| 5 Roles - Coach/Mentor | | Print | |
| Written by Noel Posus |
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You will find that when engaged in a coaching conversation that sometimes there may be a need to introduce another role other than the "purist coach" (only asking questions to facilitate the coachee's own thinking and performance). It's also important to note that sometimes the coachee is viewing you, appropriately or not, as a role different than "coach" and it's important to be able to recognise when this is happening. This five-part series addresses these different roles: • Coach / Authority This is the third part of this series and the focus is Coach / Mentor. When YOU choose this role: • When you identify there may be a need to share a story from your experience or the experiences of others where that story, or components of it, may be useful to the coachee to help them further develop their own ideas about the situation or goal, and their options. Benefits / Pros • Where you have permission to share stories, it can assist the coachee to explore information and options they would not normally have access to, particularly if the topic is something new to the coachee and they have no history of their own regarding it. Risks / Cons • The coachee could misinterpret the story as a "suggestion" for how they should approach the situation. If this is the case it's necessary to challenge the coachee's thinking by explaining that the story is only to help inspire their thinking process and come up with their own ideas. When the COACHEE identifies you in this role: • When they want / need you to be telling them what the solution to their "problem" is based on what you would do. Benefits / Pros • You can set and agreement with the coachee that from time to time you might like to share stories of experience (yours and others) but only where you feel that it might be of use to the coachee to explore such stories. Risks / Cons • The coachee might be trying to, or tempted to, make you responsible for telling them what to do. They're seeing you as the expert and could be relinquishing their rights to independent thought to you. This is an unethical and dependent relationship and needs to be corrected. The next issue of "Coach the Coach" will continue this series on understanding the five different roles a coach can perform in addition to being the "purist" coach. Next time: Coach / Trainer. If there are any topics you'd like me to cover in this column, please feel invited to email me directly with your requests through my website (see link in bio).
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