Wednesday Wink - How to Build Your Team as a Coach and Mentor

Wink - How to Build Your Teams as Coach and Mentor

2 min read

Posted by Maryann Matykowski on April 26, 2017

A strong team is the key to a flourishing business. If you take control of the reigns and impart all your wonderful years of knowledge upon your staff members, you will be sure to reap the benefits - for years to come! Being a coach and mentor to your staff is an exceptionally important role to practice in growing your business, and building solid team relationships. As an employer, you will need to decide when coaching or mentoring is necessary.You may have a great team already, but remember, they need you to support them in their career. Let's discuss the merits of both mentoring, and coaching!

The Advantages of Mentoring

Mentoring is not the same as coaching.Mentoring is more like guiding a skilled salon professional on their journey, and being their role model. You don’t need todo much to improve their work skills. Your staff member is more prone to simply shadow you. They will pick your brain for thoselittle nuggets of information that take a long time to acquire on their own. Basically, these individuals will ask questions,mimic your actions and verbiage, and become a mini you. Mentoring a team member will also motivate others on your team. When they see that you are taking anactive interest in your staff and business, they will know that you care about them too. The aim is to gently guide them into becoming better, more prospering, and talented individuals. The best way to keep your team engaged is toimplement a mentoring program. As you move through the process, you begin to create an extremely competent team - one that, in return, will honor your business.

Coaching Your Employees

Coaching is altogether different. When you coach your salon professionals, you are teachinghands on skills, and business building techniques.You may have to re-train your staff on how you want things done. This can be both with your newhires, and your seasoned professionals. Coaching can be done by adding extra education to your plan, and bybringing in vendors to do demonstrations for techniques and/or products. You need to actively participatein the growth of the skills that you decide your business wants to provide. This should be apart of your yearly business plan. Take the time to foster the skills you want your team to develop. It will - no doubt - boost your salon business above and beyond your expectations! Importantly, carry out an education strategyand a mentoring program. Adding this to your business plan will set you and your businessapart. Once the word is out, you will attract ambitious future employees, and be on your way to building your 'dream team'.

Maryann Matykowski

Maryann has an accomplished, 30+ year background in the beauty industry. As a cosmetologist she opened her first salon in ’83. She has specialized as an educator since 2006. Maryann knows what it takes to create successful salon businesses and is here to share her experience with you.