Mentoring Procedure
Each student gets 3 hours of individual mentoring and 7 hours of group mentoring.
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Group mentoring
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The group mentoring is built into the training sessions and happens for 30 minutes at the end of 14 out of the 16 sessions.
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If students miss sessions they are able to access four additional one hour slots that are offered in the final month of the course. Two of these slots are in the evenings and two during working hours.
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If they do not attend these additional slots then additional sessions can be arranged subject to the fee outlined in their training agreement.
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Individual mentoring
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Each student is allocated their mentor (Helen Johnson – as the course expands it is anticipated there will be more than one mentor working at the organisation) at the beginning of the course and remains with the same mentor throughout.
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Mentors provide a booking link that enables the student to book sessions subject to the hours they make available within their diary (Calendly is the preferred software for this).
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Students are sent an email explaining what mentoring is, how many sessions they need to book in, that these sessions should be spaced about a month apart, and how to book using the link. Students are asked to book all sessions at the same time and told that any changes should be made with at least 3 working days notice.
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Allocate the same number of students to each mentor (unless it's otherwise specified). Make sure you've co-ordinated with the mentors to get their latest booking link and let them know when you are sending out the emails so they know to expect bookings!
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If they fail to attend a session without giving 72 hours notice they are charged a fee in accordance with their training agreement. Written representations can be made by the student to request a waiver of this and will be considered on a case by case basis.
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Process during mentor sessions
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Sessions are student led and the students lead on what to focus on. Students are informed on what mentoring is and isn’t (for example, it is not a place to discuss business development and instead focuses on the ICF competencies and coaching as a skill).
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Group mentor sessions follow practice within the training. Students are invited to reflect on the practice in light of the competencies. The mentor may also identify themes that arose in the practice and partner with students on whether to focus in on these themes. Students are also invited to ask questions about: them as a coach, their practice and client relationships, case studies outside of the training sessions.
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Students are encouraged to participate in conversational style whereby they directly converse with other students as opposed to deferring to the mentor to lead the discussion.
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Individual mentor sessions (as well as additional group sessions outside of the training modules, which therefore do not follow a period of practice) focus on: them as a coach, their practice and client relationships, case studies outside of the training sessions. Students are asked to prepare what they want to talk about, including making notes of issues arising between sessions.
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During group sessions students are encouraged to add their questions to the ‘chat’ (group messenger) so that the mentor can see what students would like to cover and can manage time accordingly, as well as identifying shared themes.