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Founders and leaders of SMEs commonly use one-to-one coaching and mentoring as a key approach to help them:
Coaching is about unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance.
It is helping them to learn rather than advising them.
In a typical coaching relationship, the coach will make use of tested and tried tools and techniques to facilitate the coachee’s thinking and support them to find their own answers to their challenges and issues.
Coaches do not need to have the same subject matter expertise as their coachees. They have expertise in coaching instead. This is one of its strengths.
As a discipline, coaching draws from areas of study including psychology, sports coaching, and business. A trained coach makes use of tools and techniques from these disciplines to help their coachees achieve their goals.
‘80% of people who receive coaching report increased self-confidence, and over 70% benefit from improved work performance, relationships, and more effective communication skills.’
In a mentoring relationship, the mentor will share their experience, knowledge, and networks to support growth, development, and success of their mentees.
Mentors are a good source of information on the subject matter (e.g. how to grow or sell a business).
Mentors are normally long-term trusted advisors to their mentees.
At Ancora, we believe that founders, leaders and managers of SMEs benefit most from mentors who can make use of coaching techniques that support the growth and development of their mentees and take an approach where both can learn from each other.
If you are considering hiring a coach or mentor, in our opinion, you need the experience of a growth expert – someone who has been on your shoes and understands the challenges you face as your business grows.
We believe you need a mentor who can challenge, advise and support you with their experience and who can add value with their knowledge as well as their networks.
We also believe that, ideally, these mentors are experienced in making use of good coaching tools and techniques while working with you. This is important to support your self-awareness, confidence, and professional growth and development.
At Ancora, over the last 10 years, we have had the privilege to coach
and mentor several hundreds of SME business owners and leaders –
our relationship with them is normally long-term.
We all know that, however well-intentioned we are, we seldom
manage to ring-fence thinking and planning time.
Our coaching and mentoring sessions are focused on helping individuals think in a structured way, come up with new ways to think things through, plan actions that help them achieve their goals and motivate and help them to deliver them.
Through our sessions, we help individuals operate in a more strategic, planned and sustainable way – to the benefit of themselves, their loved ones and their organisations.
Sessions are mentee lead, driven by the needs identified by him or her.
Mentees normally walk away from each session with a clear ‘plan of action’ that meets their needs. Throughout the session, we support, challenge and facilitate their thinking process and help them produce a ‘plan of action’ that is designed and fully owned by themselves.
From our experience, because of this ownership, clients are fully committed to delivering their plans at the right pace.
From experience, one to two hours sessions are the most effective.
Frequency of sessions tends to vary from weekly at most challenging periods to monthly or with long breaks when operating in a more planned way.
From experience, one to two hours coaching or mentoring sessions are the most effective.
Frequency of sessions tends to vary from weekly at most challenging periods to monthly or with long breaks when operating in a more planned way.
Sessions are normally held virtually and we work with mentees from across the globe.
We have a small selected group of experienced mentors and coaches in our team.
We have a small selected group of experienced mentors and coaches in our team.
Some of us have hands on business growth experience and are former CEOs/MDs/Senior Leaders.
Others are specialised and experienced in areas other than business growth – for example in marketing and communications.
Others have strong life coaching experience. Some of us have a mix.
If you would like to work with us, or, if you simply want to better understand the benefits of coaching and mentoring, we’d love to hear from you…
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Ancora Consulting
49 Anchor Brewhouse
50 Shad Thames
London Bridge
London SE1 2LY
