MANAGING PEOPLE IN Part VII

ORGANIZATION Supporting the Individuals

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Techniques used to support individuals in the
organisation
How forms of supporting individuals be used: coaching,
mentoring/counseling
 WHAT IS INVOLVED IN
SUPPORTING PEOPLE AT
WORK?
The support you provide may involve one or more of the following:
Coaching
Mentoring
Counselling

John Adair, writer, teacher and management consultant – named as one of the forty people worldwide
who have contributed most to the development of management thought and practice – has identified
that every leader or manager is responsible for:
1. Getting the task done
2. Building the team
3. Supporting the individual
BENEFITS OF SUPPORTING
PEOPLE AT WORK?
There are many benefits for:
The individual who is receiving the support
The manager who is providing the support
The organisation where these people work
 BENEFITS FOR THE
INDIVIDUAL WHO IS
RECEIVING SUPPORT AT
WORK:
No matter how motivated someone is to do well at work there will still be times when problems occur. These may be
work related and to do with, perhaps:
 Interpersonal relationships – not getting along with other people at work for one reason or another
 The work itself – not being able to do the work, or produce the work on time or produce the work to the required
quality standard
 The work environment – not being able to cope with the pressure of work, or the travelling or the long hours

Alternatively, the problems may be purely personal, such as:

 Interpersonal relationships – difficulties with a partner, children or other family members
 Financial difficulties
 Health problems
 Substance abuse problems – alcohol or non-prescription drugs
Problems, whether personal or work related, will almost certainly
have an effect on someone’s ability to do their work. If, during
these difficult times, an individual receives appropriate support,
then he will feel:
 Valued and appreciated as a member of the team
 That his well-being is of importance to the team
 Less anxious or depressed
 More motivated to solve the problems and get on with the job.
 BENEFITS FOR THE
MANAGER WHO IS
PROVIDING THE SUPPORT
If you are prepared to take the time and trouble to support individual team members, then:
 Your team, as a whole, will operate more efficiently and profitably. If even just one
person is having problems, this can have a knock-on negative effect on the whole of the
team
 When your team is working well and productivity and profitability are good, then you
will be perceived as a good manager
 Everyone on the team will feel that, if they have difficulties, then you will support them
too. This will increase motivation and improve team spirit and team working
 Through providing coaching, mentoring or counselling, you will have the opportunity
to develop and extend your range of managerial and interpersonal skills
BENEFITS FOR THE
ORGANISATION
The organisation where these people work will
benefit because it will have a workforce that:
 Feels valued, appreciated and supported
 Is motivated
 Is loyal towards and committed to the
organisation
 WHAT IS COACHING?
A coach is someone who:
 Teaches in a very practical and hands-on way
 Plans the teaching and the learning so as to make the very best of each learner’s capabilities
 Focuses on helping the learner to improve
 Encourages the learner to try something, and then try it again, and then try it again until,
finally, the learner learns how to do it and, consequently, feels more confident, more capable,
more competent

Coaching is not just about sports performance.

It often takes place on a one-to-one basis and is about passing on skills and knowledge to another
person, with the aim of teaching someone new skills and knowledge, and helping someone to
improve their existing skills and knowledge.
 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
COACHING AND TEACHING
Coaching involves:
 one coach working with one other person (or a team)
 focusing on a specific task or activity
 demonstrating the task or activity
 allowing the learners to practise the task or activity
 providing specific constructive feedback on performance

Coaching (usually)
 takes place on the job
 involves helping someone to try it out for themselves
 passes on skills
 provides demonstrations of how it’s done and then allows someone to practice doing it until they get it right
 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
COACHING AND TEACHING
(1)
Teaching, whether it takes place in a school or at a college, or at a seminar or a workshop, usually involves:
 Presenting information to a group of people who are being taught all at the same time
 Providing a background to the topic being taught – for example, the history of the topic, or the underlying
scientific principles of the topic
Teaching often involves asking the learners to provide an element of written work – perhaps essays or
projects – to show that they understand the background to, or underlying principles of the topic.
Teaching (usually)
 takes place in the classroom
 involves telling someone ‘what it is’ or ‘how to do it’
 passes on knowledge
 provides information and explanations
 HOW CAN YOU BECOME AN
EFFECTIVE COACH?
To coach someone you need to:
 Thoroughly understand and be able to do the task yourself
 Understand how people learn
 Be willing to share your skills and knowledge
 Be patient and be prepared to give the learner time to learn
KOLB’S LEARNING CYCLE
 WHAT IS MENTORING?
Mentoring is the process of supplying advice, guidance and help to another person at work who may be less experienced,
or less competent in an area where you can support or assist due to your greater knowledge and experience.

 A mentor is someone who offers advice and guidance.

 A mentee is someone who receives advice and guidance from a mentor.
A mentor is someone who:
 Guides, assists and offers the benefit of their experience and expertise – on every kind of topic ranging from ‘this is
what normally happens at a board meeting’ to ‘the best way to familiarise yourself with our computer system is to ...’
 Provides help, support and advice
 Provides a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on, and is there when the going gets tough
 Is prepared to listen, and to offer useful, constructive feedback
 Motivates their mentee to retain interest, enthusiasm and commitment
 Sets a good example by their own behaviour and conduct
The practical benefits of being a mentor include
opportunities for:
 Self-development through using and developing existing
skills, as well as acquiring new ones
 A higher profile in the organisation – senior people may know
and recognise you more easily
 Access to new people and new sources of information
 Boosting your self-confidence and self-esteem
 Increasing your contribution to the organisation
The practical benefits of having a mentor include
opportunities for:
 Learning how things are done here more quickly – vital when
starting a new job
 Regular constructive feedback – vital for finding out how i’m
doing in my new job, or my new role
 Learning from a more experienced colleague
 Watching an effective role model in action
 Having someone to turn to when difficulties arise at work
The reasons why an organisation might choose to have a
mentoring system include:
 New employees settle in faster and with less stress
 Newly promoted employees feel supported
 Improved interpersonal relationships throughout the
organisation
 A motivated workforce, all of whom feel valued and cared for
by the organisation
 WHAT IS COUNSELLING?
So far, in this unit, you have seen that:
 Coaching is the process of providing one-to-one practical help and tuition to
enable one person to learn something from another
 Mentoring is the process of providing ongoing support, guidance and help across
a wide range of topics and activities

Counselling is the process of talking through, with another person, work-related or

personal problems which are affecting their working life.
One definition of the counselling process is that it is helping someone to define
their problem and helping them to see the options which are available to them in
order to solve their problem.
PROBLEMS WHICH MIGHT
REQUIRE A COUNSELLING
APPROACH INCLUDE
Interpersonal difficulties
Discrimination
Problems with career progression
Health
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