Business Coaching & Mentoring For Dummies

Shape the leadership of tomorrow

Business Coaching & Mentoring For Dummies provides business owners and managers with the insight they need to successfully develop the next generation of leaders. Packed with business-led strategies, key concepts, and effective techniques, this book equips you with the skills to transform both yourself and your team. Whether you're coaching colleagues, employees, or offering your skills as a service, these techniques will help you build a productive relationship that leads to business success. The companion website also features eight bonus videos that will further your mastery by showing you what great coaching looks like in action. Navigate tricky situations and emotional minefields with ease; develop vision, values, and a mission; create a long-term plan—everything you need is here, with expert guidance every step of the way.

• Understand how mentoring benefits both sides of the relationship
• Learn key coaching techniques that develop leadership potential
• Adopt new tools that facilitate coaching and mentoring interactions

The modern workplace is a mix of generations, personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and quirks; great leadership can pull it all together toward a common goal, but who leads the leaders? Mentors and coaches fill this essential role, and this book shows you how to be one of the best. 

Marie Taylor worked across the spectrum of business in private and nonprofit organizations delivering a range of leadership training and behavioral training. Steve Crabb is a Licensed Master Trainer of NLP and a Master Transformative Coach who has helped to train and coach more than 30,000 people.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 4

Where to Go from Here 4

Part 1: Getting Started with Business Coaching and Mentoring 5

Chapter 1: Navigating the World of Coaching and Mentoring 7

Spotlighting the Business Benefits of Coaching and Mentoring 8

Defining Coaching and Mentoring 9

Coaching is the art of co-creation 9

Mentoring is the art of imparting wise counsel 11

Distinguishing coaching and mentoring from therapy 11

Distinguishing Business Coaching from Other Types of Coaching 14

Business coaching requires an understanding of business 14

Coaching leaders to be difference-makers 15

Equipping Yourself to Help Other People in the Business Context 18

Choosing a coach or mentor 20

Becoming a business coach or mentor 21

Being on the Other Side as Coachee or Mentee 22

Understanding Professional Requirements 23

Chapter 2: Making the Case for Coaching and Mentoring 27

Taking the Role of Educator 28

Valuing Third-Party Observation in Business 29

Showing that the coach’s perspective matters 29

Knowing how perspective feeds into change 30

Understanding construal-level theory 30

Leading a client to the light-bulb moment 34

Identifying the Client’s Return on Investment 34

Selling the benefits 35

Doing a cost-benefits analysis 36

Measuring and monetizing 38

Measuring the hidden benefits clients can’t see 38

Investing now for a future return 40

Stretching the Budget 41

Adding Value by Training Leaders in Coaching and Mentoring Skills 42

Chapter 3: Developing the Skills and Knowledge Base of a Coach and Mentor 45

The Differences between Coaching and Mentoring 46

The coaching skillset 46

The mentoring mind-set 47

Coaching and Mentoring Skills 48

Being present for a session 48

Active listening 48

Why coaching is rarely about the first issue in the conversation 49

Doing your homework and developing relevant business knowledge 50

Structuring a Client Session 52

Getting into the right frame of mind 52

Contracting creates relationship clarity 52

The contracting session 53

Creating the right environment 54

Knowing your limitations 55

Using Models in Coaching and Mentoring 57

The CLEAR model 57

Solution-focused coaching model 60

A model for mentoring 61

Developing flexibility in utilizing models and tools 64

Working in Particular Circumstances 64

Coaching and mentoring via telephone, web, and email 64

Cross-cultural and multicultural work 67

Chapter 4: Assessing Clients’ Needs before Coaching 69

Creating Programs to Deliver Coaching and Mentoring in Organizations 70

Figuring out what the organization wants and what the organization needs 70

Working with talent management and succession planning 76

Supporting coaches and mentors 77

Coaching Wannabe Business Owners and Startups 78

Helping startups see the value of coaching 78

Looking at areas for focus 79

Guiding the jack-of-all-trades and master of one 80

Helping the Family-Owned Business Survive and Thrive 82

Knowing where your support is most helpful 82

Evolving the legacy 83

Keeping business professional 84

Developing “Intrapreneurs” within Organizations 85

Creating the space to innovate 86

Turning the catalyst of an idea into reality 87

Working with the Socially Oriented Business 88

Knowing types and makeups 88

Identifying the challenges for the business 89

Part 2: Developing the Business Leader’s Mind-Set 91

Chapter 5: Managing the Inner World of Thoughts and Emotions 93

Understanding How Humans Think 94

We are what we think 95

We become what we practice 96

Choosing the Most Appropriate State in the Moment 97

Noticing the effects of a negative emotional state 97

Looking at the State Behavioral Model 99

Working with the four F’s of flight or fight 100

Knowing that breathing is a better choice than not 102

Looking downright depressed is a dismal choice 104

If things aren’t looking up, looking up helps 105

Changing Internal Self-Talk 106

Understanding that it’s not what you say, it’s the way you say it 107

Making the ridiculous sound ridiculous 109

Being kinder and nicer matters 110

Making Mind Pictures That Matter 111

Getting distance from the situation 112

Focusing on this not that 114

Changing the Internal World by External Means 116

Identifying when therapy is the answer 116

Using mindfulness, meditation, and the mysterious to support business 118

Chapter 6: Helping Leaders Recognize Why “I Did It My Way” Isn’t the Best Epitaph 121

Recognizing That Inflexibility Sometimes Leads to Extinction 122

Knowing that process and product innovation require adaptive leadership 123

Checking risk appetite to temper or grow ambition 124

Being Willing to Ask for Help When Out of Your Depth 126

Deploying the Right Thinking to the Right Problem 129

Thinking purposefully 130

Exercising your thinking 131

Seeking certainty when ambiguity may create something wonderful 133

Developing Alternative Perspectives 133

Considering leadership styles 133

Applying leadership gifts in business 135

Chapter 7: Coaching Clients through Their Blind Spots 139

Preframing the Coaching Conversation 140

Breaking Down Common Barriers 141

Working on willingness to learn 142

Pushing beyond the comfort zone 142

Identifying the enemies of learning 144

Dealing with Roles and Perceptions That Contribute to Blindness 146

Repositioning the ego state 146

Grounding eccentricity 149

Distancing empathy 150

Defusing Dramas That Impede Clear Vision 151

Moving beyond reactive thinking 152

Giving up the dramatic roles 153

Dealing with learned helplessness154

Finding the meaning in fear 156

Shining a Light on Incongruency 158

Part 3: Coaching and Mentoring to Get a Business on the Right Track 161

Chapter 8: Telling a Compelling Story in Business 163

Understanding the Value of the Business Story 164

Recognizing how a business conveys its story 164

Knowing which stories a business tells 166

Seeing who responds to stories 166

Helping the Client Create the Basic Story 169

Guiding the client through an exploratory exercise 169

Knowing that “it’s the way you tell it” 170

Distinguishing Fact from Opinion 174

Thinking in terms of maps of reality 175

Asking good-quality questions 176

Weeding out deletions, distortions, and generalizations 178

Playing master sleuth to separate opinion and reality 182

Giving Feedback on the Business Story 184

Chapter 9: Helping Clients to Assess Their Own Businesses Objectively 187

Testing the Foundations of the Business 188

Applying Strategic Thinking 188

Making the Complicated Simple 192

Using a framework to walk around the business 192

Working in plain lens spectacles 193

Determining Where the Best Mentoring Work Begins and Ends 197

Developing Trust and Honest Appraisal through Feedback 198

Encouraging clients to be open to regular feedback 198

Using feedback to feed forward 199

Learning from the Spectacular Success of Others 199

Mentoring inside a Small Organization 200

Chapter 10: Developing Vision, Mission, and Values 203

Aligning Who You Are with the Business You’re In 203

Revealing What’s Really Important 204

Defining the how and why of your business 204

Stopping your history from holding you back 206

Checking your locus of control 206

Getting clear on what you value and what you want 208

Helping a Business Create Operating Values 211

Coaching business leaders to identify values 212

Fleshing out values statements 214

Designing an Inspiring Vision with the Logical Levels Model 216

Identifying the six levels 217

Using the Logical Levels model 219

Reverse engineering the future 221

Communicating the Vision 222

Examples of Mission and Vision Statements 222

International Federation of the Red Cross 222

Fusion Optix 223

JPMorgan Chase & Co 223

Chapter 11: Transforming Visions into Workable Plans 225

Creating a Plan Fit for Purpose 226

Planning mind-set rules 227

Exploring options 228

Revealing what may stop or derail the plan 234

Gaining honest commitment and buy-in 237

Pinpointing when now is the right time 238

Resourcing the Plan 238

Packing the luggage for the journey 239

Knowing the route and moving in the right direction 242

Scheduling when to rest and refuel 243

Actioning and Reviewing the Plan 244

Gathering feedback and feeding forward 244

Checking that the plan is on track 245

Knowing when quitting is good 245

Acknowledging a job well done 247

Chapter 12: Mentoring for Personal Success and Empowering Leadership 249

Being a Great Leadership Mentor 250

Challenging the Delusions of What It Means to Be Successful 251

Success and culture 252

Success isn’t a destination 253

Exploring the True Nature of Success 253

Dealing with the “I Should” Traps of Success 255

Why look at limiting beliefs in mentoring? 256

Finding a strategy for examining and eliminating limiting beliefs 258

Identifying the Common Qualities of Great Leaders 261

Looking and behaving like a leader 262

Adapting your style to create followers 264

Allowing Others to Lead While You Follow 266

Enabling leadership across generations 266

Mentoring Millennial leaders 267

Part 4: Creating a Successful Business Identity with the Support of a Coach 269

Chapter 13: Developing the Brand of You 271

Enter Personal Branding 271

Defining How Brands Work When They Work Well 273

Building a Brand on Purpose 275

Defining your purpose 275

Keeping the business intact and your values on track 277

Looking in the Mirror of Self-Critique 279

Cultivating the qualities of brand excellence 280

Stepping into a brand-new you 281

Presenting Yourself with Style and Substance 282

Recognizing When Incongruence Strikes 283

Valuing What You Have to Offer 284

Realizing your value 284

Following a six-step model 286

Positioning your brand 287

Adjusting your financial thermostat 288

Promoting Yourself with Shameless Humility 290

Lighting Up the Room When You Walk In, Not When You Walk Out 291

Leaving a Legacy Footprint 292

Chapter 14: Developing Relationships at All Levels 295

Establishing a Successful Relationship with Yourself 295

Establishing the Baseline 296

Step 1: Gathering the personal map 296

Step 2: Identifying high points and low points 297

Step 3: Discovering desired improvement 298

Working on Yourself 298

Being authentic 299

Staying in the game 299

Starting strong and avoiding needy 300

Maintaining Client Relationships 302

Checking commitment and desire 303

Case example of how to check for commitment to goals 303

Managing Stakeholder and Sponsor Relationships 306

Managing stakeholder relationships 306

Communicating in triangular situations 309

Sponsoring a coaching intervention 310

Building Synergistic Collaboration 310

Creating synergy and serial entrepreneurship 311

Growing wiser and creating value 311

Networking Is a Deposit in the Karmic Bank 312

Building Trust and Rebuilding Broken Trust 315

Developing trust at the level of the organization 315

Resolving conflict and avoiding mutually assured destruction 317

Having the Courage to Let Go 318

Chapter 15: Coaching to Help Business Engage, Inform, and Influence 321

Understanding the Importance of Effective Communication 322

Communicating Quicker than the Speed of Conscious Thought 323

Understanding Why People Say Yes 325

If You Have the Need to Influence, You Get to Do All the Work 327

Navigating the Political Landscape 327

Ethically Influencing and Persuading for Results 330

It Takes Two to Influence 331

Paying attention 331

Listening actively 332

Building rapport 335

Choosing words that could, should, might make a difference 340

If You Aren’t Getting the Desired Results, Change Your Communication 342

Part 5: The Part of Tens 347

Chapter 16: Ten Online Resources to Boost Coaching and Mentoring Effectiveness 349

Steve Crabb 349

Business Reading Lists 350

iTunes U 350

YouTube 351

Podcasts 352

Blogs 352

TED Talks 353

Twitter 353

Facebook 354

Videos Tied to This Book 355

Chapter 17: Ten Tips for Leaders Who Coach or Mentor People in Business 357

Develop Talent in Those You Lead 358

Sell More than Tell 359

Name the Elephant before Eating It 360

Get Good at Asking Questions 361

Speak in Specifics and Mind Your Language 361

Recognize the Value of Slowing Down or Shutting Up 363

Appreciate Differences to Be a Difference Maker 364

Create the Optimum Conditions to Coach at a Distance 364

Support Your People during Change 366

Educate Yourself about the Business 367

Chapter 18: Ten Tips for Business Leaders Hiring a Business Coach 369

Be Clear about Where You Want to End Up 370

Be Willing to Be Wrong 370

Seek Out a Different Point of View 371

Lay the Groundwork 371

Focus on Substance over Style 371

Find the Best Fit for Your Business 372

Get Stakeholder Participation 373

Avoid One-Size-Fits-All Coaching 373

Manage Your Expectations 374

Dot Your I’s and Cross Your T’s 374

Chapter 19: Ten Questions to Keep a Business on Track 375

What Would We Create If Anything Was Possible? 376

Why Are We Doing This? 377

What Would Richard Branson Do? 378

What’s a Better Way? 378

Are We Still the Right People to Be Doing This? 379

Are We Busy Being Busy? 379

What Can We Do to Optimize or Streamline? 380

Are We Going in the Right Direction? 381

What Do We Need to Stop Doing? 381

Are We All Still on the Same Page? 382

Index 383

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