Creating a coaching and mentoring culture
In response to Covid-19, leaders are having to make sense of the rapidly changing context and adapt their practices and behaviours accordingly. It feels more difficult to take the time to think, but perhaps also more important than ever to reflect on the changes that are taking place. Many organisations in our sector have embraced coaching and mentoring to some extent but there are huge variances in the effectiveness of coaching and mentoring processes available. Through our work with the inter-agency working group we have found that:
- Coaching is often only provided to senior management as a development tool through leadership programmes.
- Larger organisations are more likely to invest in both internal and external coaches.
- The internal coaching resource is often stretched owing to lack of trained personnel.
- The ‘manager as a coach’ is a developing theme. It appears that many organisations will include coaching as a style of leadership in their management training programmes, however they are not always seen as a compulsory requirement of management.
- Mentoring is provided but often on an informal basis.
- Many of the larger international NGOs are starting to embed a coaching culture as a philosophy is a key element of management strategy.
