Coaching & Mentoring Programs
Grow your leadership pipeline ahead of organisational need - coaching, mentoring and succession planning
Great organisations don’t just hire capability, they grow it and pass it on. We help you develop people through structured coaching, mentoring and succession pathways that strengthen judgement, confidence and leadership readiness over time. From supporting new leaders to retaining experienced experts, we design systems that transfer knowledge, accelerate development and prepare the next layer before you need it.
Our Approach
We treat coaching, mentoring and succession planning as one connected system, not separate HR initiatives.
We design clear development pathways so people understand what they’re growing towards, experienced staff know how to share what they know, and leaders can see who is becoming ready for greater responsibility. Learning is anchored in real workplace decisions and challenges, not abstract concepts.
What We Help With
- Coaching programs for leaders and specialists
- Mentoring program design and implementation
- Mentor and coach capability training
- Succession and role readiness frameworks
- Governance, evaluation and program measurement
- Support for new leaders and transition roles
- Knowledge transfer and succession mentoring
Mentoring Programs
Mentoring enables one person to help another achieve their potential by sharing experience, listening and guiding. It’s a one-to-one relationship between mentor and mentee based on trust, confidentiality and equality.
The driving force of mentoring is the relationship between the two people involved in the learning process. The underlying effectiveness of the learning process comes from the dynamics and the quality of this relationship. Mutual trust, respect and open communication are the foundations.
Through establishing a consistent approach and style for mentors and mentees based on research, the relationship will typically evolve through four stages.
Initiation: It is important for the two people involved in the relationship to clarify the goals, objectives, process and the length of the engagement. This helps give the engagement a structure and both parties have a common understanding and expectations of the desired outcomes and plan of action.
Cultivation: Guided by the objectives, the two parties work together to determine and carry out the plan of action and build the mentor-mentee relationship. Actions and activities may include such things as: dialogue, observation, role plays or brain storming.
Separation: At this stage, the two parties decide to end the mentor-mentee engagement, hopefully because they agree that the mentee has met the task or skill objectives set at the outset.
Re-definition: At this stage, the two parties seek the answer to the question “how are we going to be now?” To avoid false expectations or disappointment, they discuss the nature of their relationship moving forward.
Every mentorship should include an evaluation process. If the mentee completed a self-assessment at the beginning, the results can be used to do a final appraisal of how the mentee grew. The evaluation should always be put in writing, to give the mentorship finality and formality. There should be an opportunity for both the mentor and mentee to say what they would do differently next time, what worked, and what didn’t.
Fostering an effective relationship between the mentor & mentee
In order to facilitate the relationship between the mentor and mentee and create greater understanding of the different work styles, different psychometrics can be used to indicate the different styles and approaches that the mentor and mentee may take to problems.
Mapien has a team of Psychologists who are accredited in a number of different tools and will work to ensure any programs are tailored to incorporate the preferred tools of the client.
Mapien recommends a co-design approach to help identify the tools that best align with existing activities already undertaken to ensure the program is tailored appropriately. This process has been very successful in several mentor programs and has helped facilitate greater understanding between the parties at the start of the relationship.
More Workplace Psychology Services
Frequently Asked Questions
How do coaching, mentoring and succession planning fit together?
Coaching builds individual capability, mentoring transfers experience and judgement, and succession planning connects development to future roles. Together they create readiness instead of last-minute replacement.
When should we start succession planning?
Earlier than most organisations expect. Succession works best as an ongoing development process, not a reaction to resignation, retirement or restructure.
Our mentoring program started informally. Can it be structured without losing authenticity?
Absolutely. Structure clarifies purpose and expectations while keeping conversations natural and supportive.
What if we don’t have enough future leaders yet?
That’s exactly where these programs help. They create deliberate exposure, learning and confidence so capability grows over time rather than appearing only when vacancies arise.
How do you make sure knowledge isn’t lost when experienced staff leave?
We build mentoring and transition processes that capture practical judgement and context, the things that rarely exist in procedures but matter most in real decisions.