2020 will always be known as the year that everything changed. During the first national lockdown, entrepreneurs and businesses were looking forward to 2021, hoping it would mark a fresh start without the trading threat of Covid-19.
On the contrary, the latest national lockdown is a stark reminder of how Covid-19 continues to affect all our lives. The future is never certain though, and the most successful companies find ways to adapt and excel. With every twist and turn, businesses face a unique set of challenges. Whether adapting to home working, furloughing staff or closing premises; the need to boost your employees’ skills, confidence, communication and work performance is crucial, especially during these turbulent times.
Mentoring and coaching creates a culture of resilience
From communicating operational changes, maintaining employee wellbeing, reducing anxiety, embracing change and creating a collaborative culture, leaders must adapt style and approach to work towards shared visions and organisational objectives. Therefore, coaches and mentors can play a pivotal role, giving staff valuable insights and advice, helping them reflect on their own experiences, develop new skills, and set specific improvement plans. Below are five key reasons why coaching and mentoring is more important than ever.
Enhance satisfaction and engagement
Coaching and mentoring can help guide individuals on their chosen career path whilst allowing staff to resolve issues and concerns within the boundaries of a trusted and confidential relationship. In particular, managers and leaders should not underestimate the advantages of coaching as it can spark a shift in their team’s approach to work. For example, by increasing self-confidence, team members are more likely to put themselves forward for challenging tasks, becoming more assertive in their duties.
Acquire skills that can be developed within the business
Coaching and mentoring use many the same skills and approach, yet coaching can often be short-term and task-based, whereas mentoring may involve a longer-term relationship. Coaching helps individuals develop their skills in leadership, self-management and learning, increasing resilience and self-awareness. Corporate mentoring can help the learner discover their wisdom by encouraging them to work towards career goals, developing self-reliance. With a combination of coaching and mentoring, leaders can make their employees more valuable to their organisation, developing and enhancing their professional and personal skills. If you’d like to learn more about the differences between coaching and mentoring, please take a look at our infographic here.
Break away from “groupthink” culture
Mentors can provide deep insights, enabling your employees to discover their authenticity, breaking away from “groupthink” culture to encourage independent and creative thinking. In turn, your business will be better positioned to make smarter decisions, with staff capable of identifying optimal solutions, which may have previously been overlooked.
Develop a pipeline of future leaders
According to Sage “93% of small and medium-sized businesses acknowledge that mentoring can help them succeed.” Your company’s future leaders could be right under your nose. By investing in business coaching and mentoring, you can develop your top emerging talent and retain your most knowledgeable and experienced performers, ensuring they remain engaged, energised and valued.
Building personal resilience
Your staff may feel stressed, anxious, afraid or panicked by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The most recent October figures from the Office for National Statistics suggests that of the people who said their wellbeing had been affected by Covid-19, 64% said they felt worried about the future, and 60% said they felt stressed or anxious. With resilience and personal wellbeing coaching, you can create strategies for challenging negative thoughts and promoting positive thinking, whilst developing tools and techniques to build resilience. This process can have positive results on team morale, and it has a knock-on effect on business goals, thus improving the overall workplace environment.
If you would like to find out how we can develop your managers to be coaches, or support an individual’s professional development and career plans, please click here to learn more, or send us a message and we’ll be in touch as soon as possible. You can also call one of our friendly training experts today on 01252 618 400.
*ISO 9001:2015 relates to GBS Corporate Training's products and services