Coaching/Mentoring Contract for a High-performance team

Leaders are the coach of the team. Scrum master is coach the team. Senior team members are the mentor for the teams. Once Individual have reached a particular level of maturity, coaching and mentoring by these individual will aid others to become better at whatever we are doing.

We need to coach and mentor where we identify opportunities to ensure we build a strong High-performance team.

How do we start this journey?

Coaching and Mentorship is an agreement where two individuals conform to adhere to a particular way of functioning for an accepted goal & Purpose.

The goal could be to become better whatever we are operating.

The learning has to flow from upstream to downstream( from Mature team members to new/entry-level team members). The awareness has to grow, unknown challenges have to explore and come out with unique ways to resolve for progress.

Both the party will steer for a known and unknown territory together and come out with diverse experiences. Better or bitter whatever it may be.

The purpose could be, both the parties should candidly discuss what could be our short-term goals and capture those.

Few areas can help us to structure and start this journey.

We openly examine and capture the benefits of such type of agreement and we acknowledge if there is any adjustment desired.

This meeting has to be scheduled in the calendar in well advance so that everyone is ready.

As coaches or mentors, we have to establish a space where we allow team members to share their side of the story. As a coach, we suggest many queries to explore their world and motivate team members thought to investigate and explore many options.

As a coach & mentor, we recommend many tools and guidelines to look into and come back with queries, if any.

A) Where are we now?

B) What is our overall goal? Short term and Long term? What we would admire to achieve? Solving the complex question, Improving the performance gap. Enhancing current ways of operating, etc

C) What are our roles and responsibilities? How do we ensure we are aligned for a common goal?

D) What is the support system enabling us? What are the things we should look into growing support from the system?

E) What cost we have to bear to achieve the new heights? Are we ready to pay this price?

F) How do we adhere to each other? what is our boundary?

G) What will be our feedback mechanism? Agreement to share constructive criticism.

H) When we will meet? How many times in a week? When we will demonstrate our progress?

I) A confidential agreement? The platform should be safe to discuss.

J) What behavior is acceptable and not acceptable?

K) How do we know we are irritating each other, hurting each other’s ego? what is the signal to check we have crossed the boundary

L) Celebration time, when should we celebrate? and based on what criteria?

M) Any point we do not choose to discuss? which are too personal and not impacting performance?

N) An agreement to create open, trusting, transparent ambient?

O) An agreement to come out from the contract? When should we choose that we have succeeded with our goal?

As Mentee or coachee, I adhere to these below points

A) As a Coachee, I understand the purpose of our meeting

B) As a Coachee, I understand what I am going to discuss

C) As a Coachee, I am prepared and share all the challenges and progress I am making

D) As a Coachee, we discuss together to measure the progress

E) As a Coachee, I devote my times to demonstrate dedication and commitment

F) As a Coachee, I look for feedback which can help me to experiment, study and reflect

G) As a Coachee, I openly discuss what is working and what is not working and we agree to course correct

H) As a Coachee, we identify the development areas and work upon on those

I) As a Coachee, I comment about the openness, a trust created in our discussion

J) As a Coachee, I share my feedback about my coach/mentor

K) As a Coachee, I ensure I cancel the meeting well ahead and the same action admitted from the Coach/mentor side

L) As a Coachee, I ensure our relationship maintained and we work together to improve the same

When we prepare ourselves with such a structural approach, we can discover how will this procedure is supporting all of us.

We could be a mentor or Mentee, coach, or coachee all of us will get benefit from this structural preparation. We can consistently customize and reform upon this.