Last
week, I blogged about the common roles on teams – the task-facilitator role and
the relationship-builder role. Defining those roles was just one aspect of what
we studied. The overall subject was the effective use of teams. That correlates
perfectly to what we are studying this week – coaching and mentoring. I am
writing this blog with the assumption that teams are effective. Yes, it is true
that there are those lone wolves out there that probably work best on their own
but, in the professional world, that is most likely the exception and not the
rule. The purpose of this entry is to focus on the smallest team – two: a protégé
and a mentor.
There
were some interesting points that I discovered in my research this week. Some
of these points were included in my class discussion as well. There are two
terms that we have most likely all heard and probably often view as being synonymous.
Leadership coaching and leadership mentoring are related but are actually two
separate things. Perhaps it is because I don’t have any professional experience
in the “real world” yet but until this week I never even considered that those
are two separate concepts. In my class discussion for the week, I highlighted
what I learned from The 5 Hidden Roles of
the Managerial Coach by Robert Banner (2011). Leadership/management
coaching is a task. Just as a coach for a sports team will train, observe,
critique, and correct a player’s action, so, too, will a management coach. In
fact, “[professional] coaching derives from the world of sport. The duties of
the sports coach involve both helping the active person set goals for his own
efforts and assisting him in the process of reaching those goals” (Nielson & Norreklit, 2009, p. 207). Though
we are professionals, we often need objective assistance in setting goals. We
may have unrealistic goals and ideas. They may either be too extreme or too
limiting. A professional coach is responsible for reviewing activities and
creating opportunities for us to reach our goals. Again, this is just like in
sports. Also, just as in the sports world, a coach doesn’t have to have a
strong personal bond with the one being coached. As previously mentioned,
coaching and mentorship are often thought to be synonymous so this is where I
was really intrigued. A complete stranger can act as a professional coach.
Entire corporations are actually built on that idea, actually. Consider
corporate entities such as Deloitte, KPMG, and Accenture. They make hundreds of
millions of dollars be selling their consulting services. Consulting is essentially
coaching. There’s a little more to it than that, of course, but the idea is
solid.
On
the other hand, a mentor enters a long term relationship with the protégé. A
mentor is “an experienced adult who befriends and guides you and shows you the
ropes. It's kind of like having a guide, coach, counselor, teacher, or friend
who believes in your abilities and wants to help you succeed” (Cantore, 1996,
p. 13). Unlike a coach, a mentor is not just present to critique your actions
and provide opportunities for growth. A mentor is there, rather, to shape your
career through encouragement and by setting the example to be followed. Another
stark difference between a coach and a mentor is that a coach serves to guide
your actions toward a specific goal. A mentor, on the other hand, has a more
broad purpose. Consider this. If you are between jobs, you do not require a
coach any more than a hockey player taking an off season requires a coach.
There are no goals. A mentor, however, will support you through your entire
career even as you transition between organizations.
I
don’t want this blog to just mirror my discussion post for the week but one more
idea that I really want to point out is our responsibility in obtaining a
mentor. Susan Colantuono (2013) addresses our role in her TED Talk. Is it
possible to just fall into a protégé role with a good mentor? Of course it is
possible. However, if we wish to advance our careers (and personal lives), it
is incumbent on us to seek out wise counsel. So what should we look for in a
mentor? One of the first things that we should consider is the mentor’s
willingness to be a mentor (Ghislieri, Gatti, & Quaglino, 2009). We cannot
force a professional to mentor us. Another consideration is the level of
experience that the mentor has as a mentor. Granted, everybody has to have a
first time at doing everything. I would personally want to choose a mentor that
has experience with encouraging and motivating. I would prefer someone with a
firm patience.
Being
a Senior Noncommissioned Officer in the Army, I have a wealth of experiencing
both with being coached and coaching. It is built into just about everything
that we do. We are constantly trained and evaluated. We are given direction and
our goals are set for us. Just as my Commander, First Sergeant, and Sergeant
Major coach me, I, in turn, coach my subordinates. I assist in training and
development. Outside of the chain of command, I have my own mentors in life. I
am left wondering, however, if I am a mentor to anybody. I believe it is
possible that I may have my own protégé now that has been seeking my counsel
for a few years. If so, I hope to be the best mentor possible to him.
Barner,
R. (2011). The 5 hidden roles of the
managerial coach. Alexandria: American Society for
Training & Development, Inc.
Cantore,
J. A. (1996). How a mentor can direct your career. Career World, 24(5), 13.
Colantuono,
S. (2013, November). Susan Colantuono: The career advice you probably didn’t
get [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_colantuono_the_career_advice_you_probably_didn_t_get
Ghislieri,
C., Gatti, P., & Quaglino, G. P. (2009). Factors affecting willingness to
mentor. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance,
9(3), 205-219. doi:10.1007/s10775-009-9164-1
Nielsen,
A. E., & Norreklit, H. (2009). A discourse analysis of the disciplinary
power of management coaching. Society
and Business Review, 4(3), 202. doi:10.1108/17465680910994209
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