First we split into groups of 5 and asked:
What experience do you have of coaching or mentoring? What’s the difference between mentoring and coaching?
Once we’d committed to confidentiality and making the workshop a safe space, in pairs we covered:
What is it like doing your job?
Asking questions that help the other person think about their world, rather than to improve your understanding.
What help did I need 6 months ago? What help do I wish I’d had?
Process: Only asking open questions. Focus on What, Who, How, Where and Why.
How could I ask for help more effectively?
Process: Using reflection: rephrase and repeat back to the coachee, and avoid giving an opinion.
After lunch we had a session in triads, with an observer giving positive feedback:
What positive things have I learned today? How can I use them tomorrow?
Process: Using open and closed questions to move towards decisions or action points.
Using the building blocks:
- What is this kind of work like?
- What are the kinds of challenges we face?
- How can we ask for help?
Thinking of people 6 months or a year behind us… what help do they need?
Then we put it all together and asked:
What is your biggest challenge at the moment?