mentoring - Blogs - DPG Community2024-03-28T17:47:52Zhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/feed/tag/mentoringThe #LoveCPD Spotlight Series December editionhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/the-lovecpd-spotlight-series-december-edition2017-12-18T10:22:32.000Z2017-12-18T10:22:32.000ZLucy Boltonhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/LucyBolton<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2217439?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>This months spotlight focuses on:</p>
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<li>Coaching and Mentoring</li>
<li>Training before a start date</li>
<li>Measuring Learning hours</li>
<li>The best ways to motivate and engage employees</li>
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<p>To view this months spotlight online <a href="http://docs.dpgplc.co.uk/Spotlight/December/December_Spotlight/" target="_blank">click here.</a></p>
<p>To download a copy of this months spotlight click here: <a href="http://docs.dpgplc.co.uk/Spotlight/December/December_Spotlight%20.pdf" target="_blank">Download</a></p>
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<p>To help us out with next months spotlight issue, click into each of the zones and enter your vote into each of the polls on the right hand side!</p>
<p>If you have any ideas on what next months topics could be, share them in the comments below!!</p>
</div>Why is there an upward trend for career mentoring?https://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/upward-trend-for-career-mentoring2014-10-20T14:30:17.000Z2014-10-20T14:30:17.000ZRajdeep Dosanjhhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/RajdeepDosanjh<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2216290?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>From WiseRound to <a rel="nofollow" href="https://helpouts.google.com/">Google Helpouts</a> and basic outreach via LinkedIn, it’s clear that there’s a movement towards career mentoring, but why?</p>
<p>Taking a step back, what are the main learning opportunities for people these days? To name the core 3, you have: university, online sources and professional courses.</p>
<p>These mainstream learning methods do indeed have an array of advantages. But also significant disadvantages which are often under-appreciated.</p>
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<li>University… One word: <strong>EXPENSIVE</strong>. With university debts sometimes <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1379364/University-tuition-fees-Degree-cost-52k.html">rising to £52k</a>, for many this can be difficult to justify.</li>
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<li>Professional qualifications are <strong>not specifically CATERED</strong> to your needs. If you need to learn about equity, it’s likely you’ll attend a finance course where only 10% of the course covers equity.</li>
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<li>Finally, online information. Can you <strong>really TRUST the source </strong>and is it<strong>timely information</strong>? It is extremely difficult to separate the people who know what they’re talking about against those that don’t, or against those that are really trying to sell you their “How to make it in Banking”, book worth £150?</li>
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<p>Mentoring helps <em>battle</em> against these draw backs.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-55" src="http://blog.wiseround.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/a.jpg" alt="Keyboard battle" width="900" height="326" /></p>
<p>First, it’s<strong> a lot cheaper</strong>. A few of hours with a specialist career mentor may cost you around £100. But compared to courses costing thousands of £’s, consider the inside tips you’ll get on how to get your foot in the door, let alone you’d have widened your professional network too. </p>
<p>Mentoring is catered to your needs. The entire time you’re mentor will be discussing where <em>you</em> can improve, addressing the worries <em>you</em> have and providing the knowledge <em>you</em> need.</p>
<p>Finally through sites as <a rel="nofollow" href="http://wiseround.com/">WiseRound</a> and <a rel="nofollow" href="https://helpouts.google.com/">Google Helpouts</a>, the mentors are validated through reviews, professional history and feedback from past mentoring sessions – so you know you’re getting the real deal.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-53" src="http://blog.wiseround.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Dragons-Den-copy.jpg" alt="Dragons-Den Mentors" width="1000" height="279" /></p>
<p>Mainstream TV is also helping the move towards mentoring. On Dragons Den, the famous business equity program, entrepreneurs often give up equity for a better mentor (aka. dragon), forgoing deals with others even though it may be more financially attractive.</p>
<p>Even on X Factor, contestants are usually seen to prefer Simon Cowell to the other judges because of the sheer depth of his experience and connections. </p>
<p>So, if you’re not sure how to progress your career, rather than going down the traditional routes to learning – considering getting yourself a mentor!</p>
</div>Coaching in the Workplace (Part 1)https://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/coaching-in-the-workplace2014-05-14T16:00:00.000Z2014-05-14T16:00:00.000ZClaire-Hazel Smeatonhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/ClaireHazelSmeaton<div><p>I have never written a blog before so I guess I am a blogging virgin! After attending my first workshop on the new <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.dpgplc.co.uk/what-we-offer/leadership-management/coaching-and-mentoring.aspx">ILM Coaching & Mentoring Programme</a>, I really wanted to share my passion for Coaching & Mentoring in the workplace. I believe it’s a powerful, beneficial and cost-effective tool for people and organisational development but very much underused in a lot of organisations. I want to help you understand just how effective it can be by sharing what I learn on the programme and demonstrate some of the things we do at DPG plc that have benefited me greatly. So having just started the programme I can now start to see and understand the difference between Coaching & Mentoring. The entire programme is designed to help you to set up coaching initiatives and develop coaching capability which in turn help people become more engaged in their work and understand their strengths and of course development areas. I’m learning that this is key to developing high performing workplaces.</p><p>Coaching uses one-to-one conversations to unlock potential. It can help managers deal with change and find solutions to business problems using their own resources, ideas and initiatives. It isn’t about giving people answers. It’s an effective way of creating a high performance culture in your organisation. There has been a lot of change in the last 10 years around the perception of coaching moving it from being seen as a remedial tool and potentially a negative thing to have (as you aren’t good at your job)<b>. </b> Many organisations still view coaching as a tool for correcting performance however more and more organisations view coaching as a way to get the best out of their people and to continually improve performance. Coaching is about achieving a high performance culture, not managing a low-performance one, and should not be seen primarily as a remedial tool. ILM research shows that:</p><div style="margin-left: 2em;"><ul><li> <b>90% of organisations with over 2,000 employees use business coaching!</b></li></ul></div><p>I found a useful video on coaching in the workplace that you mind find useful below</p><p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eKC6qNvI3Kw?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0"></iframe></p><p>ILM asked Learning & Development professionals in 250 large organisations about the results of their coaching programmes; almost all the organisations said coaching as a development too benefitted both individuals and the organisation. These are things that were highlighted:</p><ul><li>Better communication and interpersonal skills</li><li>Increased confidence and motivation</li><li>Improved conflict resolution</li><li>Better management performance</li></ul><p>As well as the above there was this great statement that really stood out for me…..</p><p><b>95% say that coaching has delivered tangible benefits to their business!! It really has changed individual’s commitment, performance, and their morale.</b></p><p>For me this shows coaching is a highly effective way of raising awareness and driving performance at all levels of an organisation. But good coaches need the right attitude & capability, this can come through experience and training. To embed coaching capability across your organisation, you must first equip your coaches with the abilities and train them to coach effectively.</p><p><b>So this is where my journey starts. I’m learning to practice what I preach</b></p><p>I’m now working through the first unit of the coaching and mentoring programme and learning all the great things to make me a more effective coach and to help others on this journey.</p><p>For the first workshop we all got to know one another and learn the difference between Coaching & Mentoring. The things we have done so far is coaching one on one with the other delegate which I personally found very helpful as im quiet and it made me come out of myself and actually show what I had learned. We are gathering all information for our first assignment which for a change I am looking forward to starting. I have lots of information to hand a good group of people so we can help each other out and an understanding facilitator. I am also working with four colleagues at DPG to help coach them on varied things. Therefore I truly am practicing what I preach. Stay tuned to find out how it goes....</p><p><b>If you’re interested in learning more…</b></p><p>If this is something you’re interested in then read about our <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.i-l-m.com/Learning-and-Development/Qualifications-explained/coaching-and-mentoring-qualifications">coaching and mentoring qualifications</a> if you go to this link it will go through the programme in more of a deeper dive take a look at <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.dpgplc.co.uk/what-we-offer/leadership-management.aspx">http://www.dpgplc.co.uk/what-we-offer/leadership-management.aspx</a>.</p><p>Or you could contact us to find out how we can help your organisation benefit from coaching and ask for me, Claire Smeaton my number is 0161 975 7777 or email claire.smeaton@dpgplc.co.uk</p></div>"Coaching & Mentoring Through the Looking Glass"https://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/coaching-mentoring-through-the-looking-glass2014-04-22T11:23:40.000Z2014-04-22T11:23:40.000ZKevin Faulknerhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/KevinFaulkner<div><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1357416?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="540" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1357416?profile=original"></a></p>
<p><font size="3">Key to our success as Coaches’ and Mentors’ is the skill and desire to critically evaluate our practice; Regular periods of self-reflection, viewing ourselves through the mirror, enabling us to make sense of our experiences.</font></p>
<p><font size="3">Thing is, this process and way of thinking doesn’t come naturally to most of us, so what exactly is involved?</font></p>
<p><font size="3">An excellent description of reflection can be found in the Harry Potter novel</font> <i><font size="3">‘The Goblet of Fire’</font></i><font size="3">.</font></p>
<p><font size="3">Dumbledore, chief wizard and head teacher of Hogwarts school, in a conversation with Harry talks of having excess thoughts!</font></p>
<p><i><font size="3">‘Harry stared at the stone basin. The contents had returned to their original, silvery white state, swirling and rippling beneath his gaze.</font></i></p>
<p><i><font size="3">“What is it?” Harry asked shakily. “This? It is called a Pensieve,” said Dumbledore.</font> <font size="3"> </font><font size="3">I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind.”“Err,” said Harry who couldn’t truthfully say that he had ever felt anything of the sort.“ At these times” said Dumbledore, indicating the stone basin, “I use the Penseive. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one’s mind, pours them into a basin, and examines them at one’s leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links</font></i> <i><font size="3">(J.K.Rowling 2000).</font></i></p>
<p><i><font size="3">Critical evaluation therefore requires us to store our thoughts in some way. Our “penseive” will take the form of a diary, reflective log, audio/video recording, or when studying a qualification ,a written assignment.</font></i></p>
<p><i><font size="3">Critical evaluation involves reflexivity, “drilling</font> <font size="3"> </font><font size="3">down” on experiences, making use of models and theories to enable in- depth analysis. Examining</font> <font size="3"> </font><font size="3">situations from differing perspectives and identifying any resultant new thinking which can be applied to future situations.</font></i></p>
<p><i><font size="3"> </font></i><i><font size="3">Everything about us, our personality, beliefs, values, behaviours have an origin somewhere. Critical evaluation gives us the opportunity to challenge ourselves, enabling growth and develops understanding. </font><font size="3"> </font></i></p>
<p><i><font size="3"> </font></i><i><font size="3">For those of you studying a qualification, I have included links to documents published by University of Portsmouth and University of Wolverhampton, which will prove useful.</font></i></p>
<p><i><font size="3"> </font></i><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.port.ac.uk/media/contacts-and-departments/student-support-services/ask/downloads/Reflective-writing---a-basic-introduction.pdf"><i><font color="#0000FF" size="3">http://www.port.ac.uk/media/contacts-and-departments/student-support-services/ask/downloads/Reflective-writing---a-basic-introduction.pdf</font></i></a></p>
<p><i><u><font color="#0000FF" size="3"> </font></u></i><i><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/PDF/LS006%20Guide%20to%20Reflective%20Writing.pdf"><font size="3">http://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/PDF/LS006%20Guide%20to%20Reflective%20Writing.pdf</font></a></i></p>
<p><font size="3">Critical examination is similar to the work of a film critic.</font></p>
<p><font size="3">If you embark on regularly reviews of the movie of your life as a coach/mentor so far; what do you identify with, what patterns do you see emerging? How does this make you think and feel?</font> <font size="3">What changes would you like to make?</font></p>
<p><font size="3">You might not like what you see, hear or feel, however if we develop our emotional intelligence and accept what we discover the rewards are endless.</font></p>
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