Hey Manager, Are You Mentoring Or Coaching?

How Mentoring Differs from Coaching

These two concepts vary greatly in setting goals.

Mentor At Work!

Coaching is:

· Interaction is not voluntary.

· Interaction is for a set time.

· Interaction is structured.

· Coach does not necessarily have to be an expert on the coaching topic.

· Interaction is short-termed and focus in one or two areas of development .

· The goal is to produce a relatively immediate change.

Mentoring is:

· Interaction is voluntary

· Relationship is long-term

· Interaction is less structured

· Mentor is regarded as an expert.

· Career development is the overall goal

How to blend the two models for an effective development program for your employees.

Merging them Together

Merging depends on your work environment, the type of development opportunity your employee has and the time you have to give.

Why combine coaching with mentorship?

· Flexibility

· Supervision while acting autonomous

· Employee to determine what they want to develop

· Employee will feel more empowered

· Include other managers in the development process

· Greater satisfaction for you and your employee

Adapting the GROW Model for Mentoring

· Goal: What are your career goals? What do you want to accomplish in the next year?

· Reality: Where are you in relation to your career goal? What are you lacking?

· Options: What are activities you think will help you develop those missing skills?

· Wrap it up: What is your plan? How do you want to go about this?

Focusing on the Relationship

In coaching, the relationship is hierarchical,(you drive the process) Mentoring is a shoulder-to-shoulder type relationship. Mentoring is sharing and guiding your protégé.

Behaviors that help fostering a good relationship between a mentor and a protégé:

· Listening for issues that are not readily disclosed to you.

· Acknowledging and empathizing what is going with your protégé.

· Keeping the relationship professional at all times.

Observing the relationship is as important as keeping focus on the goal. The mentor-protégé relationship is delicate because the employee must see the value of the relationship.