Helping Colleagues

Help colleagues gain competence and confidence

Your organisation is likely to give you training and development to help you fulfil your duties. But in the course of work, there are often occasions where the best form of training and development is where colleagues help each other to understand and to do things. We often call the relationships between colleagues mentoring, coaching or instruction.

Normally mentoring means making yourself available to help a colleague as and when they require it. Mentoring often entails giving reassurance or guidance, and it is unlikely to entail any formal periods of coaching or instruction.

Coaching or instruction is more focused, addressing a learning need of a colleague. Both the coach and the colleague agree on the need, then agree on how and when the learning is to be done. Coaching or instruction of this kind can be formal or informal. This is a reciprocal arrangement.

Much of the informal coaching or instruction that applies in work situations can be achieved by being thoughtful and considerate. But there are techniques that can help provide coaching and instruction in a more constructive way.

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