How to be a Mentor/Coach

Source: Journal of Accountancy

In this article, Rita Keller (COO of Brady Ware, an Ohio/Indiana regional CPA firm) talks about combining mentoring and coaching, and asserts that “firms with strong cultures that facilitate continual learning through well-communicated mentoring and training programs have the best chance of survival.”

Traditionally in accounting firms mentors helped new people by:

• Introducing them.
• Getting them involved in work assignments.
• Involving them in training programs and marketing initiatives.

Now mentoring includes coaching—helping protégés learn job skills. (See International Mentoring Association.)

Millennials (those born after 1980) expect firms to have learning cultures. They are geared for success and they want it to happen quickly.

Here are some guidelines for mentor/coaches:

• Conduct sessions in a non-threatening setting. Ask the protégé to suggest the best place.
• Create an agenda in collaboration with the protégé. Clarify what the protégé wants and expects.
• Use your listening skills in communicating. It’s okay to disagree.
• Ask the protégé to summarize the meeting and create an action plan. This will set the stage for the next session.

For the complete article, click here, select August 2008, then select “Make the Most of Mentoring.”

From Journal of Accountancy, August 2008, American Institute of CPAs (www.aicpa.org) p. 76.

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