As a coach or mentor, you want to help your learners achieve their goals and grow their skills. But not everyone learns the same way or has the same personality. How do you adapt your coaching and mentoring style to different learning preferences and personalities? Here are some tips to consider.
Before you start coaching or mentoring, it helps to understand how your learners prefer to receive and process information. You can use various tools and frameworks, such as the VARK model, the Kolb learning cycle, or the Myers-Briggs type indicator, to assess their learning styles and personality types. These can give you insights into their strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and challenges.
It's also important to be aware of your learners' personality types and adjust your communication style accordingly. By taking the time to understand your learners' needs and adapting your approach to meet them, you can create a more effective and rewarding coaching and mentoring experience for both you and your learners.
From my experience as a coach/mentor, I've learned that understanding how my learners prefer to receive and process information is crucial for effective coaching/mentoring. The tools mentioned in this article have been invaluable in assessing their learning styles and personality types. I might add the DiSC assessment to the list. They have allowed me to tailor my approach to their strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and challenges, empowering them to achieve their full potential. #Coaching #Mentoring #LearningStyles #PersonalizedApproach
Learning styles have for a good reason been challenged over and over again. As a coach the coachee chooses their approach so no need to engage in defining the style best for them that if at all part of the journey. If you’re in a mentoring role it will equally be some part of your exchange. Learning styles are more important to trainers and teachers where a group in front and some people will disengage if not involved as your style doesn’t apply to them
Based on your learners' preferences and personalities, you can select the most suitable methods and techniques to deliver your coaching or mentoring sessions. For example, if your learners are visual, you can use diagrams, charts, or videos to illustrate your points. If they are auditory, you can use stories, podcasts, or feedback to engage them. If they are kinesthetic, you can use hands-on activities, simulations, or demonstrations to involve them. If they are reflective, you can use questions, journals, or case studies to encourage them.
Here are some mentoring tips for visual learners: Draw concepts on a whiteboard or piece of paper. Use multiple colors as a way of separating ideas. When talking, use gestures and picturesque language. Tips for mentoring an auditory learners: Have frequent conversations with them. Promote discussion with team members. Ask them to explain something they’ve learned e.g. brown bag talks Tips for mentoring a kinesthetic learner: Provide case studies that lead to solutions to problems. Simulation activities.
How you communicate with your learners can also affect their learning outcomes and satisfaction. You can adjust your communication style to match their personality and needs. For example, if your learners are extroverted, you can be more energetic, enthusiastic, and interactive. If they are introverted, you can be more calm, respectful, and supportive. If they are intuitive, you can be more creative, visionary, and exploratory. If they are sensing, you can be more factual, practical, and structured.
One of the best ways to develop range in a coaching or mentoring style, is to interact with and form bonds outside of your typical circles. Consider this in your personal life as a place to start -- get out of your neighborhood, friends from college, and people in the same demographics (income, age, race, gender, politics). By getting to know people personally you'll develop empathy and a deeper understanding of how they see the world, the events that have shaped them, and how to best engage in a 1:1 dynamic. Too often, coaches focus on just technical training for coaching. I find some of the best coaching "training" is actually far from coaching and is real-world experience and interactions.
Feedback and support are essential components of coaching and mentoring. They can help your learners improve their performance, identify their gaps, and celebrate their achievements. You can provide feedback and support in different ways depending on your learners' preferences and personalities. For example, if your learners are feeling, you can be more empathetic, appreciative, and personal. If they are thinking, you can be more logical, objective, and constructive. If they are judging, you can be more clear, specific, and timely. If they are perceiving, you can be more flexible, open, and adaptable.
Finally, you need to monitor and evaluate your coaching and mentoring style and its impact on your learners. You can use various methods and tools, such as surveys, interviews, observations, or tests, to collect feedback from your learners and measure their progress and satisfaction. You can also reflect on your own strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement as a coach or mentor. Based on the data and insights you gather, you can make adjustments and improvements to your coaching and mentoring style to better suit your learners.
Mentoring is primarily concerned with identifying & fostering a person’s potential as a whole. Consider the Constructivist paradigm. Constructivists emphasise the uniqueness of each learning experience as individuals develop &/or construct meaning through their own interactions with an environment. So coaching & mentoring encourages a learner-centred approach. A learner is encouraged to find their own way towards new knowledge & skills; so, instead of ‘telling’ the learner the answers, faciliate learning through a cycle of varied experience *(ve) & consistent reflection. This hangs on: ? Understanding the individual needs ? Cultivating a positive relationship ? Provide ongoing support & Feedback ? Reflect, evaluate & adjust the ve*
Be mindful of generational considerations Younger people, for example, may be used to learning by watching Youtube or other media. Other age groups may learn better from listening and taking notes, or reading and taking notes.