For over 4 years now I coach and mentor fellow designers to help them grow, work better together and execute their jobs faster. I always do this following my personal coaching beliefs. The combination of pragmatic honesty and guided freedom helps me as a clear set of guidelines to get the most out my team.
I'm a pragmatic man, always looking to find an efficient way to solve a problem or situation. This comes back often while coaching team members and mentees. I analyse the situation and show them a honest and pragmatic view on what's happening and the various relevant factors involved. With this image the team member can work out their options.
This might feel somewhat cold, however by acknowledging a situation and showing compassion. And directly after that reflecting a clear emotionless image of a situation helps them step up and out of the maze. This way they are able to see clearly the various routes they can pursue to solve a problem.
The second ingredient is Guided Freedom. I give my team members freedom to solve problems on their own, they are professionals, so they can. However when spotting opportunities for a better, more efficient solution I might guide them to explore options in that direction.
This combination of inspiration and freedom gives space to explore and go further than a single individual can do by them selves. It becomes a cooperation that seeds new ideas.
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