Coaching and Mentoring with Social and Emotional Intelligence
May 07, 2024
Coach and Mentor as a Social and Emotional Intelligence competency is the ability to sense other people’s potential and development needs and help them refine their abilities, improve their performance and thrive and reach new heights.
People skilled at this competency show a genuine interest in helping other people (friends, colleagues, employees). They understand the goals, strengths and weaknesses of others, providing them with knowledgeable support and giving timely and constructive feedback, so people can find their way to excellence. They’re natural mentors, coaches and foster long term learning and development of other people.
On the contrary, people who lack these skills do not have a genuine interest in helping others. They do not provide instructions or details to help others and fail to provide the necessary feedback intended to help others to improve in the long run. Generally, they refuse to delegate (not giving others opportunities for growth) and are unwilling to spend time with people who need their help and fail to provide the necessary feedback intended to help others learn and grow. If they give feedback, it is usually negative and the intent is to hurt or create conflict.
If you believe this is an area where you can improve, here are some tips you can apply right away:
- Study human psychology
- Get to know other people
- Learn to actively listen (this is one of the most powerful coaching skills: fundamental in all relationships)
- Ask smart questions and promote free expression
- Talk with people about their goals, inspirations and things they want to learn and do better (do it regularly, not only once a year!)
- Establish a culture of trust and psychological safety by making feedback as constructive and non-evaluative of the person as possible (focus on behavior, not the individual)
- Be honest, genuine and make it okay to tell the truth
- Be specific and descriptive, non judgmental
- Be courageous, yet compassionate (get to the point)
- Provide choices and suggestions for improvement
- Acknowledge and recognize progress (make it ongoing)
“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their growth.” —John Withmore
“A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.” —Oprah Winfrey
“Social and Emotional Intelligence (SEI) is the ability to be aware of our own emotions, and those of others, in the moment, and to use that information to manage ourselves and our relationships.” ā€•The Institute for Social and Emotional Intelligence
