Mentoring
A Mentoring cycle
Via The Coaching Habit: 7 Great Questions
1: The Kickstart Question – What’s on your mind? This is how we begin our conversations in a way that is focused and open.
2: The AWE Question – And what else? Asking this question, “And what else?” works as a self-management tool for us as the coach and as a boost for the other six questions.
3: The Focus Question – What’s the real challenge here for you? As the question implies, this question begins to funnel the topic in a way that focuses the conversation. It works in conjunction with the next question.
4: The Foundation Question – What do you want? This question takes us to the heart of the matter so that our attention is on what really matters.
5: The Lazy Question – How can I help? By asking this question, we learn what the person wants our role to be. (e.g., listener, supporter, encourager, etc.)
6: The Strategic Question – If you are saying Yes to this, what are you saying No to? Saying YES more slowly means being willing to stay curious before committing.
7: The Learning Question – What was most useful for you? The Learning Question pairs with the Kickstart Question to make what Stanier calls the Coaching Bookends – ensuring conversations with you are of high value.
A bit more structure
- Work to understand and define the mentee’s goals
- Ask questions about the big picture
- Be consistent in offering your time
- Keep an open mind to problem solving
- Make Referrals
- Remember that it’s not about you
- Practice active listening
- Maintain confidentiality
Learning Ruby
Paid: The Rails Tutorial book by Michael Hartl has been a long-time great resource, and is up to date with Rails 7.
Free: The Odin Project has a Rails track that starts with a Ruby foundation before moving on to Rails, and then Javascript.