Aspects of leadership and coaching when training the “ZukunftsBange”
At the third training session of the future coaches, 20 young adults from companies and universities came together to coach 9th and 10th graders from schools in the Emscher-Lippe area in the “ZukunftsBange” program in preparing for future vocational training. Exchange of experiences as well as aspects of management and coaching were on the agenda in the Science Park Gelsenkirchen.
When she met the coachees, the following questions arose: “What content has worked particularly well so far? What are challenges? What is my group planning for the next meeting? Has anything changed for me since the beginning of the project year?” Everyone quickly got into an intensive conversation about the playful approach of a “ball bearing”: The participants* look from an inner circle to the others in an outer circle, so that there is always a “communication couple” forms. When a question was discussed, the inner circle moved clockwise one person, so that new “pairs” were exchanged for the following question. Very stimulating, focused conversation and fun!
The topic of “leadership” was touched upon in an impulse for the future coaches: Can one “learn” leadership skills? If yes, how does it work? Why might it be important to be a leader? What are leadership qualities? These include: self-perception and self-observation, self-regulation and self-knowledge – all preliminary stages to achieving self-awareness and the experience of self-worth. Becoming clear about when we are in our “comfort zone”, when we get into a state of uncertainty that is associated with stress – all this helps us to deal with our fellow human beings empathetically and creatively, i.e. in the project with the younger coachees. We grow and mature by actively working on our self-leadership. For this we need mindfulness and everyday attention: It starts anew every morning in personal leadership training: “I pay attention to a well-groomed appearance, I ask myself how I’m “on it” (negative, angry or optimistic and thirst for action), I ask myself whether I am well prepared for the day (according to my goals and tasks), I resolve to pay attention to everything, especially what other people are sharing.”
It is helpful to know the principles of successful and agile leadership: Exemplify a culture of error; Set and communicate goals – for yourself and in the team, in the company; Give non-judgmental feedback – be appreciative of every feedback, etc.
The participants are “newcomers” in their companies and in their studies. As coaches in the project, they are responsible for dealing with the students entrusted to them in a beneficial manner. In coaching, they encourage personal initiative and personal responsibility. Training on the subject of “leadership skills” helps them to successfully fulfill their role.
More about the “ZukunftsBange” project: www.zukunftsbande.de
