Mentoring is a really useful tool for supporting people in a range of roles in community and voluntary organisations. This resource pack is designed to assist facilitators, trainers and local groups in developing concepts and practices of mentoring in every day situations.

This resource grew out of work initially with Volunteer Wellington, and was then strongly supported by The NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations. It is designed to bring the roles of mentoring and coaching into active use in the volunteer sector.

A pilot project was run with a group of managers in the sector in central Wellington. This involved nine sessions over a year, which are outlined in this resource package.

From this project it became evident that the roles of mentor and coach are valuable to managers in their regular work. The capacity of the sector is developed as much as by mangers working this way as by mentors and coaches who do this as the focus of their work.

A manager who has the skill and confidence to spend some time with others in their organisation building their confidence, for example by giving honest, direct, constructive feedback has a three-fold impact. They can improve that person’s ability to do their job, as well as contribute to their personal development, and also increase the capacity of the organisation.

The abilities that make an effective mentor/coach can be applied among peers, within an organisation, with another organisation or individual – there are many possibilities. There is also a place for people who specialize in mentoring and coaching, both as practitioners and trainers. This resource is intended to contribute to all of these.

We hope it will be widely used, and welcome you to contact us with comments and ideas for its use.

Tina Reid

NZ Federation of

Voluntary Welfare Organisations

Pat Rosier

Facilitator & Mentor

1. Overview & Key Ideas

Purpose of the resource

§ To build capability in the Community Sector, by establishing sound principles, key ideas and providing some tools for experienced practitioners to pass on knowledge and experience in constructive and developmental ways.

Using the resource

§ The material is written on the assumption that anyone using it, either as a trainer or for themselves, has had considerable experience working in the not-for-profit sector, including in management roles.

§ Some training for trainers is available to introduce this resource package for local groups, contact NZFVWO to discuss your interest.

Core ideas underlying the resource

Developing practice

This resource is designed not for ‘learning about’ being a mentor or coach, but to develop people’s ability to be an effective mentor or coach. This is an important distinction that permeates all the information and activities.

All parties are learners

A mentor or coach will be learning from the mentoring/coaching process, which is a dialogue, not a situation where one person is ‘passing on’ and the other is ‘receiving’ knowledge and experience. The mentor/coach will have expertise, skills, tools, strategies to offer but is not ‘the expert’. The person being mentored/coached will know more about their concerns in their position and is the best person to make decisions about what actions to take.

Responsibility

The person being mentored/coached is responsible for their own actions/ decisions even when they are a direct result of mentoring/coaching.

Mentoring/coaching is not for presenting a solution, but for going through a process that then enables the person being mentored/coached to take the next step.

Confidentiality and trust

Confidentiality and trust are essential to a mentoring/coaching relationship.

This is more than keeping information learnt in a mentoring/coaching session confidential, though that is certainly necessary. There is another level of confidentiality, which involves both parties keeping to themselves any judgements they may make about the other, good or bad.

These core ideas are reflected in all the session outlines and handouts.

To get the best out of this resource:

§ engage with the ideas and activities

§ treat others respectfully

§ look out for others – in the group – after the group – if you are working in a group

§ focus on what is real and actual, what you know and CAN know

§ work at your learning edge

§ be prepared to expand your practice in both process and content

§ incorporate mentoring/coaching roles into your own daily work with others

§ think about whether you can move towards doing mentoring/coaching with people in other organisations

Selection & Expectations of Participants

This is not training for being a manager in the not-for-profit sector, it is training for taking up the roles of coach or mentor, for using knowledge and experience gained in the sector to develop management capacities in others. Therefore participants will have:

§ Worked in the not-for-profit sector in management roles

A good understanding of the values and challenges in the sector
Willingness to be a resource person in the sector

They will:

Take part in practice activities within the group and report on and discuss their work
Share knowledge and understandings with group members
Maintain the highest level of confidentiality regarding personal and organisational information they learn within the group

Practice

In the session-outlines, practice is organised in threesomes. The ‘observer/adviser’ role can be dropped and the work done in pairs, but it does add a worthwhile dimension through reinforcing ideas of close attention, reflection and feedback. The makeup of threesomes is changed for each exercise, with people encouraged to practice more often with people they don’t work with in their workplace. The structure of the threesomes is:

A – the person being coached/mentored

B – the coach/mentor

C – the observer/adviser

A behaves as her or himself in the given situation
B behaves her or himself in the coach/mentor position.
C watches the exchange, offers assistance to B if requested (eg, ‘I can’t think what to say here.’) and contributes observations to the discussion at the end of the exercise.

Structure of a practice exercise

First five minutes – person 1 takes A role, person 2 B role, person 3 C role. Begin the exercise with A stating the concern they will work with. After five minutes, change roles, and after another five change again; each person will have been in all the roles.

Last five minutes – general discussion among the three. What was it like in each role? What worked well from the A position. What didn’t. And so on.

‘Enactments’ rather than ‘role plays’

The practice exercises are referred to as exercises or as enactments rather than as ‘role plays.’ In role plays people take on another persona or an aspect of themselves. In the practice sessions in this resource — and practice is essential — people remain themselves. They are asked, as themselves, to enact various scenarios, which may be from their real experience or invented, and roles (person being coach, coach/mentor etc) but not to be someone else. Where a ‘role’ is called for, the trainer will take up that role – for example, if the trainer wants to set up an exchange between a manager and a ‘scatty receptionist’ the trainer will ‘be’ the scatty receptionist. This is an important distinction.

Session 1: Introductions and Context Handouts: 1 [give out at end]
	NOTES FOR TRAINER
Trainer introduces self.	Talk about your background in the nfp sector, as a trainer, how you came to be using this package and add one aspect of your more personal life.
Group members introduce themselves.	There are many tools for this. A simple self-introduction focusing on what brought each person to this training and a reference to their expectations would be useful.
The social, economic and political context of the nfp sector. At any given time nfp organisations are working in a political (expressed through the actions and statements of central and local government) context with which they may or may not agree. Attitudes to volunteering, availability of and constraints on funding, accountability requirements from funders, all of these arise from this context. Discuss these with participants, especially how they effect their organisations, how they have seen changes over the years. Current legislation that affects the sector (the Charities Act, for example) could also be noted.	The relevance of this to mentoring/coaching concerns the mentor/coach’s ability to keep a realistic eye on what is ‘given’ in the big picture and to help develop strategies for working with this rather than ‘tilting at windmills’.
Organisations in the nfp sector – special characteristics. · Volunteer boards and volunteer workers, at times with the same people in both roles. · A manager (or coordinator, director etc) is often the paid professional working with both sets of volunteers. · Managers’ roles are often wide-ranging and multi-faceted, including dealing with daily detail and negotiating with policy-makers and high-level executives. · Raising funds is often a key and ongoing concern. · Pay rates tend to be low, particularly given the complex nature of most manager positions.	This is an important aspect of the context a mentor/coach will be encouraging the person they are working with to understand and work with strategically. Issues around governance and management are covered in a later session.
What is mentoring? “… a relationship with a trusted advisor, to promote on-going learning and provide support for people in their workplaces.” From ‘Mentoring: Help when you need it’, produced by NZFVWO	Handout 1 includes some ideas and information about mentoring/coaching, including among peers. There are many books on these subjects. The intention is not to produce definitive theories but to develop people who wish to learn how to be a mentor, in their regular work and, possibly, as a specialty.
*Reflection* Handout 1 – some background ideas on mentoring and coaching Personal – What do I do now in my work that comes within the roles of mentoring/coaching?	This can be given as ‘homework’ and will form the basis of the beginning of the next session. Trainers may wish to add their own resources.

Session 2: The nature of mentoring/coaching & not leaping to solutions

Handouts: 2, 3

NOTES FOR TRAINER

Begin the session with a check-in where people may comment briefly on the reflection material from the previous session.

Note themes, concerns that could be further developed when everyone has checked in.

What do I do now that could be called mentoring/coaching?

Remind people of this reflection question. Get responses.

Establish that everyone will have some relevant roles, and over these sessions will build on those.

Have people note for themselves what they do now, and a couple of areas where they would like to develop.

Handout 2 page 1

The page 1 ‘map’ identifies the kind of behaviours that effective managers use.

Have people look at this in pairs and identify their own strengths and areas for development among the examples. Can they suggest any others that should be included. (The diagram is not intended to be exhaustive.)

Handout 2 page 2

This page identifies some of the important attributes and behaviours that are necessary for productive mentoring/coaching.

Group members to work in small groups on one or two of the items and present to the whole group their ideas regarding how they would go about putting the item/s into practice.

Have participants relate these abilities to their own practice and identify those they feel confident with and those they would like to develop further.

Handout 3 Introducing the idea of not ‘leaping to solutions’.

Discuss the handout, which illustrates moving from telling the person what to do to teasing out what the person is doing and encouraging them to come up with ideas about how to proceed.

Practice

Divide the group into threes. Use either the scenario in the handout or one from the group and have each person in a group of 3 take a turn at being coach, person being coached, and observer/advisor and work with an example, focusing on NOT giving solutions. (It’s a natural tendency to want to be helpful by offering solutions, so they have to work against this.)

The process of the person being coached describing the situation and teasing out the presenting and underlying factors is critical to the person working out for themselves, in the conversation, what THEIR next step/s can be. Offering a solution shuts off this process. Making suggestions (Had you thought of …?) is good, but people need to practise leaving the space for the coachee to come up with ideas so they see how effective it is before being encouraged to contribute ideas.

Reflection

What are some questions for encouraging analysis and constructive thinking. Make a list.

Not leaping to solutions should be a recurring theme during subsequent sessions.

Questions need to be open ended and exploratory. There are hundreds of possibilities. Here are a few samples

What do you think about that now?

What would you rather have done?

Tell me more about that.

Session 3: Think structurally & strategically Handouts: 4
	NOTES FOR TRAINER
Begin the session with a check-in and with lists of potential questions.	If the questions are good enough they could be combined into a group resource.
Present the idea of thinking structurally and strategically as well as dealing with the presenting concern. For example, due to understaffing you have to relieve on the desk and phones over the lunch hour which seriously interferes with you doing your own job. Ask these questions: - is this the best (only?) thing to do right now? - what other possibilities are there for the longer term? - who is affected besides me? can they be involved in figuring out a better way to do this? - is the process by which we are dealing with this the best one for the outcome I/we are seeking?	The 1^st question deals with the immediate concern. The 2^nd question deals with the presenting concern in the longer term. The 3^rd and 4^th questions move into strategic/structural thinking. A mentor/coach is more useful if they develop the habit of moving into the 3^rd and 4^th modes as well as encouraging the coachee to find ways to deal with the 1^st and 2^nd.
*Practice* Set up threes or pairs and have participants practice this as well as retaining the not leaping to solutions idea. Practise on real examples from participants. Change groups around so participants work with different people.	Trainer can usefully move about small groups offering assistance and encouragement. modeling what participants are practicing.
Handout 4 Use examples, discussion, to develop these ideas. Develop the idea of making suggestions that are not solutions. What do you think about? In a similar situation I …… what do you think about trying that? What do you think you could do in the situation that involves trying something new? And so on.	It can be useful for the trainer to take on the role of Chris and make up responses as s/he goes, with the whole group taking up the coaching role and asking questions, leading the discussion.
*Reflection* Feedback is a basic need at work– we all need to know we are doing an okay job. Think of an example from your experience of feedback that you appreciated – what were its main features.	These opportunities for reflection are an important aspect of integrating the training with participants’ practice.

Session 4: Feedback, feedback, feedback

Handouts: 5

NOTES FOR TRAINER

Check-in, including feedback examples.

Draw out the features that made feedback effective.

What stops people giving feedback?

Discuss this in depth. Encourage participants to see where they themselves avoid giving direct feedback. Consider ways to overcome this.

mentors/coaches need to be alert for opportunities to help people overcome their inhibitions about giving honest feedback when someone is not doing an adequate job.

Handout 5 Giving and receiving feedback.

Engage the group with the ideas in the handout – enactments, discussion, small groups, examples ……Take enough time.

Use any technique you are comfortable with to ensure that participants grasp the idea that it is behaviour, not personality, that is the issue.

Practice

Use threesomes. People may work with their own examples or any of the following:

· A volunteer is clearly unsuitable for the work they are doing.

· You suspect a paid worker is taking small amounts of money from the petty cash

· A committee member who also does roster duties regularly tells you how you should do your job.

· You’ve been told by your committee to change your data package and you don’t think there’s anything wrong with the present one.

· The two other paid workers — both part-time , one does the admin, the other maintains the computer, data etc — are seriously not getting on.

· When you present your monthly report to the committee you get no feedback, you have no idea what the committee thinks about what you do.

Set up the threesomes with A as the worker (who has the problem) B as the coach and C as the advisor, with each person taking a turn at each role.

Remind participants that they are practicing in the three areas covered so far – not rushing to give solutions, thinking structurally and strategically, giving direct feedback (and B coaching A in these, particularly the feedback).

During discussion after the enactments, encourage participants to think about what it felt like to be in the A position.

If the group is very inhibited about doing enactments the trainer may take up the A position and have the whole group take the B and C positions for an example.

Reflection

What are participants feeling confident about taking into their own practice, both in their jobs and potentially in mentor/coach roles? What are they feeling diffident about?

Session 5: A three-stage approach Handouts: 6
	NOTES FOR TRAINER
Check-in. What’s seeming difficult? (From the reflection.)	An opportunity for planning the later sessions around concerns of participants relating to practice.
Handout 6 The key is to practice . There’s not a lot to discuss in this essentially simple idea. It is important because it begins to give a way forward in any situation. I observe/think/feel … What do you observe/think/feel? How can we work together to move this forward? Have participants work in threes on situations from their present working life. This session should be spent mainly on practice and discussing the practice, what’s easy, what’s not, how are people doing with thinking structurally etc Another three-pronged approach that can be useful in challenging situations is: feel (your own response, the vision & values you are working with) think (structurally, strategically, analytically) act (thoughtfully, with regard to process and outcomes)	One key is to focus on the issues and express them specifically, (refer Feedback notes) Another key is to do this with goodwill and generous intent – you must really want to improve the situation, not use it for other purposes. All practice should include reminders of the previous key ideas.
*Reflection* What would you need to talk about at the beginning of a new coaching/mentoring relationship?

Session 6: Beginnings
	NOTES FOR TRAINER
A. Beginning a new mentoring/coaching relationship A written contract or not? Either can work well. People inexperienced in either role are advised to do written contracts. If there is a written contract, what would be in it (no more than half an A4 page) Working in threes construct a written contract that would work for one of you. Then discuss the question, how would you go about setting up a contract? In different threes have the conversation that might lead to a contract, each taking a turn in each role. Discussion: In what circumstances might a contract not be needed? B. Beginning a session Brainstorm – some good openers for the mentor/coach. Practice: In threes. Have an initial conversation between mentor and protégée for no more than five minutes, then a three-way discussion about what the focus of the session might be. Each person to take up each role in turn. Brainstorm ideas for what to do if protégé says they don’t have anything for the session. (Don’t forget referring back to the goals and evaluating whether these are being achieved, need revision and so on.)	A contract would sensibly include: frequency of meeting; cost; who pays if that’s relevant (individual or employer — usually the latter); goals; period of review; ending the mentoring/coaching. A good process for setting up a contract: 1. an initial meeting 2. discussion about confidentiality, meeting times, purpose, goals, with the mentor/ coach taking notes 3. mentor/coach writes up the notes and sends to the other person 4. if they both agree sign and have a copy each and begin sessions at next meeting Open-ended questions – like, ‘How has it been going?’ Mentor/Coach will scan for voice tone, body language that indicates concerns as well as attending to stated concern. A few minutes into the conversation mentor/coach will have an idea of the focus of the session — as well as being prepared for that to change. Look for or feed in ideas like: - What has been challenging for you this year? - Do you have a sense of where you want to develop your expertise/skills? - What’s your satisfaction level in this position? - Have you noticed how much you have developed your ability to, eg, deal with conflict. What do you see yourself doing differently. It’s an opportunity to look at the bigger picture for the person in their position and their future planning for their own development.
*Reflection* What about endings, for both relationships and sessions? Bring back one idea for each to the next session

Session 7: Endings

Handouts: 7 – [given out at end of session for ‘reflection’]

NOTES FOR TRAINER

A. Ending a session

Mentor/coach does a summing up – might be only a couple of sentences.

Protégé says what they will take away from the session.

Arrangements made for next session.

Make sure that protégé remains clear that responsibility for an (in)actions outside the session is theirs. Mentor/coach makes sure she or he is not invested in the protégé taking up any of her or his suggestions.

Practice, using the following scenario first, then scenarios from among the threes; Near the end of a session Joyce, protégé, says to Doreen, mentor, ‘Would you ring me next week to check that I have actually confronted Alison about her lateness? I might lose my nerve otherwise.’

Discuss responses to set scenario in whole group.

B. Ending a mentoring/coaching relationship

Discuss in full group:

In what circumstances might a relationship end?

Regardless of the reason, the mentor/coach is responsible for making every effort to make it a satisfactory ending if at all possible.

Have a final review session – what each person has gained, maybe some hopes or goals for the future

A clear, honest statement from the mentor/coach is essential.

For example, ‘I’ve seen you really develop your confidence in managing staff and have really valued playing a part in that. I wish you all the best.’

Remember, it’s for the mentor/coach to be honest and generous and to leave their own ego out of it!

Practice in threes.

Reflection

Give out handout 7. Apportion pages of the handout to individuals to read and present main points of to group at the next session

Emphasise the importance of the protégé going

away with at least one idea of something constructive they can do. Remind them of it if it came up early in the session.

Make sure the following come out:

Joyce’s use of the word ‘confront’ suggests she may not have taken on board the three-stage process for raising issues in session 5 – what can Doreen do about this?

It is not appropriate for Doreen to take responsibility for Joyce raising the issue with Alison. She could suggest that Joyce might talk about what she has or hasn’t done at the next session.

One person changing job, leaving town etc

A preset time frame having reached its end.

One person having a sense that they have contributed or received as much as they are going to from the relationship.

The protégé’s needs have changed, they now need a different sort of input.

The protégé finds the mentor/coach too challenging. And so on.

Session 8: Review Making coaching/mentoring relationships work
	NOTES FOR TRAINER
Check-in, with input from reflection on starting a mentoring/coaching relationship.
Spend at least half of the session in practice, working with things that come up from the review. Finish with a reiteration of the idea from the Introduction in the Overview, that most of them will incorporate mentoring and coaching roles into their management and what this will mean in practice.	Trainer will need to be familiar with material and have noted points that need bringing out. Keep it lively. Emphasise that for a person with management responsibilities a proportion of their time is best spent in proactive management – that is, using mentoring and coaching roles to support and develop the people they are working with.

Subsequent sessions

Eight sessions is often a good number.

Some of the sessions here may occur over two time slots.

Concerns that have come up in the group can be returned to or covered. Some of the issues that come up often in coaching may be covered in more detail, for example,

- working with a volunteer committee

- dealing with difficult people

- negotiating salary and conditions on one’s own behalf

- getting feedback, support etc from management committee

- employment practices

1	Background
2	Working Constructively (i)
	Exploring, reflecting, summarising (ii)
3	Solutions - or not
4	Structural thinking
5	Feedback
6	A three stage approach
7	Workplace coaching