ICFNE Maine Affiliate Program Summary - Mentor Coaching

It was a night of the full moon - both a Harvest Moon and a Super Moon, at that.  With the energy shift that moves us from August’s relaxation to September’s hustle we kicked off the second year of ICFNE Maine affiliate programs with Mentor Coaching.

The mission of the Maine affiliate of ICFNE is to create a community that fosters our learning, building the reputation of coaching in Maine, and supports us in building our businesses. To support that mission, the program was designed to be interactive and draw on the experiences and wisdom of the participants.

.... I was totally impressed with the level of engagement, trust, and support demonstrated by this learning community ... (SG)

I’m passionate about Mentor Coaching as a valuable tool for developing our coaching skills. I also want to bring clarity about Mentor Coaching so that coaches can be informed “consumers” of this valuable service, and that experienced coaches know what it means to be an effective Mentor Coach.

...Sue's workshop illustrated the power of mentor coaching 

in my own professional development in a hands on, real time manner.  

It was structured, organized and high impact.  ... (JE)

The ICF’s definition of Mentor Coaching is “coaching on your coaching”. After small group discussions on what it means to be a mentor, we reviewed the Georgetown University Mentor Coaching Model, which says that a Mentor Coach is an expert in coaching and a partner focused on developing coaching skills.  There are similarities to coaching and there are differences.

...Sue McLeod's presentation clarified the importance of 

mentoring to developing and sustaining the 

quality of my coaching... (JC)

Mentor Coaching begins with establishing your goals for development. Next, the Mentor Coach provides feedback on your coaching, and then engages in a coaching conversation focused on developing your coaching skills.  

The feedback is based on the Mentor Coach observing your coaching, assessing what they see and hear against a standard of coaching (such as the ICF Core Coaching Competencies), and providing feedback in a way that you can hear and understand.  

The Mentor Coach then engages you in a coaching conversation that explores the feedback, looks for opportunities for new awareness about your coaching - including identifying habits and blind spots such as avoiding emotions or skipping over designing specific and measurable actions.

...Mentor coaching targeted areas for my development and 

offered improvement strategies that were spot on.  

I want more!!!... (JE)

After discussing the model, we moved on to demonstrations and practice.  Like coaching itself, the best way to learn about Mentor Coaching is to experience it! 

We used the new ICF PCC Level Competency Markers as the basis for assessing the coaching.  Participants found the markers to be easy to understand and observe as they watched a coaching conversation. They were also humbled by how difficult it is to capture everything that’s happening as they prepared for giving feedback.  

...I want to thank you for such a rich program you presented on mentor coaching. 

It was enlightening! It made me step back and think about my coaching

 and how I follow (or not) the core competencies. 

I've been coaching for 11 years and it's so easy to forget! 

I am now committed to taking one competency and practicing 

the skills for 2 weeks and then moving on to another one... (DB)

After a demonstration of a mentor coaching conversation, we broke into triads for everyone to have the opportunity to be a part of a Mentor Coaching session. The room was energized as coaches coached clients and mentors observed. Then it was the mentor’s turn to try his/her hand at a mentor coach conversation. We finished up with a little feedback to the mentor coach. 

... As a result of the program, I will now be more 

intentional about how I elicit feedback and 

mentoring on my coaching ...  (SG)

Everyone was gracious and courageous in jumping in to try mentor coaching, and came away with a deeper appreciation for Mentor Coaching, Coaching and the community of coaches that we share.

...The interactive exercises enabled me to connect with and 

observe other coaches and appreciate the impact of good coaching... (JC)

Thank you to ICFNE Maine affiliate for the opportunity to present this program. 

And a special thank you to Susan Gallant, Janet Eastmen, Deb Bergeron and Janice Cohen

 for allowing me to include their comments in this blog post.

The hand out for the program is available on my Blog - pccmasterclass.blogspot.com in a post called “Just the Facts - About Mentor Coaching”.

Transforming Judgement into Learning

It’s way too nice today to work inside, so I’m on the deck, squinting to see my laptop screen through the glare, moving around for the optimal position relative to the sun, the shade and the breeze.

It’s worth the trouble!

It reminds me of my college days here in Maine. 

In the spring, when the weather was finally warm enough to be outside without shivering, we’d convince the professors into holding class outside. We were often surprised how little convincing that took, although now I’m sure they had cabin fever as badly as the students! 

Outside, sitting on the library lawn, we couldn’t hear very well, taking notes was a challenge and there were a lot of distractions! But the feeling of the sun on our faces and a warm wind at our backs for an extra hour was heaven!

For the last two weeks, I’ve been working on coaching assessments. In case you don’t know, this means listening to recordings of coaching for the PCC level competencies and finding a few points of feedback to give to the coach.  I’ve been doing this for years, and I still find it a challenge.  It’s sacred space to hold someone’s work in your hands (or ears, in this case) with the intention to pass judgement on whether it’s ‘good enough”.  It’s a delicate thing to find feedback that will speak to someone who is probably most concerned about the results of that judgement. And it’s a challenge for me, with my math brain and desire to find yes/no answers to the question “is this coaching good enough?”.   How do I listen to the words the coach is using, tune into to the relationship the coaching is building, and be witness to the choices he makes as he navigates the complex and delicate paths of a coaching conversation.

It is my continuing, never-ending it seems, learning edge as an assessor and mentor coach. 

How do I manage the impacts of judgement while opening the door to learning?  

How can both of these feel like that Maine spring-time sun - invigorating, humbling, and renewing all at the same time?

Mentor Coaching Fundamentals:

Are you on the journey of becoming - or improving -  your mentor coaching???
In January, my Georgetown colleagues who have lots of experience in mentoring and assessment, and training coaches are beginning a course in Mentor Coaching.

Please join us for this 8-week on-line course as we explore and practice the doing and being of mentor coaching.

Follow this link for course information and registration.