We know we cannot rely merely on our own skills to be the most effective leader. You would make a successful leader, right? Of course you would, or you wouldn’t be reading this right now. Still, you may be asking yourself “How can I make sure I am as effective as I can be? How do I get results when the role of leader keeps changing?” As an entrepreneur your job is changing all the time. It’s a sign of the times: There are more tasks to be done with fewer employees on your staff to accomplish such tasks. Employees change jobs more frequently, leaving you in constant retraining mode. Your staff feels frazzled by the hectic pace. The talent pool for the skills you need seems to be shallower than ever. And you are left wondering how to clear all these leadership hurdles to get the results you need.
The old rules of management and supervision are simply ineffective in today’s complex workforce. That is why the most effective leaders and entrepreneurs in America now rely on the power of coaching and mentoring to lead their businesses to success. By way of virtual assistant mentoring and virtual assistant coaching, Alpine Small Business Solutions is here to help you learn all the keys to effective leadership.
In the field of employee development, there is much confusion in the differences between coaching and mentoring. This confusion often causes companies to opt for one method over the other without a comprehensive understanding that they each serve a different purpose and follow different paths to employee development. A failure to understand these differences often leads to disappointing results and the (understandable) mistake of blaming coaching (or mentoring) rather than realizing that the company simply opted for the wrong method for their unique business needs..
Coaching is designed to provide an employee with a content expert who works with that individual in assuring that employee learns a particular skill set or specific pieces of knowledge. Coaching is about skills and knowledge acquisition. Although it sometimes may involve the personal, the primary focus is professional. In many ways, the coaching relationship is like that of a teacher.
Mentoring, on the other hand is designed to promote professional development by linking an employee with a mentor who will focus on the overall development of the employee being mentored. Mentoring is transformational and involves much more than simply acquiring a specific skill or knowledge. Mentoring is about a relationship and involves both the professional and the personal. In this way, mentoring can be likened to a form of counseling.
Coaching
Do you need a coach?
- Your company is seeking to develop its employees in specific competencies using performance management tools and involving the immediate manager
- Your company has a number of talented employees who are not meeting expectations
- Your company is introducing a new system or program and employees need to become proficient
- Your company has a small group of individuals (5-8) in need of increased competency in specific areas
- Your leader or executive needs assistance in acquiring a new skill as an additional responsibility
You need expert coaching techniques to ensure your employees know their positions, fully devote their talents to the task at hand, and support their teammates by pulling together to meet even the toughest goals. With effective virtual assistant coaching and virtual assistant training through Alpine Small Business Solutions, you’ll build loyalty and trust by making every team member feel valued, invested in, and appreciated. Furthermore, you will learn exactly how to coach your underperformers, inspiring them to become strong contributors.
Mentoring
Do you need a Mentor?
- Your company is seeking to develop its leaders or talent pool as part of succession planning
- Your company seeks to develop its diverse employees to remove barriers that hinder their success
- Your company seeks to more completely develop its employees in ways that are additional to the acquisition of specific skills/competencies
- Your company seeks to retain its internal expertise and experience residing in its baby boomer employees for future generations
- Your company wants to create a workforce that balances the professional and the personal
Effective mentoring is also vital to your leadership success. It is through mentoring that your most valued employees can realize their full potential and take their skills to the next level. Great talent is hard to find and harder to keep! Mentoring improves employee retention because individuals who are growing and developing on the job are less likely to leave. If you’ve snagged up the good ones, I want to help you keep them! By utilizing virtual assistant mentoring by Alpine Small Business Solutions, you gain tools, techniques, and strategies guaranteed to solve complex matters such as: inspiring employees to take more initiative, motivating team members to achieve even higher goals, keeping staffers’ personal problems from affecting work, and more. In short, you’ll be building a rock-solid team of winners!
Remember, virtual assistant coaching and virtual assistant mentoring are both effective approaches to talent development within an organization. A company’s specific needs will provide guidance on which method is the best option to choose. Making the right decision for the right reasons is key to ensuring more positive outcomes.