Coaching, Mentoring and Managing: A Coach Guidebook

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Phase 1: The learner watches.
Phase 2: You do the job together.
Phase 3: You watch the learner do the job.
It’s the “10-60-90” principle in action!
After reviewing these three phases, what do you think you
need most to mentor someone? If you said “time,” you’re a fast
learner! This point can’t be emphasized too much. If you’re
mentoring the right way, you’ll have moments when you become
very frustrated. You’ll think, “This is taking way too much time —
how can I keep doing this and my own job, too?”

Be ready for those moments. Work through them by
implementing the “15-5-10” formula discussed earlier on
page 130, and by remembering that mentoring can be effective in
only one way: by taking the mentor’s time. It takes time to
develop team members. And, after all, what other job is more
important for a StaffCoach™ than developing team members?

Build on success. Do the following after every success:

• Set aside time to reflect on the success.
  Ask your associate what made it a success. Was it
  organizational skills, technical expertise, knowledge base,
  co-workers, communication skills? Talk about what
  worked so she can capitalize on it.


• Ask if the success factor could be strengthened.
  Are there other projects or relationships or knowledge that
  would benefit her for future actions?


• Ask where else could she apply this success factor.
  Are there other projects or situations in her life where
  she might experience the kinds of success she has
  just experienced?


• Think about who else needs to learn this success skill.
  Are there people she works with who could benefit from
  this skill so that the team could better work together?
  As you move from teaching and guiding your associates to
  experiencing with and celebrating their successes, you move
  through a positive change process that is self-sustaining.

The Mentoring Role: Instruction by Example

What do you need

most to mentor

someone? Time.