How To Develop Your Coaching/Mentoring Plan

By Vic Downing

© Vic Downing March 15, 2007

“What’s your plan for making the most of this coaching relationship?”

How would you answer that question if your coach asked you? How motivated would your coach be to help you if your answer was, “I’m not really sure. I guess we’ll discover that as we go along… unless you have a better idea.”

Got the point?

Not only do you need a plan so you achieve your development objectives, you also need a plan so you immediately convince your coach you are worth his/her time. And have no illusions: the value you get out of coaching is mostly a function of the thought you put into the coaching relationship.

Here is a process for developing your plan:

1. Read, You and Your Mentor
2. Define Your Success Criteria
3. Define The Barriers Between You and Success
4. Build Your Plan

1. Read, You and Your Mentor

After you read that article, you will have:

It is your job to write a focused and refined statement of what you want from your coach.

• Solid reasons for selecting the coach you’ve selected.
• A fairly substantial understanding of your coach-the-person and your coach-the-professional.
• A focused and refined statement of what you want from your coach.

Don’t go to step #2 until you have completed this step in an excellent fashion.

2. Define Your Success Criteria

In conversations with your coach, be prepared to describe “what success [as a result of being coached] looks like.” These criteria should be clearly desirable and clearly achievable. For example:

• “When we succeed with this coaching relationship I will have a solid understanding of the kinds of assignments in which I am most likely to thrive and the kinds assignments which are ‘just not me’.”
• “We will have succeeded when I can make a heavy-duty, business-focused presentation containing some controversial recommendations to a group of skeptical business owners… and do so confidently and with answers that convince my audience that I am ‘a player’.”
• “I will know we are ‘there’ when I do a second 360-degree feedback in 10 months and the deficiencies that we see on my current feedback are no longer there.”

What does success look like?

Your job at this step is to come to the meeting prepared to suggest—not declare—what success looks like. Then it is your job to (if necessary) draw-out your coach’s view of those success criteria. Finally, it is your job to come to a definitive conclusion—which your coach endorses—before you go on. That conclusion should be put in writing and given to your coach.

3. Identify Barriers Between You and Success

What’s going to stand between you and success? (This is where you need to be painfully honest.) Barriers are likely to fall into two categories:

1. Things “Outside” Of Me, for example:
   • How I am perceived “out there” ...the perception of my “brand” is not positive
   • The absence of “open positions” in the desired organization
   • The amount of travel expected of the position I want
2. Things “Inside” Of Me, for example:
   • I am intimidated by hostile questions
   • I’ve never led a cross-functional team and I don’t know how to prove I can do it
   • I am not well-schooled on that organization’s business issues

There is a special, third category of barrier called “I don’t know.”

If you don’t know what the barriers are “outside” of you, then you need to do some research. At the very least, you should be able to spontaneously discuss the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of any business unit or team you intend to join. Your coach can be a tremendous helpful to you here… instead of asking him/her to get the answers for you, ask him to help you get the answers.

Be especially well prepared when it comes to “I don’t know what barriers I face.”

If you don’t know what the barriers are “inside” of you, you need to do some more research… research on yourself. There is any number of excellent 360-degree feedback tools available through HR and the Internet, StrengthsQuest is a superior way to find out what you do best, asking for face-to-face feedback can’t be beaten, et cetera. Again, this is a wonderful opportunity to leverage the strengths and connections of your coach.

4. Build Your Plan

Now you’re ready to spell-out what you’re going to do to overcome the barriers so you achieve your success criteria. Here is how you can do that:

• Stay away from detailed plans… they are just an excuse to keep from jumping into the deep end.
• List the date by which time you will have achieved your success criteria (see above).
• Estimate the amount of time it will take to overcome each of your barriers (see above). Give special attention to maintaining a superior level of performance in your current position as you attack these new tasks.
• Sequence the tasks and put their “due dates” on a calendar.
• Check your plan with your coach. Urge your coach to comment forcefully on your plan. Remember! You must maintain a superior level of performance in your current position while you execute your development plan.
• Settle on a plan your coach will endorse.

Track Record

30 years experience… North America, Asia, Europe… BioTech, Transportation, Distribution, Health Care, Manufacturing, Wholesale, Retail, Construction, Financial Services, Software… Sales, Service, Marketing, Environmental Health and Safety, Human Resources, Information Technology, Customer Service, Technical Services… CEO, CIO, CFO, Line Manager, First Line Supervisor, individuals, teams, virtual teams… find the problem, design the event, facilitate the meeting, train, inspire, build the process, fix the process, develop in-house expertise, listen, keep confidences.

Vic Downing
President, Global Advantage, Inc.

Sample Assignments

In two years increase per-square-foot net profit of a retail chain by more than 30% while expanding outlets by 10%… and be recognized as the number one quality vendor in the industry.

In one year reduce $300,000,000.00 operating budget by $47,000,000.00, not including savings associated with reduction in force.

Convene North American-Western European-Asian summit to resolve operational and cross-cultural issues that were impeding performance. Walk away with an integrated, measurable plan and a unified team with an extremely high level of rapport.

Jump-start a high potential manager whose performance was neutralized by the inability to delegate.

Prepare a Senior Vice President to plan, announce, and successfully manage two downsizings in six months, while improving the performance and loyalty of top performers.

Ramp-up emerging, high-technology production by 300% in 12 months while shortening cycle times, reducing waste, and improving morale.

http://www.globaladvantageinc.net/

“When the clock is running, there’s money on the table and reputation on the line, Global Advantage makes sense.”