Coaching and Mentoring

Isle of Wight NHS Trust – Coaching & Mentoring Programme

The Isle of Wight NHS Trust aims to embed coaching into the culture of the Organisation with workplace coaches offering one to one coaching and mentoring to support our staff.

Coaching and mentoring are supportive interventions offered on a one to one basis. It can be for specific work related issues, career planning and progression, performance improvement, work life balance and project development and implementation.

What is Coaching?

Coaching is a way of having conversations with someone else that are safe, supportive, challenging and confidential. It can be a thought-provoking and creative process and will help you to maximise your personal and professional potential.

Recent research points out the huge personal benefits to people who have coaching, particularly at times of change.

 Central to the philosophy of coaching is a belief in the potential of the person being coached to improve their performance and develop their own solutions. While the coach need not be a technical expert in aspects of your work, they must have credibility in order to build an effective partnership with you.

Coaches on the Isle of Wight NHS Trust Coaching register have all completed an accredited coaching skills programme and undertake regular supervision and development of their skills.

 Common benefits people experience from coaching include:

•  Better engagement and performance
• Organisational effectiveness
• Improved sense of direction and focus
• Increased knowledge of self and self-awareness
• Enhanced ability to relate to and influence others
• Stronger motivation
• Improved performance effectiveness
• Increased resourcefulness
• More confidence

What happens during a coaching session?

A skilled coach will use a combination of questioning, listening, observation and feedback to create a conversation with you that is rich in insight and learning. They will encourage you as you do what you need to do to move things forward.

 Coaching usually lasts for a defined period and focuses on specific work related skills and goals. Goals will be set at the start of the coaching relationship, in a way that works for you,to give focus. At the end of the relationship, you will evaluate these goals together.

Is Coaching Confidential?

We encourage you to discuss your need for coaching with your line manager as this will give you the time and space for coaching. Coaching is based on trust and openness, and the content of your sessions is confidential unless there is a real risk to your safety or that of others.  We will never disclose the content of matters discussed with anyone else other than our coaching supervisor.  All coaches work to the European Mentoring and Coaching Council's Code of Ethics (please see link at the bottom of this page).  Contracting is set up during the first coaching session.

 Here are the main differences between coaching and mentoring:

 

MENTORING	COACHING
On-going relationship that might last for a long time.	Relationship generally has a set duration
Can be more informal and meetings can take place as and when the client needs advice, guidance or support.	Generally more structured in nature and meetings are scheduled regularly.
Will share ideas and what they have done.	Will help you to identify your own solutions.
More long-term and takes a broader view of the person.	Short-term and focused on specific development areas/issues.
Mentor is usually more experienced and qualified than the client; often a senior person in the organisation who can pass on knowledge, experience and can open doors to otherwise out-of-reach opportunities	Coaching is a more equal relationship and generally not determined by the level of experience the coach has of the client’s formal occupational role – rather this professional distance can help to provide a thinking partnership with a different level of challenge and support.

 

 What is mentoring?

Mentoring is sharing knowledge and experiences, whilst supporting another member of staff in their development journey. It facilitates the building of new networks for both mentor and mentee. Developing a sustainable mentoring resource across the Isle of Wight ensures internal NHS staff are developed to support others.

 A mentor is someone who offers you space to think who has already had experience of the area you wish to explore and has knowledge and networks which may be appropriate to share as you develop and grow as a professional and as a person.

 A mentor might

•  teach you about specific areas where you need more knowledge
• coach you
• help your career and professional development by sharing networks
• opportunities to shadow them
• challenge you beyond your comfort zone
• focus in your development as an individual and as a professional
• support you to strengthen and develop leadership skills in a time of rapid change
• give you space to reflect on your own and others’ learning and leadership approaches

 

What happens during a mentoring session?

A skilled mentor will use a combination of questioning, listening, observation and feedback to create a conversation with you that is rich in insight and learning. They will encourage you as you do what you need to do to move things forward and share with you their own and others experience.

Mentoring can be an informal conversation or a formal programme. Mentees observe, question, and explore. Mentors demonstrate, explain and model. At the start of the mentoring relationship, you will need to think about what the gap is that you would like mentoring to fill. It might be;

 

• Contacts
• Understanding
• How to do something
• Leadership

It’s useful to set some goals as you begin to work together. This will give focus and ensure that the mentoring serves you and the organisation. These goals will be reviewed regularly to ensure a continued focus to the meetings.

 

Is mentoring confidential?

We encourage you to discuss your need for mentoring with your Line Manager as this will give you the time and space for mentoring so they will know it is happening. Mentoring is based on trust and openness, and what you discuss with your mentor is confidential unless there is a perceived risk to you or to others.  All Mentors work under the European Mentoring and Coaching Council's Code of Ethics.

 

We have several trained and qualified Coaches in the organisation that give a commitment to provide coaching sessions to staff if they would like to access it. To request some coaching sessions please email: leadership@iow.nhs.uk.  

 

Initially you will arrange a suitable time and place to meet with your coach to discuss what support you need and agree a ‘contract’ between the two of you of how you plan to work together. This will include the duration of each session, the regularity as well as covering matters such as confidentiality and code of ethics.  The number of sessions depends on your needs and situation and this can be discussed when you first meet. Some people only require one or two sessions, while others may need 6 weeks or more.

 

Our Coaches and Mentors

Lisa Garnham

Coral Andrews

Katie Bond

Karen Whiteley

Sarah Bartlett

What Internal training is available on Coaching?

As well as supporting individuals on a one to one basis we are also committed to developing our staff to be able to use coaching conversations with our colleagues, patients and teams.

We offer 3 levels of training. Level 1 is for all staff who wishes to learn how to have a coaching conversation; levels 2 & 3 are for those who manage other individuals or teams.

You can book a place on these course through Pro4.

Course name	What will I learn	Pre-requests
Coaching Fundamentals For all staff	What is coaching Characteristics of a good coach Push pull behaviours Coaching questions Experience a live demonstration on real issue Practical application of having a coaching conversation When to coach and when not to coach	Have an interest in widening you communication methods and style to help others increase awareness and find own solutions
Coaching with Competence For those managing staff	Review and deepening of knowledge gained through coaching fundamentals What’s working well in practice workshop Coaching for performance management Experience a live demonstration on real issue Practical application of having a coaching conversation	Have completed at least 5 coaching conversations since attending the coaching fundamentals
Advanced Skills for Coaching Conversations For those managing staff	Review and deepening of knowledge gained through coaching fundamentals & coaching with competence What’s working well in practice workshop Clean language NLP Pond Model – Sandpit Interference Experience a live demonstration on real issue Practical application of having a coaching conversation	Have completed at least a further 5 coaching conversations since attending the coaching with competence course

 

Coaching Pack  (click here to download the Coaching Pack)

To ensure all coaches and mentors are working to the same high standard, a coaching pack has been produced to ensure quality.

This coaching pack contains:

• Coaching agreement – this must be completed on the first coaching / mentoring session and sets out ground rules for both parties
• Coaching log – this is for the coach / mentor to monitor progress throughout the sessions
• Coachee session reflection – this can be offered to the coachee for self-reflection and can form a starting point for the next session
• Evaluation – to be completed by the coachee on the final session

If the coach and coachee has any questions about any of the content of this coaching pack please contact leadership@iow.nhs.uk

 

More coaching resources:

Wheel of Life

 

 Some useful link about Coaching and Mentoring; 

http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/coaching-mentoring.aspx

 http://www.emccouncil.org/

http://www.tvwleadershipacademy.nhs.uk/coaching-and-mentoring