Mentor April Page

Coaching, Mentoring, Training – Are they the same?

March 31, 2009 By April Page Leave a Comment

In today’s society as you surf the internet you see the terms coaching, mentoring and training all the time. I can’t help but wonder if people know the difference between the terms or do they believe that they are the same? Most people tend to use the terms coaching, mentoring, and training interchangeably. However, there are differences. Mentoring is often thought of as the transfer of wisdom from a wise and trusted teacher. He or she helps to guide a person’s career, normally to the upper levels of an organization. However, this perception is starting to change as organizations are now implementing mentoring at all levels.

Training is about teaching or instructing a particular skill or knowledge and is normally given in a formal environment.

Coaching, on the other hand, is about increasing an individual’s knowledge and thought processes with a particular task or process. It creates a supportive environment that develops critical thinking skills, ideas, and behaviors about a subject. Although it is closely tied to training, it is more personal and intimate in nature.

The main difference between coaching and training is that training is normally done in real time. That is, it is performed on the job. The coach uses real tasks and problems to help the learner increase his or her performance. While with training, learning is normally performed within the classroom.

Mentoring is more career developing in nature, while training and coaching are more task or process oriented. Also, mentoring relies on the mentor’s specific knowledge and wisdom, while coaching and training relies on facilitation and developmental skills. Although there are these differences, you could say that the three are synergistic and complementary, rather than mutually exclusive as most people would agree that a good coach trains and mentors, a good trainer coaches and mentors, and a good mentor trains and coaches. A coach is also a:

Leader – they set the example and become a role model.
Facilitator – able to instruct a wide variety of material.
Team Builder – able to pull people into a unified team.
Peace Keeper – able to act as a mediator.
Pot Stirrer – brings controversy out in the open and resolves conflict.
Devil’s Advocate – able to raise issues for better understanding of the individuals involved.
Cheerleader – praises people for doing great.
Counselor – provides intimate feedback

Want to learn more about coaching, mentoring and training? Give me a call and I will be glad to speak with you and help you begin to have the success you deserve!

Wishing You an Abundance of Success!

April Page

850.441.2307 CST

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Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: Advocate, coaching, coaching skills, Counselor, critical thinking skills, executive coaching, Facilitator, knowledge and wisdom, knowledge management, leader, Leadership, leadership coaching, leadership skills training, life coach, mlm network marketing training, network marketing training, perception, performance, personal training, success, supportive environment, Team, team in training, thought processes, training

Active Listening Traits

March 20, 2009 By April Page 34 Comments

The number one skill to being an effective coach, mentor, business owner, network marketer, leader, spouse, parent, etc is active listening. This is a key component for success in any area of your life.

Most people believe that hearing and listening are the same, but they are not. Hearing is defined as the act of perceiving sound. It is involuntary and deals with aural stimuli. Listening is a selective activity which involves receiving and interpreting the aural stimuli. It involves decoding the sound into meaning.

Listening is divided into 2 main categories: passive and active. Passive listening is a little more than hearing. It occurs when the receiver of the message has little motivation to listen carefully, such as when listening to music, story telling, television, or when being polite.

People speak at 100 to 175 words per minute (WPM), but they can listen intelligently at 600 to 800 WPM. Since only a part of our mind is paying attention, it is easy to go into mind drift, and start thinking about other things while listening to someone. The cure for this is active listening, which involves listening with purpose or intent. It may be to gain information, obtain directions, understand others, solve problems, share interest, see how another person feels, show support, etc. It requires that the listener attends to the words and feelings of the sender for understanding. It takes the same amount or more energy than speaking. It requires the receiver to hear the various messages, understand the meaning and then verify the meaning by offering feedback. The following are a few traits of active listeners:

Spend more time listening than talking.
Do not finish the sentences of others.
Do not answer questions with questions.
Be aware of biases. We all have them and we need to control them.
Never daydreams or become preoccupied with their own thoughts when others talk.
Let the other speakers talk. Do not dominate the conversation.
Plan responses after the others have finished speaking, NOT while they are speaking.
Provide feedback, but do not interrupt incessantly.
Analyze by looking at all the relevant factors and asking open-ended questions. Walk others through summarizing.
Keep conversations on what others say, NOT on what interests them.
Take brief notes. This forces you to concentrate on what is being said.

As you can see listening is a learned skill. It is a skill that we must intend to do. We have to focus and pay attention when someone is speaking with us. To be a successful listener we must practice listening to others. I challenge you to implement the short list of active listening traits this week and see how your communication with others improves.

Wishing YOU an Abundance of Success,

April Page

References: Pearson, J. (1983). Interpersonal Communication. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foreman and Company.

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Filed Under: Communication Tagged With: aural stimuli, coach mentor, Communication, conversation, Interpersonal, Leadership, listener, listening, methodology, mind drift, motivation, network marketer, passive listening, paying attention, speaking, understanding

Be Know Do Framework For Leadership

March 17, 2009 By April Page 12 Comments

So you want to be a leader? Have you ever read the book, Be-Know-Do? That book tells you how to be a leader through a combination of lessons from the Army’s battle focused training manual and a series of organizational leadership case studies.

If you are a leader and have built the relationships that are founded on know, like and trust, those around you will grow to respect you. To be such a leader there is the Be, Know, Do Framework of Leadership to guide you.

A professional
Loyal to your job, business or organization
Perform selfless service
Take personal responsibility

KNOW

Who you are! Your strengths, weakness of your character, knowledge, and skills.
The four factors of leadership: follower, leader, communication and situation.
People: human needs, emotions, personality color and how people respond to stress.
Your Job, Business or Organization (where to go for help, it’s climate and culture and who the leaders are)

Provide Direction and Instruction (goal setting, problem solving, decision making, planning)
Implement by communicating, coordinating, supervising and evaluating.
Motivate: develop morale, train, coach, mentor and counsel.

Great Leaders develop leaders at all levels that lead with integrity, values and are able to take action and make things happen.

Wishing You an Abundance of Success,

April Page

850.441.2307 anytime

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Filed Under: Featured, Leadership Tagged With: american politics, army, battle focused training, change management, coach mentor, curriculum, great leaders, kingarthur, leader, Leaders, Leadership, management, manager, organizational leadership, train coach

Are You an Effective Leader?

March 16, 2009 By April Page 9 Comments

How many times have you heard the statement; “He is a natural born leader?” I know I have heard it countless number of times. When I started my business in 2006, it did not succeed as fast as I had expected. I felt as if there was something wrong with me and I thought I was not a “natural born” leader. But as time passed and I stuck with it, I realized that leaders are not made over night, nor are they born “naturally.” I now know and believe that we are all perfect just the way we are! We are all born with the tools we need to succeed, including the ability to be a leader.

To be a leader there are certain choices we must make. We have to choose to become a leader and we have to choose to learn leadership skills. We must have a desire to be a leader. Not just any type of leader, but a good leader, a leader people will want to follow. Good leaders are made and not born.

A leader is someone you grow into through self-development, education, training, experience and life changes. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills. They are not sitting around on the couch watching television and eating a bag of Doritos.

Leadership is defined as a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. A leader can inspire their workers, team, or followers to higher levels of teamwork. These do not come naturally but are acquired through continual work and study. This is done by applying certain leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge and skills.

Most people confuse leadership with position because of the responsibility and authority that goes along with management, supervisory or upline position’s. Most people take this authority and equate it with power and believe this automatically makes them a leader. Or they measure their leadership by the size of their team, group, downline, or organization. Neither of these factors make a person a leader. Leaders are made and not born. Therefore, if you have not grown into a leader and you don’t know how to lead; that only makes you the boss!

Leadership is more than being the boss and bossing people around! It is a never ending process of self-development, education, training and experience. People want to follow someone they respect and has a clear sense of direction.

Leaders convey a strong vision of the future and they make the necessary sacrifices to build people, build relationships and to become better leaders.

To Your Abundant Success,

April Page
850.441.2307 anytime

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