Provide Mentoring Support to
a Colleague
Establish a
relationship
1.
2.
3.
Apply effective
communication
styles to develop
trust, confidence and
rapport
Agree on how the
relationship will be
conducted
Clarify and discuss
expectations
Offer mentoring support
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Assist mentee to identify and evaluate
options to achieve agreed goals.
Share personal experiences and
knowledge with the mentee.
Encourage mentee to make decisions
and take responsibility for the courses
of action under consideration.
Provide supportive advice and
assistance in a manner which allows
the mentee to retain responsibility for
achievement of their own goals.
Change and discuss the mentoring
relationship.
Make any adjustments to the
relationship taking into account the
needs of both mentor and mentee.
‘Behind every successful person,
there is one elementary truth:
somewhere, somehow, someone
cared about their growth and
development . This person was
their mentor’
Dr Beverley Kaye, Up is Not the
Only Way, 1997
Mentor = Trusted friend or
advisor
Mentoring Purposes
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Professional Development
Accreditation
Updating
Fast tracking
Roles in Sport
Education
Presenter
Assessor
Mentor
Some Characteristics of a
Good Mentor
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Approachable and welcoming
Shares information and experiences openly
Good communication skills
Trustworthy
Provides accurate and appropriate feedback
Technical expertise
Motivating, encouraging, positive and
empowering
Allocates appropriate time to mentoring
Sensitive to the needs of the coach/official
Some Characteristics of a
Good Coach/Official (in a
mentoring relationship)
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Drives the process and take responsibility for solving
problems, personal growth and development
Motivated and willing to develop a good relationship
Listens and accepts guidance and feedback
Sets realistic and appropriate goals
Reliable, trustworthy and maintains confidentiality
Looks to be challenged
Flexible and open to new ideas
Shows initiative and enthusiasm but has reasonable
expectations
Recognizes, acknowledges and appreciates mentor
Mentoring Roles
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Coach
Facilitate
Counsel
Sponsor
Support
Pros & Cons of Mentors
as Assessors
PROS
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Knows coach’s/official’s abilities
Coach/official may feel more
comfortable
Mentor can modify sessions to
prepare coach/official for
assessment
Mentor can assess over a longer
period of time
Fewer people are required in the
process
CONS
• Coach/official may feel
threatened during the mentoring
process knowing that their
mentor will assess them
• The mentor may not be
sufficiently independent to make
a fair and valid assessment
• It may hinder working
relationship
Strategies for Mentors who
are Assessing
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Understand why you are assessing, ie for improvement
Be open and up front about your dual role
Discuss the possible conflicts of the dual role
Be clear, and make it clear, what role you are playing at any given
time
Seek regular feedback from the coach/official on both roles
Use an independent assessor if needed
Keep accurate and thorough assessment documentation
Skills Mentors Require
Role

Assessment of participant
Skills Required
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Have sufficient knowledge of what is being assessed
Establish impartiality
Create a supportive environment
Assess what the coach/official can do, not what you think
they can
Give accurate and concise feedback
The Mentoring Process
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Goal setting
Observation
Analysis
Providing feedback
Action planning
Review
Foundations for
successful mentoring
relationships

Develop and communicate clear goals
and expectations at the beginning

Set the ground rules and develop an
agreement

Clarify the roles of the mentor and
mentee

Work out when and how feedback will
occur
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Review the relationship at regular
intervals
Goal Setting
Two-way process of
mentoring

‘Mentoring is a twoway process in which
both mentor and
coach benefit from
the networking,
sharing of ideas and
interaction that can
lead to lifelong
friendship and
betterment of the
sport’
Adapted from the Lacrosse Case study
Setting the ‘Ground Rules’
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Time & place to
meet
Phone calls at
home?
Scope of
feedback and
assistance
Preferred learning
style
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Formal versus
informal
Roles and
responsibilities
Consider what
level of
commitment you
are prepared to
make
Empowerment
‘Mentoring is a process rather than
an event; mentors must see
themselves as managers of a
process, rather than just passing
on knowledge.’
(Galvin, 1998)
Empowerment
Who is ‘driving’ the
mentoring
relationship
- the mentor or the
coach/official?
Empowerment
scenarios
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Scenario 1: Your mentee has not
contacted you for two months
Scenario 2: Your mentee is having
trouble with one of their athletes and
asks you to intervene
Scenario 3: Your mentee has just ‘failed’
their assessment (you were not the
assessor). The mentee thinks that they
were ‘hard done by’ and wants you to
speak to the assessors.
Empowering the
coach/official
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Communicate openly
Encourage them to take
responsibility for
achieving their goals
Give them space and
time to complete tasks
Guide and counsel as
they reach final stages
of tasks
Help them to learn from
mistakes
Help them to work out
the answer, rather than
just telling them
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Give constructive,
critical advice – but
don’t expect to solve all
their problems for them
Introduce them to other
people who might be
able to help them
Give them responsibility
and monitor progress
Build confidence
through ‘extraordinary’
activities
Observation checklist

Discuss the sample observation checklist with
your mentee.
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Check if there are areas that the mentee wants
you to look at specifically (identify potential
‘weak’ areas)
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Add any sport specific ‘technical’ aspects
Why use questions???
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To eencourage group
interaction
To hhelp maintain
interest and stimulate
thought
To hhelp facilitate
learning by involving
coach/official
To defuse potential
confronting situations
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To allow individuals
the opportunity to get
some feedback on
what they want to
know
To create a
discussion
To redirect a
discussion
To obtain feedback
Techniques for asking
questions
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Keep them simple (one idea per question,
simple language, short)
Pause and give the other person a chance to
reflect and answer
Prompt (repeat or paraphrase the question,
recall information related to the question)
Deal with wrong answers in a sensitive and
constructive way
Use of appropriate
questions
What questions might be appropriate in the following situation?
Situation: The coach/official has difficulty articulating their needs/goals for
the mentoring relationship. What questions might you, as the mentor, ask?
Possible Questions:
 What do you want to get out of this relationship?
 Do you feel there is more that you are after from me as a
mentor? If so, what?
 How can I, as your mentor, better cater for your needs?
 Can we discuss what you would like to accomplish by the
end of the year?
Use of appropriate
questions
Develop a list of appropriate questions you might use if you were a mentor
faced with the following situations:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The coach/official has stated that they don’t have enough
time to contribute to the relationship.
The coach/official is geographically isolated from the mentor
and other coaches/officials in their sport.
The coach/official has provided feedback to the mentor that
they find the mentor ‘overpowering’.
The coach/official does not listen to feedback from the
mentor and appears arrogant
The coach/official is angry because they feel that the mentor
‘put them down’ in front of their athletes
How to give feedback
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Encourage openness
Praise good work
Make feedback timely
State your feedback in a
manner that conveys respect
and support
Keep comments related to the
task not the person
Focus on specific behaviours
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Address areas of strength and
weakness identified by the
person
Ensure comments are clear and
understood
Support negative feedback with
specific examples and facts
Link negative feedback to
actions for improvement
Reasons for failure of
feedback
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Person perceives little benefit
Person perceives too much time and
energy expenditure with little result
Person uncomfortable with face to face
communication
Mentor not skilled in the process of
giving and receiving feedback
Receiving feedback
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Listen objectively
with-out
interrupting
Take feedback as
advice, not as a
personal attack
Summarise
feedback to ensure
you have
understood
• Take a problem solving
approach
• Discuss suggestions for
improvement
• Thank the person giving the
feedback
• Practise to improve
• Review again to check that
things have improved
Components of quality
training
teaching/
learning
methods
facilities to meet
course requirements
curriculum
course monitoring
and evaluation
Competency
Standards
quality of presenters
quality of presenters
&
Assessment Criteria
articulation and
credit transfer
RPL process
access and
equity
entry
requirements
quality of
presenters
educational/
instructional design
of materials
student feedback
mechanisms
integration of onand-off the job
components
quality of
assessors
valid and reliable onand-off the job
assessment
How can you improve as a
coach/official?
Learning
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Evaluating
• External review
• Peer assessment
• Player evaluation
• Self evaluation
• Diary
• Mentoring
• Video self analysis
Studying
Reading
Observing
Discussing
Practising
• Gaining
experience as
a coach/official
The self reflection
process
Action
Planning
for
change
Self
reflection
Recognition
of things to
improve
Self reflection methods
Coaching/Officiating Diary
 Simple
 Focuses your thinking
 Long term
perspective
Mentoring
 Social and interactive
 Feedback and advice
 Guided self reflection
Video Self Analysis
 See yourself as others see
you
 Accurate and detailed
 Can be sent to a distant
mentor
Key aspects of coaching
Communicating
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How good are your people skills?
How well do you relate to your athletes?
Teaching
• How good are you at
developing your athlete’s
fitness, skills and
strategic understanding?
Managing
• How good are you at
organising and supervising
training sessions?
Key aspects of
officiating
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Control
Decision making
Communication