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Mentor or Coach?
Tools to aid personal & professional development
Coaching and Mentoring
There are times in all our lives when support, encouragement or just having a “sounding board” would help propel us into a new and exciting phase in our lives.
Until fairly recently the use of coaches and coaching was deemed to be used for those in the upper echelons of an organisation. Times change and the value of coaching for staff at various levels of an organisation is now being seen as vital in retaining and progressing staff, particularly those from under-represented groups. It is also seen as a skill that an effective manager or supervisor should possess.
So what is coaching?
There are a variety of different definitions of coaching circulating within the profession, human resource specialist and academia. For example the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) defines coaching as;-
“Developing a person’s skills and knowledge so that their job performance improves, hopefully leading to the achievement of organisational objectives”.
Whereas Coaching-uk.org.uk says that coaching is
“..The process of identifying an individual’s desires talents, dreams, and giving them the confidence and skills to achieve their goals and aims”.
What about Mentoring?
Mentoring has been used in various guises in the workplace for many years, e.g. apprenticeships, together with a plethora of mentoring programmes within the public and private sector. Seen in its purest state as the older and more experienced employee guiding, developing, and albeit, “training“ a junior employee into the role.
As with coaching there are numerous definitions for this developmental tool.
Eric Parsloe, from the Oxford School of Coaching and Mentoring says
“Mentoring is to support & encourage people to manage their own learning in order to maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance & become the person they want to be”.
However the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development say that mentoring is
“essentially a supportive form of development. It focuses on helping the individual manage their career & improve their skills. And that mentoring activities have both organisational and individual goals.”
Which developmental tool is appropriate for you?
As an experienced coach and mentor, who has discussed this issue with some colleagues across the country, the lines between the two can easily merge and crossover and this can be beneficial to the recipient. However, it’s important that boundaries and a contract is agreed for this professional relationship, in order that is effective and achieves its objective.
For anyone considering using a coach or mentor it is essential to find an individual who possesses the skills, knowledge and experience you require. But equally important is that your chosen coach/mentor is someone you feel comfortable with and feel you can trust.
To start off ask yourself the following questions:-
- What am I good at?
- What do I need to work on?
- What/who could help me along?
- What might stop me?
Now depending on your answers or your ability to answer the questions at all, will then provide some steer as to whether a coach, or mentor or a coach-mentor can help you move on personally and/or professionally.
The stark reality is that it is an individual’s responsibility to manage their own development, the adage “you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink” is very true.
If you are happy and content with the way your life and career are going, GREAT, if not then as the title of a book written by inspirational international speaker & author Paul McGee says with his direct and challenging approach “S.U.M.O. (Shut Up, Move On) or if a subtler approach suits your personality and situation then as Susan Jeffers discusses in her offering “Feel the Fear and do it anyway”.
About the author
Name: Marcia Ore
Website: http://www.more-2-life.com
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