The Organisation Development Company
Mentoring and Coaching
CEO's want to be able to have chats with their
reports with a genuine desire to creatively listen and reflect back as
an equal, however, given thier position, it is often difficult for the
other party not to see it as a quasi performance activity. That is
both disappointing and frustration for CEO's.
Some compnaies develop an intra-organisation capacity and recognition of mentoring skills and it is seen as a safe opportunity for frank discussions, rather than being performance focused.
Intra-organisation mentoring works well for
professionals, staff and middle managers. Another benefit is that
mentoring greatly strengthens the informal network of relationships
within a company, especially across divisions. Knowledge and experience
is more readily shared.
In smaller New Zealand organisations there can be road blocks: for mentors in keeping the learning content discreet; and for mentees in being willing to raise those areas which may show them in a negative light.
Senior team members can embrace mentoring as a means of self development. Leadership is complex and any self awareness of the value of externalising for perspective and insight seems to be a healthy sign of maturity as much as a recognition of need.
DJ: 'Executives develop freedom and freshness in their
approach with mentors from organisations independent from their own.
You may be aware of potential mentors from within your own network of
relationships and make those connections between them and your own
executives. These are powerful affirmations both in recognition of
mentoring, and in practical support of it. Naturally it is important
that there is no reporting of results to managers. Managers learn
to recognise new behaviours in others, as the results of mentoring
become apparent.
The other area is in being aware of those times when your executives are bringing something new into their work; with peers, you, their team, or in the way they are producing company results. Over the years, I have learned many times, how lonely it can be for senior executives. One of the more affirming organisational processes is simple recognition from above…I am aware you… while the focus of the discussion is not so much on how this has been developed, more that you have noticed the executive has developed in this area.'
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