COACHING AND MENTORING TO BUILD INFORMAL COMMUNICATION NETWORKS

Successful cultures make sure that employees are given opportunities both to grow their talents and to cultivate organizational connections. One of the most successful techniques for accomplishing both aims is through a coaching and mentoring program. Connecting employees—especially those with high potential within your organization—with executive coaches helps to broaden and hone those relationships, connects people within the organization, and fosters the exchange of knowledge, information, and resources. The ability to influence others informally across an organization's structure has become increasingly important in today's flatter organizations. Leaders can maximize the human potential of a workforce by placing a high priority on mentoring and developing others. Great leaders understand the value of coaching.

Coaching isn't a one-way street, where leaders have all the answers, but rather a partnership in which both parties share ownership and responsibility. Wise leaders promote coaching and mentoring strategies that forge partnerships by engaging people, fostering collaboration, building strong and effective relationships, managing conflict, opening communication, and inspiring trust. Establishing a coaching and mentoring program to accelerate the cultivation of informal communication networks is an important step in creating a Powerhouse Partner. Such programs provide an opportunity for leaders to role-model the expected behaviors and attitudes they expect in the culture in a highly visible manner.

What exactly is coaching? Coaching is a partnership in which two individuals work together for mutual professional growth. The coach has experience and knowledge in the business that the employee wants to develop and provides input, feedback, and guidelines. Employees offer personal insights into the organization, giving the coach a grounded perspective and up-to-date information about the organization he or she may not otherwise receive. This feedback provides the opportunity for leader coaches to improve their coaching and mentoring skills and to receive feedback from those they coach. In addition to offering a channel to pass information from the top down, this invaluable network allows executives to receive information from the bottom up, from those they can trust. Coaching and mentoring can help boost an organization's efforts to become a partnering organization in a variety of ways, including

• Developing professional relationships based on mutual trust, respect, and confidentiality

• Creating an environment in which personal development is valued and encouraged

• Growing an organization's intellectual assets by sharing knowledge, experience, and expertise in formal and informal partnerships

• Utilizing an organization's wealth of diverse ideas, perspectives, and disciplines

• Creating competitive advantage by expanding the potential and capability of each participating employee

• Integrating the partnering process into business relationships, strengthening it as a cultural asset

• Broadening the internal network of an organization by improving cross-functional relationships

Establishing a coaching and mentoring program provides additional benefits for employees, coaches, and mentors, as well as the organization. Table 8 provides a list of them.

Table 8: Benefits of Establishing a Coaching and Mentoring Program

For employees	Empowers and builds trustworthiness Enhances partnering and coaching skills Hones skills and abilities Builds new relationships Gets feedback from various levels within the organization Increases personal satisfaction
For coaches/mentors	Develops skills and abilities to increase professional capabilities Gains insights into the organization's culture, history, myths, and heroes Increases career planning and personal development opportunities Enhances partnering skills Builds new relationships Increases confidence and open communication
For the organization	Promotes internal knowledge sharing Increases teamwork and delivery capabilities Aids succession planning Improves productivity and satisfaction Provides firsthand assessment of individual capabilities Builds a future-focused, interdependent organization

Coaching and mentoring programs help ensure the free flow of information within a business culture. Remember the story of Allen and Malcolm. While Allen took Malcolm under his wing, it was not in a formal mentoring program. Imagine the potential that could have been tapped sooner had the business had in place a systematic coaching and mentoring program. They were lucky that Allen saw the potential in Malcolm and was secure enough in his own position to support him. The change in the production process revolutionized microchip manufacturing.