A reflection on the use of both coaching and mentoring models within the NPQICL course
This week I conducted the first session of a batch of 'mentoring' sessions as part of the NPQICL* course.
*(National Professional Qualification for Integrated Centre Leadership - for leaders of children's centres)
I'd been looking forward to it, as the last was before Xmas.
We'd recently had a discussion as the local delivery team for the course on how our mentoring was going, and the relative importance of coaching and mentoring skills we were using during the session. Whilst there was some debate as to which term meant what, it was clear that throughout the group there was a broad understanding of two differing processes and philosophies which could and were being drawn upon in our practice.
My latest session (the third and last for this participant), was very free flowing, and roamed across the boundaries of coaching and mentoring, as well as a more pedagogic role. It has become my own common practice, at the start of a new relationship with a coachee/mentee on NPQICL, to go through my understanding of these terms as part of the boundary setting in the first session. Moreover, I explicitly give power to the participant to be able to choose which they wish to pursue, and that this can change through the session. I express that my 'default' mode is coaching, and that I will draw upon my own experiences sparingly or ask the participant's permission before I do so, if I feel I can add real value to the conversation.
In one recent session, one participant asked explicitly "have you come across this situation" and when I confirmed I had, she asked specifically for how I resolved it. I conceeded to this for two reasons:
1) In my opinion, the situation was so far beyond the present scope of her experience that it would have been impossible to get to a satisfactory goal for her through a coaching process, and the situation needed resolution quickly to avoid detrimental effects on her children's centre's service provision;
2) I was not offering my experience in a way to be reproduced as a carbon copy, but as an illustrative story that openned up new but achievable lines of inquiry for her. After this episode, lasting about 10 minutes, we returned to a session conducted on a coachign model, without fuss.
One of the reasons that I think a blended approach works well on NPQICL is that a lot of participants are completely new to both coaching and mentoring approaches, and experiencing both is useful. To get maximum value out of this though, I think it is important that it is made explicit to them which model is being used. In that way, they are able to analyse the usefulness of each process to themselves.
Another reason I think the 'interchangeable' approach works, is given the short time entitlement they have (7 hours over the length of the course) is that you are able to drive maximum value from the approaches. This is helped when the participant is fully aware of the models and possiblities available.
My own practice on NPQICL mentoring has evolved into a blend of coaching, mentoring and what I would call a facilative pedagogy. The last area I would describe in a similar way to a research supervisor in HE. It is centred around acting as a guide for the participants research process within their own setting and on their own practice, and is fully linked to their course assignments and the practitioner research process. Essentially, I see myself as extending the practitioner research skills they are learning and deploying during the course, beyond the boundary of their assignment, into a wider inquring and
reflective view to take in their whole leadership practice.
I do feel that the use of coaching and mentoring skills as part of a faciliative pedagogical process or 'guiding' works really well to integrate formal, structured and qualification driven learning, with workplace learning. The 1-1 dialogue is a powerful space in which learners can be guided in their reflection, underpinned by coaching and mentoring models. There is no doubt that some take to this more than others, but I don't necessarily think that's always about the processes of coaching or mentoring, but that often it is about the 1-1 environment, particularly when they feel 'forced' into a relationship with a 'stranger', someone whose credibilty or integrity is yet to be established.