Safety Mentoring / Coaching

 

Mentoring

Having a mentor is often of great assistance to progress in your chosen field. Both mentee and mentor can learn significantly from the process.

The following are tips to get the most out of the mentoring process-

1 Learn how to accept and give feedback, ask for regular feedback

2 Share your thoughts and feelings

3 Maintain sensitivity about mentee’s personal and learning needs

4 Reflect on learning frequently, both parties maintain a reflective journal

5 Define and focus on mentee’s goals

6 Set a regular contact schedule but be flexible

7 Check frequently on the effectiveness of communications

8 Share information and resources

9 Have a definite conclusion to the process

10 Celebrate success

11 Continually work on evaluating the relationship

12 Brainstorm the list of learning opportunities when you start

13 Define purpose and objectives when you start. In some cases carrying out a force-field analysis may be beneficial in the early stages.

14 In some cases a self and others rating of the mentee’s competencies may be beneficial initially (Refer to “Resumes” on www.ohschange.com.au for a list of possible competencies)

Coaching

“A good coach will make his people see what they can be, rather than what they are”

Being a good coach-

1. Build rapport
2. Listen a lot
3. Ask open questions
4. Build confidence
5. Give praise
6. Be blame free
7. Realise people are never failures
8. Listen more than you speak
9. Try to build trust
10. Schedule time
11. Be open yourself
12. Always support others
13. Learn from mistakes
14. Smile a lot
15. Respect people
16. Encourage life-long learning
17. Boost everyone’s interpersonal skills
18. Be a life-long learner
19. Ask for regular feedback
20. Celebrate success

Note

An important point about being a mentor or coach is that it is not your role to provide solutions, rather your role is to get others to explore their options.