How do you evaluate and improve your own coaching and mentoring skills?

Both coaching and mentoring are about growth, but they have different focuses. 1. Coaching is like a personal trainer. It's goal-oriented, helping you reach a specific finish line. 2. Mentoring is more like a wise advisor. It's a broader approach, offering guidance on your overall career path. Both can be formal or informal, one-on-one or in a group. The key is finding the right fit for your development needs.

My perspective on coaching is that it's about helping the other person expand their thinking by making new connections through insights they arrive at by themselves. In that sense, the role of the coach is to guide mostly through asking thought-provoking questions. Mentoring, on the other hand, requires the mentor to have walked the mentee's path in some form and to some degree. It's about offering their thinking about specific topics filtered through experience.

In my opinion coaching helps to leverage a performance goal applying structure coaching process. And it is based on 3 main pillars: empathy (coach and coachee), coaching structure and coach skill to best understand and support the coachee. On the other hand, mentoring is a powerful tool of professional development of a specific knowledge and experience. Senior and experienced professionals usually are mentors of entry level professionals. Mentors orient mentees′ carrer for a long term development, Mentos have the experience can help the mentee to overcome chanllenging situations helping them with theis experience and knowledge discussing about possible scenarios.

Coaching and mentoring – they're not just buzzwords, they're game changers. It's about guiding someone to unlock their potential, not by giving answers, but by asking the right questions. To level up your own skills, get real with self-assessment. Are you listening to understand or just to respond? Are you sparking insights or just filling silence? Reflect, get feedback, stay curious. This isn't just about making others better, it's about becoming a better you in the process.

To evaluate and improve my coaching and mentoring skills, I regularly seek feedback from my clients, peers, and mentors, which helps identify areas for growth. -One thing I found helpful is incorporating self-reflection after each session to assess what worked well and what didn’t. This practice allows me to adjust my approach in real time. -However, I disagree with the notion that only formal training can enhance coaching skills; real-life experience is equally valuable. -An example:- I have seen is a peer who used client feedback to tweak their coaching style, resulting in improved engagement and outcomes. This adaptability showcases how ongoing learning can enhance our effectiveness as coaches.

It is all about creating a domino effect of trainees enabling the trainee to go on become a better trainer than his own precedented trainer. This will reduce pressure, increase resource base and thereby, igniting more opportunities for people to learn from diversified people who add their own tint of subjectivity and research to their portfolios.

In my experience mentoring the team is essential to a leader′s role. It genuinely connects the leader to the team, the leader can help them to overcome their challenges not only in hard skills but mainly in soft skills point of view. In today′s world, we all are pilled up with tasks and challenging goas and having a leaders who mentors or coaches the team make the difference, integrate the team and also helps them to manage emotional roller coaster. On the other hand, this provides a light, psychological and emotionally safe environment.

In my experience, coaching and mentoring are all about unlocking potential, yours and theirs. It's less preach, more reach. To up my game, I'm constantly tuning in—listening like a pro, asking the sharp questions, and turning feedback into my fuel. It's a two-way street of growth; their breakthroughs are my checkpoints. Always learning, always evolving.

I agree with the above but I feel you have missed coaching and mentoring as an enabler. Of course trust has to come first but the more the employee is shown and encouraged, the more able they are to take on autonomy in their role. By coaching and mentoring, you are also setting boundaries (not in a bad way) by showing the employees the how, the where and importantly the why. Once they have that, they then gain in confidence knowing what they know, carry out tasks secure in the knowledge that it is the correct way and feel safe in their decision making. In the long run, good coaching and mentoring saves time, employees are happy and confident at work and are more likely to stay so you have employee retention.

From what I've learned, asking for different opinions has really helped me get better at coaching and mentoring. I make it a point to regularly ask for thoughts from the people I'm coaching, those I'm mentoring, and my colleagues. Doing this not only helps me understand what I'm good at but also shows me areas where I can improve. I take time to think about how I'm doing and compare it to what I want to achieve. This way, I'm always getting better and making a bigger difference as a coach and mentor.

Here's how I Create a Self-Evaluation Mind Map Step 1- Start with a central node titled “Coaching and Mentoring Skills Evaluation.” Step 2- From there, branch out into main categories such as - Skills and Techniques, Outcomes Achieved, Feedback, Professional Development Step 3- In Skills and Techniques you can further branch out and include communication, listening, empathy, goal-setting, problem-solving, etc. Step 4- In outcomes achieved you include Success stories, goal attainment rates, improvement in mentee performance, etc. Step 5- In Feedback branch you can include summaries of feedback from mentees, peers, and supervisors. Step 6- Professional Development: Training attended, books read, courses completed.

Feedback from mentees, self reflection to identify weaknesses.Staying up to date with challenges of modern age and devising strategies to stay ahead of currents of change.

In my experience, to evaluate your coaching and mentoring skills, it's like being your own toughest critic and biggest supporter. Check in with your mentees—how are they really doing? Tally their wins as your wins. Reflect after each session—did you provoke thought? Spark action? Regular self-assessment and honest feedback from peers and mentees alike keep your skills not just sharp, but evolving. It's about that grind to refine.

In my experience, for each session I collect feedback from my mentees not only from the mentoring sessions, but also from their carreer impact and results. I also ask for peers and senior professionals for feedback. Those feedbacks give me insights to evaluate my coaching and mentoring skills. I deep dive in my self-reflection, self-awareness, self-knowledge. And time to time, I ask for coaching or mentoring sessions to leverage and self development.

One way I practice coaching skills is to write "mock reviews" for fictional characters. It's a low-pressure way to frame up feedback in a way that will resonate with the intended recipient. While I may never have a chance to deliver a review to Captain Kirk or Darth Vader in real life, I've found that the exercise really does help me think about different ways to deliver feedback effectively when I need to do so in the real world.

Improving your coaching chops? It’s like leveling up in a game. Seek brutal feedback, learn from it, adapt. Watch master coaches in action. Borrow their moves, make them your own. Keep a coaching diary; track what flies, what flops. And never stop learning—courses, books, talks, you name it. Growth's the name of the game.

Reflective Practice is number one. Taking time to journal situations, what was impactful, what you learned, and how you will apply it the next time around is crucial. Also, work with a coach trainer or mentor who can help you reflect on and practice skills and techniques that need some extra care.

A helpful way to get better is for both people to write down what they thought about the coaching and mentoring session. This lets the coach make changes if needed and helps both people understand what to expect from each other.

Becoming more coach-like, as advocated by thinkers like Michael Bungay-Stanier, is about not falling into the advice trap. In other words, stay curious for longer and ask better questions. Other than the methods already outlined, one simple way to improve on this if you're a manager is to play a little game with your direct reports: ask them to call you out each time they notice you problem-solving for them instead of asking a question that helps them get there by themselves.

Don't just give answers; ask questions that get the coachee or mentee thinking critically about their situation and goals. Effective questions can open doors to new possibilities and self-discovery.

Applying coaching and mentoring skills is a bit like jazz—it's all about improvisation and rhythm. Listen actively, tune into their vibe, and play off it. Ask questions that spark deeper thinking. Share stories that resonate. And when they hit a high note, be their biggest fan. It's about creating harmony between advice and autonomy.

If there is one thing you should do, it's listen to understand and not respond. If there's a second thing, it's to ask "what else?" before asking anything more. If there's a third, it's use your OARS+ (quality open-ended questions, affirmations, reflections, and summaries).

Here are some key principles for successful coaching and mentoring: Build trust and rapport: Create a safe and supportive environment where open communication thrives. Set clear goals and expectations: Define success metrics and establish boundaries for the relationship. Ask powerful questions: Use open-ended questions to encourage self-discovery and critical thinking. Provide constructive feedback: Focus on strengths and areas for improvement, offering specific and actionable suggestions. Hold your coachee or mentee accountable: Regularly check in and track progress towards goals.

Applying coaching and mentoring skills effectively can transform relationships and outcomes. I remember a time when I struggled to connect theory with practice, leading to less impactful sessions. Pro Tip: Practice active listening, ask powerful questions, and provide constructive feedback. Create actionable plans with your clients and follow up regularly. Tailor your approach to each individual’s needs, ensuring your guidance is practical and impactful. Keywords: #ApplySkills #Coaching #Mentoring #ActiveListening #EffectiveCommunication #PersonalizedCoaching #TopVoice #LeadershipDevelopment

Lay off is not the best situation to be in and being at that stage yourself can be quite challenging. Coaching helps at that stage and can help , to draft a clear, achievable next steps steering you towards future possibilities rather than thinking about how bad he situation you are in. A coach can help you to manage stress and stay positive. A coach offers you a space for reflection yet keeping you accountable for the actions you agree with yourself. It can be a transformational experience for you as you will steer towards future planning next steps. with renewed clarity and energy.

In my opinion, to evaluate and improve coaching and mentoring skills, start with self-reflection on your methods and effectiveness. Seek feedback from peers and mentees to identify areas for improvement. Enhance your listening skills, as understanding needs is crucial. Stay updated with best practices in your field and incorporate them into your coaching. Set clear goals for each session and follow up on progress. Lastly, continuously educate yourself on interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence to better connect and guide your mentees. Personal growth is equally important to becoming a more effective coach and mentor.

Seek to gain as much direct experiences (yourself) and indirect (through your teams and mentees), and develop yourself through mentorship, coaching, and development resources (books, training etc). The more you invest in yourself - the more effective of a mentor you can be.

1. Self-reflection: I will regularly reflect on coaching and mentoring sessions. Consider what went well, what could have been improved, and how to enhance future interactions. 2. Feedback: I will also focus on seeking feedback from those being coached or mentored by me. Their insights can provide valuable perspectives on my strengths and areas for development. 3. Training and development: I will find opportunities to participate in coaching and mentoring training programs to learn new techniques and approaches.

Ask yourself where is the pause and the silence for the other person. If you’re mentoring then likely there is not a pause and the space is filled with you sharing and telling stories. If there is a pause and silence being held it’s for the other person to consider a question. Both actions are in service of the person seeing counsel or clarity, it’s just the movement and space that is held that is different.