Guidance made easy - Brief Article

Black Enterprise, April, 2001 by Deanna Fay

One, two, three strikes, you're out! Sound familiar? Well, the rules for winning in the business world are quite the opposite. Take coaching and mentoring, for example. In his book, Coaching & Mentoring for Dummies (IDG Books, $19.99), Marty Brounstein concentrates on how to keep players in the game. Coaching & Mentoring helps the business leaders of today's economy guide their employees toward organizational success.

The book is divided into six sections, progressing from a "know what" to a "know how" focus. "Coaching is an approach to management ... a set of skills for managing employee performance to deliver results," explains Brounstein. He explains what the terms "coaching," "mentoring," and "motivating" really mean, and provides advice for putting these goals into play. "Mentoring and developing involves making the effort and showing interest in helping your staff grow in their skills and capabilities. It involves teaching, encouraging, and challenging them to do their best."

This reference guide explores various issues, including employee commitment, performance, and diversity, while maintaining a balanced emphasis on managing the expectations for success of both "coach" and employees. It feeds off the idea of crucially mental and active connections between the business manager and his or her workers. In doing so, it provides methods for consistently staying on top of employees' work. Moreover, the reader is given helpful options for coping with the bumps that will inevitably pop up on the road to business success.

Business scenario examples, work sheets, self-tests, checklists, and the like are scattered throughout the book. At more than 300 pages, Brounstein's straightforward reference guide is bound to motivate any economically determined drum major to successfully coordinate the parade following his or her lead.