COACHING
Rationale
According to MacLennan (2017) the coaching / mentoring approach is one of the most valuable ways of supporting others in accomplishing peak performance in the workplace. At SERC we have expanded our support beyond mentoring to encompass a coaching programme. This programme assists in the growth and development of VET teachers and managers, both new and established. As we value staff contribution, we recognise the catalyst that coaching can bring in providing motivation and insight into dealing with the various challenges Vocational Education Teachers (VET) teachers face in their working lives. Coaching has enabled us to prepare our workforce to be forward thinking, innovative and yet also encouragingly provided a personal Continuous Professional Development (CPD) mechanism to strive for excellence remaining 21st century ready.
Coaching & Mentoring – What is the difference?
Often mentoring and coaching are used interchangeably, however it is important to recognise that there are distinct differences. Both are utilised to develop and enhance professional and personal performance, although coaching favours professional development (assisting organisations in developing specified areas) however personal development naturally ensues.
Mentoring provides long term opportunity for professional and personal insight from an experienced staff member (mentor) supporting a mentee (VET) to develop skills and qualities through the selection of various activities, these include elements of observation, demonstration, and practice to achieve a level of competence. According to Galbraith (2003) as cited by McLaughlin, (2010) “mentoring is a more intricate, long-term, one-on-one relationship that goes well beyond simply providing information”.
Coaching provides a model, number of techniques and general scaffolding which a coachee can adopt to address challenges. Coaching does not provide specific expert answers but empowers a coachee to embrace techniques to achieve more and is often short term in nature. According to Gallwey as cited by Sinclair (2022) “Coaching is unlocking a person's potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.”
Key differences between coaching and mentoring are evident in terms of the time span of a relationship, with coaching being shorter in duration due to its empowering nature supporting others to operate confidently in decision making, unlike long term mentoring which includes advising and instructing due to inexperience thus providing an open path to return for advice.
Context (coaching within SERC)
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Coaching within SERC includes dedicating a small number of hours to ensure ethical and effective coaching practice, so that all parties benefit from the programme. The Learning Academy recruits internally, on an ongoing basis for coaches from a pool of established managers.
Coaching requires attending a half day virtual training session hosted by an external coaching consultant, with some prior self-study to aid successful completion. This practical training session is designed to build the coaching skills of the new coaches. It reviews the principles, skills and models of coaching, including the GROW model). The time commitment of a coach is a maximum of 10 hours annually, with each coaching cycle taking approximately 6 months from the time you are matched to final review.
Coaching is available to all SERC staff and to those in current training and development programmes, such as Bridging the Gap and the New Manager Induction Programme. SERC have focused on one-to-one coaching at present, however, caching can be allocated in various formats, these include, an intensive one to one ‘Speedy Coaching’ session, which provides alternative perspectives and supports in identifying goals, obstacles, and progress options. Ultimately ensuring greater clarity and confidence in future decision making.
Alternatively, in depth ‘Team Coaching’ where the coach works with a team, as a group and individually. This format supports the development of the teams’ collective skills, how they work together and with other key stakeholders.
According to www.rightmanagement.co.uk “Research completed by the International Coaching Federation shows that businesses can expect between 4-8 times the return on investment for coaching activities.”
Proposed coaching model (Just in Time, Vouchers, New Manager Induction Programme)
The SERC coaching model has taken inspiration from the Clear Model which has helped individuals achieve transformation through solution focused coaching. This model is question driven and delivered in a highly conversational way. The Stoker Model is used which encourages a powerful questioning technique supporting others to take responsibility.
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Figure 1: Clear Coaching Model
Incorporation of a conversational, yet challenging approach with inclusion of powerful questioning at key points (Stoker Model) and personality insight embodies the proposed SERC coaching model. Progressing through eight stages provides scope to encompass these profitable components (see image below of SERC coaching model).
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Figure 2: SERC Coaching Model
The delivery of the SERC Coaching programme aspires to fulfil the requirements of the ‘Just in Time’ inventory management approach, in that newly qualified managers require coaching to ensure further growth and confidence in their own management ability navigating a new role.
To prepare SERC VET teachers for 21st century provision, encourage a growth mindset and remain at the forefront of the teaching and learning community maintaining excellence in teaching practice, inclusion of coaching culture was necessary to ensure stability in an ever-changing digital landscape. Encouragingly as an NSVETT partner we recognise that we uphold many of the associated competency goals set for VET teachers as indicated by Raudasoja and Kaitala (2019) in their research into VET requirements in Finland. These competency goals are addressed through the scope of training we provide, some outside of our coaching provision; Mentoring upholding the pedagogical competence, our CMI Management training pathway addressing the substance competence with Mentoring and Coaching facilitating both the innovation expertise and continuous development of one’s own and community competences.
As a new training addition, coaching at SERC has enabled VET teachers alongside a trained coach, to be creative, innovative, reflective and manage personal change, to address teaching challenges, thus developing personal ability and agency. Coaching at SERC has enhanced skills development, amplifying VET teachers’ reflective capacity in relation to self-assessment, feedback and personal research into coaching techniques, thus contributing to our coaching culture. Encouraging staff to remain in this reflective and self-starting mindset assists in future proofing both our associated colleagues and learners, who observe our teaching and learning approaches thus preparing them for a working world that is full of uncertainly.
Building Capacity for a Coaching Culture
SERC seeks to continue to invest in their training and support of staff. Training at SERC provides opportunity for different voices to emerge, leadership development, regular feedback and now personal self-reflection through the recent addition of a coaching programme, establishing a revitalised workforce. Instilling a coaching culture is of the utmost importance, having a coaching philosophy that is conversational, yet challenging through collaboration, encourages teachers to take ownership creating their own solutions aligns to our mission statement of being Solution focused, Excellence Driven, Responsive and Collaborative.
Our college infrastructure supports coaching on a number of fronts these include; Corporate Management Team (CMT) providing management shadowing opportunities for staff completing any one of our suite of Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Leadership & Management programmes, that range from level 4 – 6, a designated external coaching consultant, bringing expertise to our coaching onboarding training, and a Learning Academy that encourages continuous and purposeful training enabling staff to take risks, manage change and absorb feedback thus enhancing personal and professional resilience.
Conclusion
The provision of coaching has added strength to our current personal and professional development provision. Coaching has enabled training to be fully sustainable, with the inclusion of a coaching philosophy, model, programme and pool of coaches that aligns with our mission statement supporting the new beginnings of a ‘Coaching Culture’.
Reference Section
Maclennan, N. (2017). Coaching and Mentoring. [online] London: Routledge, pp.1–336. Available at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315260051/coaching-mentoring-nigel-maclennan [Accessed 26 Jun. 2017].
McLaughlin, C. (2010). Mentoring: What Is It? How Do We Do It and How Do We Get More Of It? Health Services Research, 45(3), pp.871–884. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6773.2010.01090.x.
Sinclair, T. (2021). A Coaching Definition Better Than The Dictionary. [online] Toby Sinclair. Available at: https://www.tobysinclair.com/post/coaching-definition.
Talent Solutions, Right Management (2020) Primed for Success: Why businesses need to coach for soft skillshttps://www.rightmanagement.co.uk/wcm/connect/91be4b3b-162d-4b4a-ba65-f21c04553a49/RM_Primed+for+Success_Why+firms+need+to+coach+for+soft+skills.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&submissionGuid=a0317fa4-1b48-45e6-9cbb-079b9d8e718f
HAMK Unlimited. (2020). Vocational Teachers’ Competence Objectives are Changing. [online] Available at: https://unlimited.hamk.fi/ammatillinen-osaaminen-ja-opetus/vocational-teachers-competence-objectives/#.YqckuaHMJPZ [Accessed 13 Jun. 2022].
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