Coaching and Mentoring Processes – Time Management Tips

Coaching and Mentoring Processes Definitions: Presented for ITWomen Professional Development program series by Trina Pulliam

Coaching

Coaching is a process in which an individual interacts with another to teach, model, and provide feedback on technical, professional, and interpersonal skills and behaviors in a future-focused, constructive way. Coaches interact with individuals in real time by participating with them. The purpose is to provide insight, feedback, and opportunities for the individual to rehearse or practice before dealing with a similar situation again.

Mentoring

Mentoring is a process that deliberately pairs a person who is more skilled or experienced with one who is less skilled or experienced. The purpose is to transfer skills and experience in a focused, effective, and efficient manner. These skills may be job specific, technical, professional, or generic.

The coaching process – One approach

• Define performance goals
• Identify necessary resources for success
• Observe and analyze current performance
• Set expectations for performance improvement
• Plan a coaching schedule
• Meet with the individual or team to get commitment to goals, demonstrate the desired behavior and establish boundaries
• Observe and analyze performance and determine if there are any change
• Give feedback on practice and performance
• Follow up to maintain goals.

The mentoring process – One approach

1. Determine which goals, needs, and opportunities of the organization will be supported by increased skills and experience

2. Develop a strategy for pairing people in the mentoring relationship by:

a. Identifying skill deficits in workers

b. Identifying skill brilliance in another worker

3. Establish an agreement for each pair that defines:

a. Roles
b. Focus
c. Duration
d. Performance Goals and Competencies

Additional Tips

According to the National Technology Readiness Survey, Americans are more likely to bring e-work home than to use the Internet for personal work on the job. The study tracks beliefs about technology and key behaviors related to e-services. While companies are cracking down on employees for using the Internet at work to conduct personal business, the study shows that more often those same workers use their Internet connectivity to conduct business at home for their employers! In fact “47% spend more time using the Internet at home for work purposes than at work for personal reasons. Only 27% spend more time on personal pursuits than they give back at work. And, 25% report shifting their hours between venues evenly, spending as much time on personal business at work as on work business at home.” For more information see the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland.

Time Management Tips – No Rollover Minutes here!

It is what it is! 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week, 8760 hours in a year. We can spend it but not save it. There is no bank for “time” deposit

• Understand how things in your life happen – controlled and uncontrolled

• Expect to plan and review consistently

• Set goals and evaluate their importance

• Anticipate hurdles

• Balance all life areas of choice

• Build in error margins

There is nothing new in time management. Only the packaging changes!

Do not confuse efficiency with effectiveness when it comes to developing your time use skills. Efficiency relates to doing a job right in as little time and with as little effort as possible. Effectiveness, on the other hand, relates to doing the “right” job right.

Being effective with your time means you are investing your time on the most important tasks. Efficiency implies that you are able to accomplish a great quantity of work. You evaluate efficiency by how much you have gotten done. Effectiveness, on the other hand, implies that you know how to set priorities and are able to focus your efforts on what really needs your attention. You evaluate your effectiveness by whether what you got done was what really needed doing.

Noted management expert, Peter Drucker, says “doing the right thing is more important than doing things right.” Doing the right thing is effectiveness; doing things right is efficiency. Focus first on effectiveness (identifying what is the right thing to do), then concentrate on efficiency (doing it right).

— Created for IT Women, February 2003, Management Toolkit series – Trina Pulliam

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