During the Q&A of a recent Christian Coaching Resources teleseminar, questions were posed about mentor coaching. What is it? And why would a coach hire a coach?
What is mentor coaching?
Traditionally, a coach hires a mentor coach to be coached in one or all of the following focus areas:
- Personal coaching for the mentee
- Starting and building a coaching business or ministry
- Developing coaching skills further beyond coach training
However, when a coach is applying for credentials with the International Coach Federation (ICF), the required mentor coaching is to be focused on developing coaching skills. For more on the ICF mentor coaching qualifications, click here.
Why would a coach hire a coach?
On the same day we had this discussion in the Q & A, I came across an excellent post called “Why Coaches Need Coaching.” It says the answer to “do coaches need coaching to be great?” is a resounding “yes.” Mentor coaching is all about learning and progressing as a coach.
Andrea Sharb, author of the post, says that when new coaches experience coaching they “learn what it is like to partner with a coach. They learn about opening up to what they often describe initially as vulnerability. They experience the power of coming up with their own solutions without someone telling them what to do. Through this practice they learn to be coaches…”
To learn more about Ms. Sharb’s personal journey as a new coach being coached read the article here.
Linda Hedberg is a mentor coach in the areas of personal coaching, coaching business startup and coaching skills development for prospective and new Christian coaches. She is a member of the ICF Mentor Coach Registry. She is the author of The Complete Guide to Christian Coach Training – 2014. Contact Linda today if you are interested in working with her as your coach.