There is no doubt that, for many, personal development and growth in the job have stalled over the past two and a half years as we’ve moved out of the office. So, here are some top tips about how to support your people in the hybrid world through mentoring and coaching.

Listen, don’t tell The first rule is to listen deeply. Don’t tell your mentee what you would do. Try to properly understand what the challenges are that they are facing. Don’t direct them. Try to get them to discover themselves what the solutions might be.

Ask questions “What are your options?”

“What is your gut telling you is the right thing to do?” “How have you solved a situation like this in the past?” “What is the worst thing that could happen?”

Look beneath the surface Consider what might really be going on below the surface with the person you are trying to help. There is a rationale behind every human act but it’s not often the thing which is most obvious. What’s really going on? A reluctance to do something may be because your colleague doesn’t have the skills or the experience to do it, but they might not say that. Unhappiness at work is often unhappiness at home. People tend to do the things that they are comfortable with, rather than the things they may need to do to progress.

Everyday actions Focus on helping your colleague to work out what are the everyday actions they need to do to take small steps towards their goal. Breaking things down is the key to progress. Big goals are scary. To take the first steps in the right direction you need to point your toes.

Chat without action is delusion Try to agree on clear and simple actions, which your colleague is going to take as a result of your conversation. Write them down so that you can review progress the next time you both talk. Ask the question: “How are we going to know that we’ve made progress?”

These top tips work well in the face-to-face world as well as the hybrid world. While logistics might determine that you meet your mentor online, the quality of the conversation will be so much better if you can also meet in person for a coffee. This is especially true at the start, in the middle and at the end of a set of mentoring conversations. Most of all, remember: if you do these conversations well, they will make the world of a difference. Talking things through with a mentor is an essential not a luxury if we’ve to maximise performance in the hybrid world.

Jeremy Campbell is people & business transformation expert and CEO of Black Isle Group

Image credit | iStock