Self-Reflection Log

Self-Reflection Log

During your coaching and mentoring experience, you are required to complete a self-reflection log of your experiences and obstacles. This log will be a helpful component to evaluating and modifying the overall coaching/mentoring experience. Please respond to each response with a minimum of 100 words.

Topic 1:

Describe how you will use your personal qualities to contribute to your coaching or mentoring abilities.

I consider that I am great communicator and that I can provide my mentee with many learning opportunities that will help him approach his associations with others in a more assertive approach, and learn to use soft skills to provide constructive feedback to his followers. I also can help him to be objective in terms of presenting his followers with clear expectations that way they actually know what he wants and are not left to guess what is expected of them. I can also help him to present himself as a considerate person and not ask from others what he would not do.

How do these qualities serve as a value to your mentee?

These qualities will serve my mentee because he currently lacks many of those skills. He cannot expect to enter in the corporate world not being able to communicate accordingly. Also, given the nice person he is, I consider that he can benefit from expressing himself better, because some people take him the wrong way due to his communication skills. Moreover, as a professional that will litigating corporate cases he needs to have proper manners when it comes to approach different individuals; otherwise his behavior can be misinterpreted by many of his colleagues and followers. Lastly, these qualities serve him to present a more clear message to his audience, as I have noticed that he does tailor his message for his audience, he uses language that he expect everybody to understand and more than once I have to remind him that he is not talking to a colleague, he is talking to a friend. In all these skills will help him improve as a professional and a human being.

How do you establish trust with your family? With your friends? With your coworkers? Is this an important factor to establish in the mentor/mentee relationship?

I consider that trust is one of the most relevant aspects of any relationship. Therefore, establishing trust requires of the following approaches. To build trust a person needs to be open and honest as much as possible without being rude, because they idea of being honest is not hurt other people feelings. I am also honest to admit that I do not know everything and that I have many defects by that I am willing to work on correcting them and improving my associations with others. Another approach to get trust is that I am consistent in terms of establishing proper expectations that way people know what is expected of them, the same way I praise someone, I can also provide that person with constructive feedback. Next, I never promise things I cannot deliver, nor ask others to do something I will not do for them, Therefore, I rather telling family, friends or coworkers that I cannot be in certain place or complete a request up front, rather than disappointing them at the last minute because I did not keep my work. Lastly, apologizing is also a significant component when it comes to building trust, because a person needs to be confident enough to tell others when he/she has been wrong, that way the other person will feel that they can trust you and tell you when they have made a mistake. All these strategies can be implemented at a personal and professional level and allow that people communicate in a more confident manner as they can trust each other.

Topic 2:

What personal qualities do you prefer in those individuals you seek to coach or mentor? Are there different qualities more suitable for coaching than mentoring or the vice-versa?

How difficult is it to select a person to coach or mentor who possesses the qualities for which you are looking? What could you do in your workplace to identify potential mentee opportunities?

How do you decipher goals that are short-term verses long-term? As you are working with your mentee, how do you guide the mentee through developing short-term and long-term goals that would meet the mentee's vision?

Topic 3:

Reflect on two coaching techniques selected to support the short-term and long-term goals of your mentee. Why were these techniques selected and how can they help your mentee achieve success?

Reflect on two mentoring techniques selected to support the short-term and long-term goals of your mentee. Why were these techniques selected and how can they help your mentee achieve success?

How did you decide which technique(s) to use with your mentee? How do these techniques account for both your and your mentee's values and beliefs? What ethical considerations did you have to account for in developing your Individual Development Plan?

Topic 4:

How important is the Individual Development Plan in meeting the goals of your mentee?

List a minimum of three activities you could present to your mentee. Reflect on your decision to use these activities to meet the vision for your mentoring experience.

How could you incorporate leadership skills into your mentoring experience that demonstrate kindness, compassion, and the good of the organization and the community?

How do you distinguish between coaching activities and mentoring activities? Label your activities as either coaching or mentoring opportunities.

Topic 5:

How can coaching activities benefit the culture in your work environment? Is it beneficial to develop activities individually or as a group activity? How can you leverage on an individual's knowledge, strength, and skills to create a positive outcome for the individual and work environment?

Describe the follow-up schedule you will use with your mentee. Does it support the activities listed in the Individual Development Plan? Does it require modifications or adjustments? Explain.

Are there ethical considerations (e.g., culture, religion, personal beliefs, etc.) that must be considered when preparing activities for an Individual Development Plan? Discuss potential considerations and how to ensure you have developed an experience that meets the needs of your particular mentee.

Topic 6:

Discuss possible strategies to hold your mentees accountable for the activities and to reach both short-term and long-term goals. How can these strategies support the growth process?

Reflect on the evaluation and observation process of the mentoring experience. Discuss the importance of evaluating your mentees prior to setting goals. What advantages and disadvantages come with the evaluation and observation process?

Topic 7:

As a mentor, how do you feel about the progress your mentee made toward the achievement of the goals?

How does your mentee feel about the progress made toward the achievement of the goals?

Topic 8:

In a brief reflection (250-500 words), discuss the feedback you received on your Mentor Evaluation. Reflect on the development of your Individual Development Plan, its success, and the results for your mentee. Was this process rewarding? What were your strengths and weaknesses as a mentor? If you had it to do over again, what specific elements would you change? If you would not change anything, explain why?