Who We Are

City of Wolverhampton Council

Welcome to starting your coaching/mentoring journey with the Public Sector Coaching and Mentoring Pool!
Working with a coach or mentor can make a profound impact on performance and confidence. Coaching and mentoring are proven to help enhance performance and the speed at which it is achieved.

A coach will help you through raising awareness; looking at different perspectives to enable you to think things through in ways you couldn’t do on your own and a mentor does this through sharing their experience and expertise. It could be an hour of focussed discussion, or over a number of short sessions. If you have something you want to accomplish at work consider working with a coach or mentor to help you get there.

Coaching from the pool involves working 1 to 1 with someone who can help you look at how you need to be in your role as well help you establish what you need to do. Coaching can support if you want to:

  • make a change, no matter how big or small
  • think through decisions or re-imagine the future
  • constructively review and enhance your approach and working style
  • improve working relationships
  • develop your resilience

If you are looking for someone with relevant skills to help your thinking so you can develop, then coaching could be right for you.

Mentoring from the pool involves working 1 to 1 with someone who has skills or experience you want to develop yourself in, such as gaining;

  • practical advice or to deepen your technical knowledge
  • understanding of how a service area or organisation works
  • knowledge about how to work strategically or politically to get the job done
  • a way to develop your networks

If you are looking for some development from someone with credibility and experience to support your professional development, then mentoring maybe right for you.

Accessing trained and accredited coaches and mentors from the range of organisations represented within the West Midlands Pool offers a unique opportunity to focus on specific issues within a professional and confidential setting with someone from an external environment.  It enables reflection, promotes understanding and brings forward fresh insights to reach the desired outcomes.

Who could benefit?

If you fall into one of the following categories you will be given priority access to coaching or mentoring from the pool:

  1. Individuals who are involved and leading staff through transformation and change programmes – to support transition and effective change management
  2. Individuals taking on something new, including those who…
    have taken on new responsibilities or different job
    • are starting a new project or service review
    • moved to or taking on a new team
    • are new to the organisation
    • are new to management
  3. Individuals returning from a period of long-term leave (i.e. sickness, maternity, career break)
  4. Individuals who are looking to develop different leadership/management styles improve communication style, relationships with colleagues, motivating others and building staff morale

Accessing a coach/mentor

You will need to discuss with your line manager to see if coaching and mentoring will benefit you and ideally this should be part of your appraisal or one to one. If it is agreed that coaching is a suitable intervention, you will be asked to register as a coachee on the online matching site, if mentoring then register as a mentee. You’ll be invited to complete a registration form and outline what you are looking to gain from engaging with a coach/mentor. Your request will then be reviewed and you will be given access to search for a coach or mentor from the pool.
For further information please speak to Chloe Elwell: chloe.elwell2@wolverhampton.gov.uk 

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