Living in Norfolk, I’m well used to commuting by train for
work or conferences. So I’ve found
myself in the lucky position of having plenty of time for reading, writing,
working & reflecting. I can’t sleep
on trains I’m afraid...
Today I got up at 05:15 and will get back home around 15
hours later. I’ll have spent over £130
and 7 hours of my day on trains. I won’t
earn a penny from it. Why?
To learn of course!
Learning School
The reason for today’s trip was Sheffield Hallam Business
Schools Coaching & Mentoring Research day.
Each quarter, they run a 6 hour learning day using Open Space. It’s a very inclusive affair so look them up
if you have an interest.
The wonderful thing I find about Open Space is that it never
fails to please or surprise me. Today
was no exception and after wonderfully rich discussions, it’s left me with a
few thoughts around coaching & mentoring :
Social Media & Coaching/Mentoring
So, is there any application for coaching or mentoring using
social media? Perhaps but maybe what is
more meaningful is what method(s) and frequency of engagement do clients
(coachees) find most relevant and supportive?
How is this expectation changing generationally?
E-Mentoring
This segues into the above but if you want to run a
mentoring programme, what are you trying to achieve? It’s easy to develop tools and lose
sight... How can you provide the system
& process for groups & communities to engage in a way that is
meaningful to them?
Pricing & Value in Coaching & Mentoring
It’s funny how little external coaches & mentors discuss
pricing together – what prevents them?
What does it say about the profession?
Beyond that, how do we best demonstrate the value of either as a paid
for professional service?
Disclosure in Coaching & Mentoring relationships
You wouldn’t think one little word could mean so
much... What we disclose to our clients
has potentially enormous implications on the success or failure of the coaching
or mentoring.
These themes give you a sense of the discussions I
participated in – there were at least 8 others that I missed. Over the coming days I’ll try to blog about
each individually.
In the meantime, I’d
love to hear your thoughts or reactions on these subjects.
On the subject of
Learning Journeys, what would you would do with 7 hours of uninterrupted time
at a table on a train?
