Coaching and Mentoring

Coaching and mentoring are something we’re passionate about and are the underpinning methodologies of our sustainable learning approach because:

WE KNOW that a coaching style of management encourages accountability and responsibility as individuals recognise their own capabilities

WE KNOW that a coaching style of management increases the satisfaction and morale of staff, releases managers and leaders from the operational elements of their work so they can focus more on developmental and strategic issues, and increases the personal and professional awareness of both parties

WE KNOW that coaching and mentoring develop commitment rather than just compliance to organisational aims

WE KNOW that coaching is becoming more and more the management style of choice in organisations that have to respond flexibly to change and need to use the full potential of their staff

WE KNOW that employers are increasingly looking for evidence of coaching skills in the managers they recruit, and for formal coaching qualifications in the coaches and mentors they employ

WE KNOW that one of the best methods of developing practical leadership skills is through mentoring and coaching

WE KNOW that coaching skills have a clear alignment with transformational leadership skills, Human Performance principles and other leading organisational development approaches

IN FACT, WE KNOW ALOT! About coaching and mentoring, about behaviour change, about organisational learning, about organisational development, about reflective practice, about supervision, about ethics, about mindset…. ..and we apply all this knowledge to make our Beehive ‘Coaching and Mentoring for Management’ programmes practical, relevant, challenging, intensive, stimulating, supportive, and effective– the best package of personal and professional development you could want!

Why use coaching for leadership development?

Because leaders in today’s world of unprecedented change have an increasingly demanding role. They are not only expected to focus on results but also to continually review performance, provide vision, offer inspiration and motivation, respond flexibly to change, and ensure the development of their managers and staff.

In a competitive environment where continually demonstrating added value and improved results is critical for progression, it is not enough o rely on past successes. Many leaders reach their positions through a combination of technical expertise, professional qualifications, and experience, all necessary for good leadership. Outstanding leaders, however, acknowledge their continuing need to learn and grow. They are open to increasing self-awareness and recognise that honest feedback, challenge and support are essential for personal and organisational growth.

Unfortunately it is the decision makers with the most influence in an organisation who are often the most isolated. They may not get the feedback, challenge and support they need to do their job most effectively. They operate under strict time pressures, making it harder to commit time and energy to their own development. This can lead to it being neglected in the face of the more urgent demands and priorities of the job which is where one-to-one leadership development in the form of a coaching partnership adds value. 

Human Performance (HU) and coaching

Beehive has worked with Magnox Ltd in the nuclear sector on its HU agenda. Human performance is 'a unique blend of behaviours, managing organisational defences, safety culture, and preventing errors to avoid or mitigate the impact of events and accidents'. (HU practitioner training standards) . We see clear alignment between the specific principles of HU and our 'sustainable learning' OD approach of developing a learning mindset and embedding learning activities such as coaching, for example:

People are fallible, even the best make mistakes – which requires a problem solving not blame culture - coaching supports this

Error-likely situations are predictable, manageable, preventable – but for the ones that don’t conform to the rule book people need to understand and be resourced/confident enough to apply the principles themselves

Individual behaviour is influenced by organisational processes etc – and organisational processes are the result of individual behaviour, so buy-in and commitment at the individual level is crucial

People achieve high levels of performance largely due to encouragement and reinforcement of leaders, peers and subordinates- 'leadership is central to safety' Dr James Reason. That's why we focus on developing coaching skills at leadership levels, and leadership at all levels

Events can be avoided tby an understanding of the reasons mistakes occur and application of the lessons learned from past events - that comes through the embedding of learning activities - review, enquiry, coaching, feedback and the experiential learning cycle as outlined in our sustainable learning approach

Commitment v Compliance

Coaching helps build commitment to and not just compliance with error avoidance techniques and the safety agenda.

With compliance the process is: Told to do something - Resentment or obligation - Follow without question - Don’t understand why - Blames others - covers up - Waits to be told what to do - Can lead to Complacency

With commitment the process is: Chooses to do something - Understand why - Clarity of purpose and outcome - Ownership - Seek responsibility - Increased discretionary effort - Continuous improvement

As Dr James Reason says -

‘A pretty good SMS with 100% buy-in is better than a perfect system with 0% commitment’

We can help you build commitment to your SMS. For more details contact us at info@beecld.co.uk