2-Hour Virtual Seminar on Coaching, Mentoring, Leadership and Management Skills

The use of this seal confirms that this activity has met HR Certification Institutes (HRCI) criteria for recertification credit pre-approval.
This activity has been approved for 2 HR (General) recertification credit hours toward aPHR, PHR, PHRca, SPHR, GPHR, PHRi and SPHRi recertification through HR Certification Institute (HRCI). Please make note of the activity ID number on your recertification application form. For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HR Certification Institute website at www.hrci.org." ...more

Keys to being a successful Mentor / Coach:

Being a mentor/coach is an important informal and ongoing portion of being a successful manager. To better help you understand how to be a good mentor, follow these characteristics of what a successful mentor/coach might practice.

Be a Teacher
Mentor/coaching decisions should never interfere with your managerial decisions. The employee is not necessarily bound to take your advice, and some may choose not to. Do not get discouraged; rather keep providing opportunities for them to improve. Managerial decisions should focus on the business aspect, while the mentor/coaching aspect should only focus on the improvement and success of your employees.

Determine your Mentor/Coaching Goals
Determine what you want to accomplish through mentoring. What goals are you setting for yourself to achieve by mentoring your employees. It is important that you communicate these goals with the employee.

Keep Confidentiality
Both parties need to feel confident that discussions will remain between them. Both parties must also feel confident that discussions are only for the area of improvement for the employee, not as a disciplinary action. This will keep the lines of communication open for the flow of honest information.

Define Areas of Limits
It is important that areas off limits for discussion are clearly defined. Some areas of improvement may spill into your employee’s personal life and either of you may feel uncomfortable discussing those areas. It is important to define those areas of limits before, or as close to the beginning of the working relationship as possible.

Define Communication
How will you do your one-to-one level of being a mentor? Will you have regularly scheduled meetings? Will you do it at yearly reviews? Both parties need to make their preferences known at the beginning or as close to the beginning of the working relationship as possible. If there are different preferences, try to reach an acceptable compromise. Remember, you are trying to provide and atmosphere for improvement. You do not want to shut down the lines of communication before you even begin.

Discuss Time Commitments
A mentor must give employees adequate time for improvement. Setting a schedule at the beginning avoids irritating misunderstandings later. This especially could be utilized during every review.

Openness and Respect
Both the mentor/coach and the employee being mentored need to be open and honest, yet respect the other. A mentor/coach that withholds important information or comments does not contribute to the employee’s improvement. However, such comments should be delivered with tact and courtesy – and (even if somewhat hurtful) received with an open mind. Both parties need to understand this, and observe it. It is important that this be expressed in the beginning, or as close to the beginning as possible, of the working relationship.

Keep it Professional
The relationship between the mentor/coach and their employee is a professional one, not a personal one. It is particularly important that the employee understand this point. Both parties must understand that the goal is to provide an avenue of success for the employee, and any comments are made in an effort to achieve that goal. No comment should ever be considered, or made, as a personal attack.

Continuous Self-Improvement
Every mentor/coach must continuously be improving themselves as well as the employee, especially in areas of communication and interpersonal relationships. We all have areas that need improvement; and advancements in communication and interpersonal styles can improve the mentor/employee relationship. Good communication and interpersonal skills will improve employee acceptance, and limit the feeling of being criticized.

Communicate the Knowledge
You want to accelerate the employee’s ability to accept more and bigger responsibilities and mange them successfully. Create a way to get them involved in business outcomes as soon as possible. Make a point of including them in a decision process. Explain where their thinking is not in alignment with yours. Remember, you are trying to create confidence in the ability to make good decisions and carry them out. Try to play to the employee’s strengths and interests.

Allow for Failure
Make sure the employee knows that they can come to you if they feel things are not going well. Acknowledge the fact that they had the ability to see the problem, and if things happen to get to the point of failure before you are made aware, ask for an analysis of what went wrong and the lessons learned.

Provide a System of Rewards
When an employee reaches an improvement goal, have a set system of rewards. You would be amazed how well received a simple acknowledgement of a job well done can be. Make sure you convey the importance of the accomplishment that was achieved, and begin focus on the next goal.

Why should you Attend: Gain the insights and skills to know where your business stands today and where it’s heading tomorrow.

In today’s unpredictable business environment, strategic leadership is not just for top management alone.

It's for:

• Managers who want to improve their coaching skills
• Managers who want to increase their competitive advantage by anticipating their customers’ priorities, needs and expectations
• Managers who want to distinguish operational data from strategic data, creatively develop sources of information and increase their staffs’ flexibility and responsiveness
• Managers who want to broaden their perspective, improve flexibility without compromising quality and increase their department’s value to the organization
• Every manager who wants to anticipate, initiate and manage change for maximum competitiveness!

• Coach more effectively
• Describe the key characteristics of an effective coach
• Describe the stages of a coaching relationship
• Build an understanding of a “client’s” needs and your ability to help as a coach
• Choose a coaching strategy that fits your abilities and the needs of your "client"
• Implement your strategy in ways that help the “client” become a better and more independent performer
• Inspire and direct your team to greater readiness and competitiveness
• Add value to your organization by understanding the needs of your customers
• Anticipate, create and encourage change
• Spot opportunities for successful strategic alliances
• Become an innovative, visionary leader
• Establish a strategic culture
• Identifying the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities on your team
• Keep your team moving forward
• Take risks with confidence
• Identify the benefits of focusing on strategy
• Understand the different ways in which vision can be used in the organization
• Integrate strategy, objectives, metrics and performance
• Understand the new strategic patterns that are evolving in the business world and develop ideas for their application for your organization
• Discover when to use action plans to implement strategy

• CEO
• Senior Vice President
• Vice President
• Executive Director
• Managing Director
• Regional Vice President
• Area Supervisor
• Manager