and levelling up.

Feedback is essential to ensure that Coachee feels comfortable.. That's about it.. And for me a coach need to Converse in such a way that Coachee kind of keep looking at mirrors to know what has been happening. That makes it all easy...

Gallup has a great approach in giving and receiving feedback, they call it meaningful conversations, feedback should be continuous, should be meaningful, should be a conversation, 2 ways not a one way.

Continuous feedback and focus on lifelong learning are key components here. When providing feedback to your coachee or mentee make sure you select areas of feedback actually bringing them closer to their goals. Other points of feedback may also be relevant but can distract the coachee or mentee and prolong the best road forward. These points of feedback can with preference be included as thoughtful points in retrospect when reaching the goal.

Personalized coaching is extremely important. You may have a framework that you can walk people through, but the power and the impact is ensuring that sessions and the program are customized to their specific growth needs.

The best coaches, and the ones I look for to work with me in my company, are coaches who can seamlessly and intuitively switch hats as required including being a coach, mentor, advisor, accountability person, non-judgemental sounding board, Red Teamer/critical thinker, whip-cracker, champion, unreasonable-best-friend (telling people what they need to hear as opposed to want to hear), and more. And please don't bang on about the differences between coach and mentor. In 17 1/2 years of running my successful, award-winning international Coaching & Training company, not one client or coachee has EVER asked or cared what the difference is. They just want outcomes.

Person centred is a positive way to enable successful coaching and mentoring - what do they need from you to unlock their potential or goals - not you sticking to a strict format or an approach that simply gives you comfort.

Know your audience and tailor your leadership style accordingly. In times of crisis, be the calm in the storm; during innovation, be the spark of creativity. Flexibility is your superpower! Stay agile. Recognize when to lead from the front and when to empower others. Embrace change, be open to diverse perspectives, and watch your leadership prowess soar! 🚀

"Individualizing your approach" is a must when it comes to Coaching and mentoring, you must start with your strengths! Knowing and applying your strengths in any career development profession is a great starter, you should also know your beneficiary strengths and talents, you can use talent based assessment like CliftonStrengths.

First, I like to lead by example. Demonstrating the qualities and behaviors you want them to adopt, such as integrity, effective communication, and problem-solving helps them thrive. Encourage them to observe and learn from your actions. I then concentrate on providing constructive feedback. If you regularly evaluate their progress and offer guidance on areas that need improvement, your feedback can serve as a roadmap for them to refine their leadership skills, which is my ultimate goal for my team.

This aspect of mentorship is perhaps the most overlooked when it comes to helping a client more fully embody the skill, aptitude, or orientation that they are seeking. Framing this embodiment challenge to yourself as a implicit role model, and being intentional about subtly demonstrating it at opportune times in your interactions, can provide a powerful catalyst to their growth and development. As an example in my practice, I had a client aspiring to be more skillfully assertive. They arrived 5 minutes late for their next session, and rather than simply waving them in with a "don't worry about it," I saw that moment as a learning opportunity and gently reminded them that our time was equally valuable - followed up with a wink and smile.

In my opinion, coaching or mentoring isn’t just about imparting wisdom or giving advice; it’s about embodying the values and principles you wish to see in those you guide.

One of the most important skills you can ever pass on to a mentee is the ability to stay open-minded. Be receptive to the inputs from diverse thinkers yourself to demonstrate this. Show the importance of networking with people who are older than you, people you consider your peers and younger people who are carving their own career journeys. Each cohort of professionals has something to teach. Shortcuts to avoid failure, an alternative view, or even just an update on perspective that can keep you relevant. Model leadership that isn't reliant on one source alone, but seeks regular input from different sources. This is what will teach others to stay adaptive, communicative and dynamic in their approach.

In my experience, I can tell you that leading by example in coaching or mentoring means embodying the leadership qualities you wish to cultivate in your clients. Monkey see, monkey do. For effective communication, demonstrate active listening, clarity, and concise expression in your own interactions. Be empathetic and self-aware, and share your experiences in managing emotions constructively. Showcase sound decision-making by involving your clients in problem-solving scenarios and using decision-making frameworks. Finally, exhibit adaptability by openly discussing your own experiences in navigating change and learning from setbacks, encouraging your clients to embrace flexibility in their leadership journey.

Having coached 100s of coaches and leaders, I have found 3 main patterns where coaching and mentoring can make a huge difference: - they have a lot of knowledge, ideas, plans and they need an outsider perspective who can help them cut through the noise and provide more clarity - they know exactly what is wrong, what they do not like, but they are not sure what they want exactly or how they could contribute to the solution instead of building more obstacles unintentionally - they are not aware of how much value they can provide and in what way Both coaching and mentoring are about helping someone become more so they can do more, not because they are not good enough, but because there is always another level to reach for the right reason.

Coaching and mentoring provide a fertile ground for leadership development. Leadership requires a high level of emotional intelligence. Coaches and mentors help individuals understand and manage their emotions while empathizing with others' feelings. They develop the ability to build strong relationships and inspire trust among team members.

I feel mentoring brings more value to the mentors vis-a-vis the mentees. Besides the experience, insights and knowledge shared with the mentees, mentors can easily check the effectiveness and efficiency of their instructions, teaching, feedback and directions. If the mentees are in any demographical cluster synergistic with the mentor's sphere of work, this shall ensure continuous testing, validation and corroboration of the mentor skills and how she/ he is receptive to incorporating feedback

Organizations who have leaders that coach and mentor others could provide transformational leadership development experiences. An evaluation of coaching or mentoring skill could be built into performance evaluations as a way to demonstrate the importance of such skillsets and their benefit to the organization.

Since becoming a mentor I've learned that part of your leadership growth is developing your ability to understand if your potential mentee/mentor relationship is a good fit or not and if not being able to move on from it before either party commits too much time or effort. There are many reasons such as schedule mismatch, goal misalignment, inability to adapt expectations, and many more. When this happens it is also important to remember you may still be able to provide value by introducing them to someone in your network that would be a better fit for them or additional resources before ending the mentorship. PS (this also goes for if you are the mentee)!