I think
it’s important for someone to have a professional mentor and/or coach during
their professional journey. Recently, I read a case study for this class (Hauser,
2009) of an executive coaching program. In this article an example was given of
an employee named Lee that wanted to succeed professionally but didn’t know
how. The article starts by explaining the executive program coaching in the
concept of the “Bridge to Success”. The first of four phases is the Jump Start
concept that helps you understanding who you are and where you are now
professionally. After meeting with a professional coach for the first time, Lee
was able to learn who he is as a person, how others perceive him, what it takes
to go up in the organization today and in the future, and so on. Through
different interviews and surveys the coach got a clear idea and understanding
of who Lee is, what his values and interests are, what drives his professional
passion, and how he interacts with fellow coworkers.
The
second phase was Goal Setting. Once you know you are as a whole, its good to
know, understand and/or have an idea of who you want to be and/or where you
want to be in the future. Therefore, it is important to set goals that align to
your values and interests. The third phases consists of Real-World Application.
Basically, it’s putting what you have learned about yourself and your desire to
be where you want to be into the world and begin working towards your future
and goals. As a great example, the article talked about how Lee practiced with
his coach different scenarios of things his boss might ask him. When it came
time to talk to his boss, Lee was able to express himself clearly. In other
words, he was able to begin applying what he had learned about himself and his
desire to continue growing with the company to the real world. The last phase
is Learning and Achievement Measurement. This is phase is about tying
everything together to get an overall view to see if the coaching program was
effective or not and if the individual was able to reach his or her goals. To
me this phase is about getting a sense of who you were and where you were and
seeing how you are now, where you are now, and who you are now.
The
reason behind this summary is because through this article I was able to learn
more in-depth about coaching and what can coaching do for someone. In other
words, this article helped as a wake up call of my desire to prosper and
succeed professionally. In the recent years, all I have been thinking about is
just about finishing school first, educating myself and it feels like I haven’t
been thinking too far ahead or set my goals straight of where I want to be in
the next few years. Not only did this article helped me wake up but it also
gave me an idea of what I could do in order to seek the path towards my future.
I want to be able to set my goals and say this is what I want to achieve in 3
years or less and this is where I want to be in 5 years. In this class, we have
touched on the subject of self-awareness. Even though I have an idea of who I
am, I don’t have a clear understanding of how others see me. Therefore, I think
I’m doing ok but in reality I may not be or I may not be in the right path to
where I would like to be.
It is
very important for me to understand who I am as a person and as a leader just
like Lee did in the article. There are many reasons for me personally and
professionally on why it is so important to have a coach and/or mentor. Such as
for my: personal future, financial stability, career and/or profession’s future,
the leadership experience, help others reach their goals, and also because I
have student loans to pay back. Career-wise it’s important for me to become
aware of who I am, where I am, how others perceive me, what do I want
professionally, what will I do to get there, what have I learned, and if I was
able to reach my goals on the proper time frame I gave myself (Hauser, 2009). In
my opinion, there are many things that define a leader but a good leader will
know when to be a mentor and when to become a coach. Professionally, I would
like to help those around me to succeed the same way I have been able to. So if
one day I’m given the opportunity to lead, coach, and/or mentor someone I will
more than happy and capable of doing it.
Source:
Hauser, L. (2009).
Evidence-Based coaching. OD Practicioner, 41(1), 8-13. Retrieved May 10, 2013,
from http://lsiltd.com/pdfs/evidence-based-coaching.pdf
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