Training

Coaching and Mentoring Techniques Training

Let me tell you about what makes the “Coaching and Mentoring Techniques” Class so good.

First off, taking the laptops away from the mentors, arranging activities and engaging the audiences create a learning atmosphere where everyone can be immersed in the class content and truly understand what it takes to be a good mentor. Garry Howell, the facilitator from G&H, was quite humorous in that he gives us such everyday life examples to further explain his ideas. Some may see this as non-relevant as we are engineers and are supposed to be the embodiment of discipline and rules but technical examples for a soft skill are boring. Skills tend to improve faster if the examples are relevant and in this case, examples involving real life situations are more relevant to people skills than technical ones. I love his example of Sir Alex Ferguson being the mentor for Rooney and just coach for Manchester United because let’s face it, almost every Vietnamese would be familiar with these celebrities seeing how MU is one of the most prominent of the soccer teams in the Premiere League.

Mr. Garry Howell, Facilitator	Coaching and Mentoring Techniques Class

Secondly, the mentors get a chance to look into the different types of mentees. This might seem like common knowledge but sometimes, people tend to ignore it. Different people learn in their own ways and what mentors need to do is speak in languages the mentees can understand. If they learn by example, let them watch how you do it. If they learn by understanding the theory behind an action, explain it to them. This is why the chemistry between the mentors and mentees are so important. Mentors have their own types too and it’s hard to adapt themselves to mentees with different styles they do not understand. However, this knowledge can help mentors adapt their training regime to let the mentees develop faster into what they want to be. This is important because only a person can make the decision for themselves. Sure, they might listen to you for a few years but wouldn’t that be all just wasted efforts if they don’t agree with your plan and just give up after the training periods?

Coaching and Mentoring Techniques Class: Interactive Activities

Thirdly, what we take away from this training is a list of criteria to develop ourselves to become a better mentor. Why is this important? Although many people have worked for years, they do not have a good idea of what they need to become a good mentor. They might be a good technical person or a good friend or maybe even a good manager but it takes much different skills to become a good mentor. A good mentor needs to be able to understand the mentees at the personal level, communicating their ideas effectively and have mutual respect for their mentees. This requires so much more than just being good at what they do. It’s understandable that many still lack these skills as they have not had the chance to learn soft skills from a credible source. A good book can help tremendously if they are good at self-study and understand what they are capable and incapable off. For most people, they need others to show how to do it. This is where Garry excelled. He demonstrated by role-playing how to deal with each situation. The welcoming atmosphere as well as the stressing of important points makes it really sticks with the mentors after they complete the training.

In conclusion, I really liked this class. It brought a fresh breeze to the dry climate of a technical environment and I wish it would come at a more regular interval.

Nhat Le
Senior Engineer
Frontend Design Department