Supervisors:

Training and coaching are available for supervisors, covering the following topics as needed:

• staff supervision,
• work planning and review, including meeting targets and goals,
• decision-making,
• delegating,
• reviewing performance and providing constructive feedback,
• evaluation of progress towards set targets (including financial / budget targets),
• communicating with those 'above' and 'below' in the organisation, as well as with colleagues at the same level, and
• responding to unusual customer needs or complaints.

Supervisors receiving coaching are encouraged to liaise regularly with their own managers to review skill development and quality of role performance, so the coaching programme can be fine-tuned as skills reach desired levels.

Managers / Leaders:

For managers and other leaders, higher level skills and strategies to manage self and others are covered either by mentoring (individuals) or in professional development sessions (groups). Mentoring leaders provides an external and impartial sounding board who can systematically discuss with the leader how they and their work are going. Mentoring is an individual, confidential service. It usually entails elements such as review of recent work, discussion of current issues and dilemmas, and preview of forthcoming work, however the needs of each participant differ. At the outset these needs are identified and an approach that will respond to those needs will be developed, and they often include:

• Personal and interpersonal skills of effective leaders
• Leading through times of rapid growth and change
• Managing/mentoring senior staff for high performance
• Developing commitment and buy-in from staff
• Developing strategic vision and direction
• Leading to achieve long-term sustainability
• Leading through ‘down’ times for the organisation
• Relationship building and maintenance with internal and external stakeholders

Other topics for seminars and workshops can be developed to suit the specific needs of the organisation. Once the mentoring goals and relationship are established, a contact schedule will be arranged to suit individual needs. Remember too, mentoring need not only be conducted through face-to-face contact, but can be via phone — convenient if your organisation operates in remote locations or your work involves travel.

The benefit of coaching and mentoring is that feedback and skill development are provided at exactly the time needed — when issues arise in the workplace that need an immediate and effective response. They also encourage a reflective, self-evaluative approach to their work by supervisors and managers, a strategy essential to on-going development of professional skills.