Coaching & Mentoring

The challenge

There are as many definitions of coaching as people who write them and much confusion about how it is different from counselling and mentoring. Coaching is viewed by some as 'a luxury' or the most recent 'fad'. However, there is considerable evidence to demonstrate that, as well as impacting positively on the development of an individual or a team, it can have a significant impact on organisational change and on the bottom line . . . 'it is a process and a solution that suits our times' (CIPD).

The solution

xué's definition of coaching is . . .

"a journey of discovery
     with a trusted guide"

We believe this guide's role is to help the client to identify and successfully undertake the journey, not to prescribe it or to decide how they should travel. The coach does not need to have experienced the context within which a person is operating to be effective. Their skill is in reflecting back what they are hearing or observing and in identifying the tools or techniques needed to support the client's own reflection and learning.

A mentor has a very different role and is usually employed to support a person who is either new to a job or who is finding aspects of it difficult. The mentor, therefore, needs to understand the context and to have experienced it. Their task is to share their own knowledge, understanding and skill set to help the individual perform better in the role.

The Coach's role

xué coaches focus on the whole person. All are highly skilled and have come to their roles through a variety of routes and have different training and experience. This enables us to have access to a wide range of tools, techniques and approaches which can be appropriately matched to each client as different needs emerge.

The coach's aim is to support an individual, or individuals within a team, to reflect on their context, skills, performance and needs to gain the insights required to move forward and achieve their goals. Their role is to use their skills to 'empower', 'encourage', 'facilitate', 'enable' . . . not to 'tell', 'impose' or 'make judgements'.

Coaching can take place face to face, on the telephone or on-line via video call
                                                                                       and is completely confidential.