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Business Coaching—An Investment in Excellence
In addition to technological advancement, NASA is committed to
excellence in human development and has embraced coaching and mentoring
to improve the efficiency, creativity, and capabilities of its
employees.
Unlike a consultant or a mentor, an executive coach is not an
expert in the client’s field and may never have held a job at
their level. The executive coach is an expert in helping
individuals:
- Assess their current situation,
- Define goals,
- Target areas to strengthen or improve.
- Create an effective action plan,
- Understand and overcome barriers that may inhibit progress, and
- Hold the individual accountable for implementing the changes and reaching the goals they desire.
In the coaching relationship the individual being coached is the
expert in defining what they want and what works best for them. The
coach is the objective observer, helping the individual understand where
they may have blind spots, habits, or bias that get in the way of
achieving their goals. The coach is also the catalyst supporting the
individual in taking action, trying new strategies, finding new tools,
and holding them to the plan they established.
NASA’s external and internal coaches are skilled communicators
with demonstrated proficiency in professional development and experience
related to the challenges of public sector leadership.
The focus of executive coaching at NASA is to:
- Address individual and organizational change,
- Support personal transformation and career role transition,
- Foster or cultivate development of leaders, and
- Facilitate the creation of a learning culture.
A business coaching partnership provides the opportunity for an executive to:
- Strengthen performance
- Identify and leverage core strengths
- Relate more effectively with clients and colleagues
- Organize and prioritize professional responsibilities
- Restore the balance between work and personal life
The NASA business coaching process involves four steps:
- Selection of a coach.
- Establishment of a coaching agreement that includes desired goals.
This step may also include some initial assessments that serve as a
baseline for the executive to assess his or her progress.
- Coaching.
- Post-coaching assessments.
To begin the process, individuals should contact the NASA coaching POC
at their Center. A listing of coaching POCs can be found at http://nasapeople.nasa.gov/training/coachmentor/
Mentoring—What Is its Primary Goal?
Mentoring is defined as the process where individuals transfer
organizational knowledge and navigational skills to another person
through teaching, guiding, counseling, and coaching
Mentoring can play a key role in developing one’s career. NASA
wishes to foster a climate of continuous learning and improvement for
its employees through the mentoring process, fostering employee
development and professional growth.
In addition, mentoring will:
- Increase communication throughout the organization
- Support succession planning
- Aid in recruitment and retention of highly skilled Civil Service Employees
- Foster career development and acquisition of knowledge and skills, including technical expertise, relationship building, innovation, risk taking, team building, goal setting and coaching
- Build a greater sense of community
- Foster diversity
There are various types of mentoring:
- Supervisory mentoring,
- Situational mentoring: help just when you need it at the right time;
- Informal mentoring: nurtured over a long period of time;
- Formal mentoring: beginning and end—structured around training, tools, and programs, etc.
How Does the Program Work?
Participants commit to meet with each other 2–4 hours a month
in a one-year formal mentoring partnership, or in an as needed informal
or situational mentoring.
Mentors serve in several roles and have various
characteristics—People Oriented, Good Motivator, Effective
Teacher/Coach, Achiever, Takes pride in NASA and understands its
mission.
Mentees, with the guidance of their mentor, set their
goals in a written action plan and take an active role in carrying out
that plan. Mentees are eager to learn and are team players
Supervisors attend the Joint Orientation Session and
meet with mentors and mentees to provide collaboration input &
sign-off on the Mentoring Action Plan (MAP).
To read more about the mentoring program, visit http://nasapeople.nasa.gov/training/coachmentor/ and/or call the HQ
Mentoring Coordinator, Sherry McAllister on 358-1633.
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