Entries by Coaching at Work

BELIEVE ME

September 12, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

Are coaches today’s ‘snake oil’ merchants? Coaching continues to operate on limited evidence, but it’s time this changed, argue Andrew J T George and Jonathan Passmore   The middle of the 19th century many people made their fortunes on patent medicines, often called ‘snake oil’, that were marketed as a panacea for all ills. These had various formulations. One contained mineral oil, callow, turpentine, pepper and camphor, while some contained cocaine, amphetamine or opium, no doubt increasing repeat sales! They all had in common extravagant claims but no scientific evidence that they worked (Young, 1961; Anderson, 2000). So why did […]

NHS TRUST: REVERSE MENTORING

September 11, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

In the last of a series on coaching and mentoring initiatives at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, Manal Sadik and Hannah Datema report on the positive impact of reverse mentoring on staff equality   Guy’s and St Thomas’ we’re firmly committed to creating the right conditions, both culturally and structurally, where every member of the workforce is valued and treated with respect, has equal and equitable opportunity in recruitment, training and development and career progression, and can bring their whole self to work. However, data from the NHS Staff Survey and the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard was […]

BUSINESS BOOTCAMP: THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

September 11, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

At some point in the coaching conversation you are going to have to talk fees. But before it gets awkward, remind yourself of the value you bring   How do you broach the question of fees with your prospect? Or what do you say when they ask what you charge? In the early days of building a coaching practice, talking about money can feel emotive and awkward, if not utterly daunting. But at the appropriate moment, as for any other profession, fees need to be discussed. The appropriate moment is most often when you start to feel or sense that […]

MENTORING: POWER TO THE PEERS

September 11, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

How can we maximise the value of peer mentoring? Lis Merrick reports   Mentoring comes in all shapes and sizes these days, but one under-used approach in organisations is peer mentoring, whereas in the education sector, peer mentoring is used widely. In my view, many of the advantages of peer mentoring showcased in education could be transferred elsewhere, particularly with the move to flatter, more agile and less structured organisations. However, peer mentoring is kept mainly as an induction tool and used infrequently within formal mentoring programmes. The main challenge to its popularity within organisations is the lack of kudos […]

HOW TO… GET THE MOST OUT OF LINKEDIN

September 11, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

LinkedIn can help coaches build their business. So why are so few using it well? Helen Pritchard reports   The average LinkedIn user spends 17 minutes on the site per month1, which is a statistic that makes my soul weep! Managed well, LinkedIn can be a great source of information for coaching buyers on who to work with and why, and an amazing lead-generating tool for coaching providers. In this article, we look at how it can support coaches in building their businesses. (Spoiler alert: there are no quick fixes or ‘hacks’ despite what you might have read, seen or […]

RESEARCH MATTERS: A MAP FOR MENTORING

September 11, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

Is mentoring a remedy for all? Judie Gannon and Rhianon Washington report on the initial results of their research into formal mentoring schemes   A previous Research Matters article in this magazine (The Forgotten Custodians, Vol 2, issue 3, 2017) we identified and lamented the absence of research on the role of mentoring scheme and coaching programme coordinators and managers, despite the growth in formal programmes of these developmental relationships. In relation to organised formal mentoring specifically, several studies have suggested formal mentoring relationships are less efficacious than informal mentoring (Inzer & Crawford, 2005; Desimone et al, 2014; Menges, 2016). […]

IT’S A FUNNY OLD WORLD

September 11, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

In this column, we provoke fresh thinking and round up some of the weird, wonderful, quirky, surprising – and shocking – stories out there   Four-day week brings benefits Introducing a four-day working week is saving UK business millions, along with improving productivity and environmental performance, according to research from Henley Business School. Its ‘Four Better or Four Worse?’ white paper says half of UK businesses surveyed say they have enabled a four-day working week for some or all of their staff. They report improvements in employee satisfaction, reductions in employee absenteeism, and savings of almost £92 billion (around 2% of […]

COACHING AT WORK CONFERENCE, 3 JULY, 2019 – HALOS AND HORNS AND TIME TO THINK

August 13, 2019 /0 Comments/in , , /by

HALOS AND HORNS Eve Turner together with Natasha Maw and Gregor Findley, presented Turner’s tool Halos and Horns, about our assignment of values and biases in our interaction with others, and the exploration of this unconscious process, when reflected on. Guided by a method of questions and answers, the tool is designed to reveal trends and patterns of thinking that we, as practicing coaches, may not be aware of, in relation to our clients and also our own preferences and prejudices. Attendees were invited to take part in individual and group work, by completing a personal table of answers first, […]

COACHING AT WORK CONFERENCE, 3 JULY, 2019 – THE EARTHQUAKE, THE CHASM AND THE PUZZLE

August 13, 2019 /0 Comments/in , , /by

By Nicole Berg I overheard a conversation today between a cyclist and a motorist – the latter was a worker for a social housing provider. The cyclist’s path took him up to the window of the company van, and he motioned to get the driver’s attention. The cyclist asked the driver if he could please turn off the vehicle’s engine, as he lived there. We all live here – on this earth, and that is the best reason I can think of to start changing the way we do things. This exchange made me feel delighted and hopeful, until I […]

COACHING AT WORK CONFERENCE, 3 JULY, 2019 – COACHING STORIES: FLOWING AND FALLING OF BEING A COACH

August 13, 2019 /0 Comments/in , /by

By Adina Tarry Sam Humphrey and Karen Dean drew on their book about the world of a coach and being a coach, rather than about coaching or coaching clients, to prompt reflection in participants. The session, Coaching stories: Flowing and falling of being a coach, presented by began with Dean introducing herself and the background to the book, with a reference to her earlier career. She worked for eight years with some 700 people delivering more than 3000 hours of coaching, including to cruise ship teams. This constant and significant volume of practice provided the opportunity to reflect on her […]