Offer mentoring support1. Assist mentee to identify and

evaluate options to achieve agreed goals.

2. Share personal experiences and knowledge with the mentee.

3. Encourage mentee to make decisions and take responsibility for the courses of action under consideration.

4. Provide supportive advice and assistance in a manner which allows the mentee to retain responsibility for achievement of their own goals.

5. Change and discuss the mentoring relationship.

6. Make any adjustments to the relationship taking into account the needs of both mentor and mentee.

Provide Mentoring Support to a Colleague

Establish a relationship

1. Apply effective communication styles to develop trust, confidence and rapport

2. Agree on how the relationship will be conducted

3. Clarify and discuss expectations

‘Behind every successful person, there is one elementary truth: somewhere, somehow, someone cared about their growth and development . This person was their mentor’

Dr Beverley Kaye, Up is Not the Only Way, 1997

Mentor = Trusted friend or advisor

Mentoring Purposes

Professional Development Accreditation Updating Fast tracking

Roles in Sport Education

Presenter Assessor

Mentor

Some Characteristics of a Good Mentor Approachable and welcoming Shares information and experiences openly Good communication skills Trustworthy Provides accurate and appropriate feedback Technical expertise Motivating, encouraging, positive and

empowering Allocates appropriate time to mentoring Sensitive to the needs of the coach/official

Some Characteristics of a Good Coach/Official (in a mentoring relationship)

Drives the process and take responsibility for solving problems, personal growth and development

Motivated and willing to develop a good relationship Listens and accepts guidance and feedback Sets realistic and appropriate goals Reliable, trustworthy and maintains confidentiality Looks to be challenged Flexible and open to new ideas Shows initiative and enthusiasm but has reasonable

expectations Recognizes, acknowledges and appreciates mentor

Mentoring Roles Coach Facilitate Counsel Sponsor Support

Pros & Cons of Mentors as Assessors

PROS Knows coach’s/official’s abilities Coach/official may feel more

comfortable Mentor can modify sessions to

prepare coach/official for assessment

Mentor can assess over a longer period of time

Fewer people are required in the process

CONS• Coach/official may feel

threatened during the mentoring process knowing that their mentor will assess them

• The mentor may not be sufficiently independent to make a fair and valid assessment

• It may hinder working relationship

Strategies for Mentors who are Assessing

Understand why you are assessing, ie for improvement Be open and up front about your dual role Discuss the possible conflicts of the dual role Be clear, and make it clear, what role you are playing at any given

time Seek regular feedback from the coach/official on both roles Use an independent assessor if needed Keep accurate and thorough assessment documentation

Skills Mentors RequireRole Assessment of participant

Skills Required Have sufficient knowledge of what is being assessed Establish impartiality Create a supportive environment Assess what the coach/official can do, not what you think

they can Give accurate and concise feedback

The Mentoring Process

Goal setting Observation Analysis Providing feedback Action planning Review

Foundations for successful mentoring relationships Develop and communicate clear goals

and expectations at the beginning Set the ground rules and develop an

agreement Clarify the roles of the mentor and

mentee Work out when and how feedback will

occur Review the relationship at regular

intervals

Goal Setting

Two-way process of mentoring

‘Mentoring is a two-way process in which both mentor and coach benefit from the networking, sharing of ideas and interaction that can lead to lifelong friendship and betterment of the sport’

Adapted from the Lacrosse Case study

Setting the ‘Ground Rules’

Time & place to meet

Phone calls at home?

Scope of feedback and assistance

Preferred learning style

Formal versus informal

Roles and responsibilities

Consider what level of commitment you are prepared to make

Empowerment

‘Mentoring is a process rather than an event; mentors must see themselves as managers of a process, rather than just passing on knowledge.’

(Galvin, 1998)

Empowerment

Who is ‘driving’ the mentoring relationship

- the mentor or the coach/official?

Empowerment scenarios Scenario 1: Your mentee has not

contacted you for two months Scenario 2: Your mentee is having

trouble with one of their athletes and asks you to intervene

Scenario 3: Your mentee has just ‘failed’ their assessment (you were not the assessor). The mentee thinks that they were ‘hard done by’ and wants you to speak to the assessors.

Empowering the coach/official Communicate openly Encourage them to take

responsibility for achieving their goals

Give them space and time to complete tasks

Guide and counsel as they reach final stages of tasks

Help them to learn from mistakes

Help them to work out the answer, rather than just telling them

Give constructive, critical advice – but don’t expect to solve all their problems for them

Introduce them to other people who might be able to help them

Give them responsibility and monitor progress

Build confidence through ‘extraordinary’ activities

Observation checklist

Discuss the sample observation checklist with your mentee.

Check if there are areas that the mentee wants you to look at specifically (identify potential ‘weak’ areas)

Add any sport specific ‘technical’ aspects

Why use questions???

To eencourage group interaction

To hhelp maintain interest and stimulate thought

To hhelp facilitate learning by involving coach/official

To defuse potential confronting situations

To allow individuals the opportunity to get some feedback on what they want to know

To create a discussion

To redirect a discussion

To obtain feedback

Techniques for asking questions

Keep them simple (one idea per question, simple language, short)

Pause and give the other person a chance to reflect and answer

Prompt (repeat or paraphrase the question, recall information related to the question)

Deal with wrong answers in a sensitive and constructive way

Use of appropriate questions

What questions might be appropriate in the following situation?

Situation: The coach/official has difficulty articulating their needs/goals for the mentoring relationship. What questions might you, as the mentor, ask?

Possible Questions: What do you want to get out of this

relationship? Do you feel there is more that you are after

from me as a mentor? If so, what? How can I, as your mentor, better cater for

your needs? Can we discuss what you would like to

accomplish by the end of the year?

Use of appropriate questions

Develop a list of appropriate questions you might use if you were a mentor faced with the following situations:

1. The coach/official has stated that they don’t have enough time to contribute to the relationship.

2. The coach/official is geographically isolated from the mentor and other coaches/officials in their sport.

3. The coach/official has provided feedback to the mentor that they find the mentor ‘overpowering’.

4. The coach/official does not listen to feedback from the mentor and appears arrogant

5. The coach/official is angry because they feel that the mentor ‘put them down’ in front of their athletes

How to give feedback

Encourage openness Praise good work Make feedback timely State your feedback in a

manner that conveys respect and support

Keep comments related to the task not the person

Focus on specific behaviours

Address areas of strength and weakness identified by the person

Ensure comments are clear and understood

Support negative feedback with specific examples and facts

Link negative feedback to actions for improvement

Reasons for failure of feedback

Person perceives little benefit Person perceives too much time and

energy expenditure with little result Person uncomfortable with face to face

communication Mentor not skilled in the process of

giving and receiving feedback

Receiving feedback

Listen objectively with-out interrupting

Take feedback as advice, not as a personal attack

Summarise feedback to ensure you have understood

• Take a problem solving approach

• Discuss suggestions for improvement

• Thank the person giving the feedback

• Practise to improve• Review again to check

that things have improved

quality of presenters quality of presenters

CompetencyStandards

&Assessment Criteria

entry requirements

access and equity

RPL process

articulation and credit transfer

course monitoring and evaluation

teaching/ learning methods

facilities to meet course requirements quality of

presenters

educational/ instructional design of materials

student feedback mechanisms

integration of on-and-off the job components

valid and reliable on-and-off the job assessment

quality of assessors

curriculum

Components of quality training

How can you improve as a coach/official?

Learning Studying Reading Observing Discussing

Practising• Gaining

experience as a coach/official

Evaluating• External review

• Peer assessment• Player evaluation

• Self evaluation• Diary• Mentoring• Video self analysis

The self reflection process

Action

Planning for change

Recognition of things

to improve

Self reflection

Self reflection methods

Coaching/Officiating Diary Simple Focuses your thinking Long term

perspective

Mentoring Social and interactive Feedback and advice Guided self reflection

Video Self Analysis See yourself as others

see you Accurate and detailed Can be sent to a distant

mentor

Key aspects of coachingCommunicating

How good are your people skills? How well do you relate to your athletes?

Managing • How good are you at

organising and supervising training sessions?

Teaching• How good are you at

developing your athlete’s fitness, skills and strategic understanding?

Key aspects of officiating

Control Decision making Communication