Help employees reach full potential

Being in charge of a team can be one of the most rewarding parts of your job. Many people strive to eventually manage their own team within their respective fields of work. Part of being a good manager is recognising that your team members are unique individuals with specific needs and see to it that you drive them to reach their full potential.

Many managers and team leads will focus on upskilling their team members – choosing the most promising candidates to send on a course in developing a specific skillset that will ultimately assist them with their growth and career trajectory. However, the varied personalities in your team will react differently to different types of training, learning and developing.

Two common ways in which to upskill your staff is through having them partake in either coaching courses or mentoring courses

These two types are courses are mistakenly thought of as one and the same and yet they are quite different. As a manager or team leader of a group of employees you could upskill yourself by attending a coaching or mentoring course and then facilitate the development of your staff personally. Alternatively, you could employ the services of a facilitator, coach or mentor.

If you are mentoring an employee you are committing to a long term engagement which focuses on the holistic development of the mentee

By mentoring someone you have a hand in transforming their lives both professionally and personally. Also, because this is a long term relationship you, as the mentor, are likely to benefit from the course too. Mentoring courses are not unlike long term counselling.

Coaching an employee tends to be very much about specific skills learned and acquired

Coaching focuses on the professional development of the employee with personal pain points only being addressed if they affect the person’s ability to perform at work. However, life coaching – which is extremely popular nowadays – takes a pragmatic approach to personal development and heavily affects how the person behaves in the professional environment too.

Whichever you choose for your employees or yourself, coaching and mentoring courses are most beneficial. Managing change, motivating your team and nurturing emotional intelligence in the workplace are all benefits that are enjoyed by managers and teams who undergo coaching or mentoring programs. And, most employees and staff members who are offered this type of skillset and nurturing jump at the opportunity because of the personal and professional development that can be attained.