Coaching and mentoring
policies
CMI LEVEL 7 COACHING AND MENTORING
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Contents Construct organizational coaching and mentoring polices..................................................................... 2
Coaching and mentoring is a business driver linking individual and strategic performance ............. 2
Identify individual operational responsibilities to lead on coaching and mentoring ......................... 3
How managers can be measured on the effects of their coaching and mentoring ........................... 6
Ethical guidelines to be used in all coaching and mentoring activities ............................................ 10
Construct a policy that offers coaching mentoring for all staff during their employment life cycle 11
Demonstrate how impact, support and recognition of coaching and mentoring is accepted in the
organization .......................................................................................................................................... 14
How coaching and mentoring is used to contribute to the performance of all in the organization 14
The support, internal and external, available for coaching and mentoring activities ...................... 16
How coaches and mentors can be recognized for their contribution to the performance of others
.......................................................................................................................................................... 20
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Construct organizational coaching and mentoring polices
Coaching and mentoring is a business driver linking individual and strategic
performance Coaching and mentoring, whether delivered by internal coaches, line managers or external partners,
can have a lasting, positive impact on an organisation.
But what should an effective coaching and mentoring strategy focus on to have the desired impact?
Well, we belive it needs a dual focus:
High Performance – achieving directly measurable business results
Organisational health - “the ability of your organization to align, execute, and renew itself faster than
your competitors… organisational health is about adapting to the present and shaping the future
faster and better than the competition… Healthy organisations don’t merely learn to adjust
themselves to their current context or to challenges that lie just ahead; they create a capacity to learn
and keep changing over time”*
Even in high performing organisations, there’s sometimes tension between Performance and
Health. Sometimes it’s important to invest for the future at the expense of today – sacrificing short-
term results to invest in the business for the longer term. At other times it’s necessary to focus on
short-term performance at the expense of longer-term organisational health, like when overcoming a
crisis or when preparing for an IPO.
Where possible, we believe organisations need to act in ways that build BOTH performance and
health. Sweating the assets too hard for too long might help this quarter’s results but can cause you
problems later. But losing your competitive edge by focusing on projects that build Health won’t work
either.
It’s easy to see how coaching and mentoring can help build health – they often focus on thinking about
the long-term, achieving potential and managing change.
But business leaders don’t always see the link between coaching and mentoring and
performance. When working in a fast-moving environment, held to account for short-term results,
they might be forgiven for viewing coaching and mentoring as a ‘nice to have’.
Leaders often feel that it takes too long to have an impact, requiring more patience on the part of line
managers and coachees than is practical. As leaders we can sometimes be gripped by the urge to bark
“Just ****** do it!” at individuals and teams who taking time to achieve results. And while we know
that a coaching approach might help, we feel we don’t have the time or patience to coach.
But when done well, coaching and mentoring are drivers of short-term performance as well as
organisational health. Coaching can help individuals and teams to come up with solutions that were
there all along but which were not obvious – and which need a different way of doing things. Where
the problem is complex and where different groups of people need to come together to make things
happen, coaching and mentoring for key members of the team can keep projects on time and to
budget – whilst building capability in the team at the same time.
To get the best from coaching and mentoring, senior leaders need to use them as a strategic enabler
– with clear goals linked to overall business objectives. This approach enables leaders at the top of
the organisation bring people with them in executing strategy and – more often than not – building
future capability.
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Identify individual operational responsibilities to lead on coaching and mentoring Whether you’re a manager trying to develop your people or trying develop yourself and build a career,
you need to know that one of the key ways you can have a positive impact on the business is by
operating more as a “Coach” than a “Manager.”
A study conducted by Bersin & Associates showed that organizations with senior leaders who coach
effectively and frequently improve their business results by 21 percent as compared to those who
never coach.
Many people are unsure about what is different about a coaching approach, so let me outline some
key descriptors:
• Coaches take an “Ask vs. Tell” approach. Don’t tell the employee what to do, instead ask
powerful questions. This allows the employee to create their own solutions. When they go
through the thought process to get to resolution, they are much more bought-in — it’s their
idea!
• Coaches focus on the employee vs. the task — it’s about their development.
• Coaching is not about “fixing” anyone. Again, it’s about their development and facilitating
the learning process.
• Coaches set up a clear accountability structure for action and outcomes. It helps keep the
employee focused on achieving the desired goals.
• Coaching is something that can/should happen as needed and in-the-moment, which is the
best way for learning to occur. It’s a great way to reinforce what may have been learned in
the classroom by capitalizing on those on-the-job learning experiences.
Acting more like a coach
So how can a Manager behave more like a Coach?
1. ?Ask good questions to enable the process.
2. Meet the employee where they are.
3. Guide the conversation (through questions, not directives) to a mutual agreement of the
priorities of development.
4. Ensure that the feedback information is heard and understood by the employee. Again,
asking clarifying questions is the best way to do this.
5. Do your part to support the employee through a shared commitment to their goals,
responsibilities and action steps.
Coaching = Effective Conversations
What makes a conversation “effective”? It’s about a dialogue (asking), not a monologue (telling). The
best coaching questions are:
• Open-ended;
• Focused on useful outcomes; and,
• ?Non-judgmental (avoid asking “why?”).
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Here are some examples of good open-ended questions compared to the close-ended version:
Open-ended/Inviting Questions
• What is the status on “x”?
• How can I help you?
• Can you tell me about that error?
• Walk me through your thought process?
• What other approaches might you take next time?
• How are your emotions influencing your perception of the situation?
Close-ended/Evaluative Questions
• Are you finished yet?
• Do you have a problem?
• Did you make that mistake?
• Will this really solve the problem?
• What made you think that was a good idea?
• That’s clear enough, isn’t it?
• Didn’t I go over this already?
• Why didn’t you do “x”?
So are you up for the challenge? Your employees, the business and your career will all benefit if you
begin to operate in Manager-as-Coach mindset.
Your employees will be developed and challenged in way that truly builds new skills and enables them
to learn from experiences.
MANAGER, COACH OR MENTOR? DIFFERENT ROLES FOR DIFFERENT GOALS A manager, a coach, and a mentor may all sound like similar roles but in reality, they have very
different purposes.
Businesses want employees to learn their jobs quickly, to attain maximum error-free performance and
to gain greater skills, capabilities and experience needed for advancement.
Achieving these training and development goals typically involves managing, coaching and mentoring,
but those terms are often misunderstood or used interchangeably.
Lack of clarity around the purpose of each role and when and how to play them can hamper talent
development and lead to difficult workplace relationships.
Understanding the differences among them is critical to success.
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Manage for Operational Results
A manager’s priority is achieving operational goals set by the enterprise. Goals may include a unit of
production, a dollar amount of sales or a percentage of market share. Managing workers in the course
of meeting objectives is just one of a manager’s many responsibilities.
Most theories about the manager’s role trace back a century to the work of French mining engineer
Henri Fayol, who defined five functions of management: planning, organizing, commanding,
coordinating and controlling. A later theorist, Luther Gulick, consolidated commanding and controlling
into directing and added staffing, reporting, and budgeting, to create the acronym POSDCORB, which
is still used in the management and public administration fields.
Directing subordinate workers is a key function, but other concerns abound. Managers must devote
attention to market conditions, financial resources, schedules, regulations, organizational structure,
work environments, efficiency, productivity and more. It is not surprising that as organizations grow
in size and complexity, managers need human resources departments to support them.
Managing is indefinite in duration, defined by organizational structure.
Coach for Personal, Professional Goals
Professional coaching, according to the International Coach Federation (ICF), encompasses
“partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize
their personal and professional potential.” The ICF trains and certifies coaches in methods of objective
assessment, active listening and reflective questioning that encourage client self-discovery.
Professional coaches offer proven concepts and strategies; they challenge blind spots and foster new
perspectives, but they do not prescribe actions or outcomes. The client, often in conjunction with a
manager, sets the agenda. The coach holds the client accountable for goals and outcomes the client
commits to during the coaching process.
Companies hire outside coaches or establish internal coaching programs for such tasks as improving
interpersonal or public speaking skills or integrating cultures after a merger. Coaching’s client-driven
approach makes it less suited for correcting poor performance, but it provides measurable benefits
for talent development and moving from “good to great.”
Coaching is generally short term.
Mentor to Share Experience
A mentor’s role is to impart knowledge, expertise, and wisdom to colleagues with less experience.
These qualities generally accrue over time, so mentors are usually older than mentees, but not always.
Younger “reverse” mentors may share expertise with older co-workers in areas such as new
technology and social media.
Mentoring relationships are mutually beneficial. Each party gains insights from the sharing process.
Unlike a manager, who hires and has power over subordinates, mentors and mentees choose each
other. A mentor’s authority derives from the mentee’s esteem. Such relationships often form naturally
at work, with mentors and mentees becoming friends and confidantes.
Companies establish formal mentoring programs to accelerate the process. Goals include acclimating
new hires, promoting diversity, retaining workers, grooming potential leaders and facilitating
knowledge transfer as senior workers retire. Institutionalizing the process requires careful planning
and implementation to achieve good matches and desired results.
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The University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School’s online MBA degree program,
MBA@UNC, developed a downloadable guide, “How to Build a Successful Mentoring Program.” It
summarizes a series of helpful tips related to one-to-one mentoring, e-mentoring, reverse mentoring,
group mentoring and peer mentoring. Step-by-step instructions cover setting objectives, structuring
a program, training participants and measuring results.
Mentoring usually lasts a year or longer.
Wearing More Than One Hat
Given the different goals, methods and relationship dynamics of managing, coaching and mentoring,
can one individual play all three roles with an employee? No, not properly. Here are some caveats:
• Managers can employ coaching techniques when appropriate but will inevitably face times
when they must “call the shots,” rather than await employee self-discovery.
• Managers and subordinates who become close friends create a delicate balancing act, raising
issues of power, boundaries, objectivity, accountability, and favoritism.
• Managers may be role models and share experience, but their power conflicts with the
mentor’s role, negating a valuable function—helping mentees navigate conflicts with
management. Subordinates inevitably feel inhibited in what they share with a manager.
• A mentor may counsel or advise the mentee but does not coordinate with the manager.
• A coach closely coordinates with the manager but does not advise or counsel the client.
These distinctions illustrate why the roles of manager, coach and mentor are best played by separate
individuals. Specialization helps to keep the different roles from colliding and allows each to focus on
their own set of goals.
How managers can be measured on the effects of their coaching and mentoring Personnel Today’s coaching research, published back in June, showed that worryingly few
companies measure the return on investment of coaching, despite spending a considerable
proportion of their learning and development budgets on it every year. So what can you do to
measure this effectively?
Measuring the value of an investment is important to us all. If we spend a lot of money on a new car
we want to know that the car works, that it will get us from A to B and will enhance our quality of life.
Similarly, if an organisation invests thousands of pounds in a new piece of machinery or in a training
programme to improve staff performance, then they will want to know how much value it is adding
to the business compared with the cost of the investment.
Research by the Full Potential Group indicates that only 20% of organisations consistently measure
their coaching activities. The most commonly applied evaluation of coaching interventions is ‘informal’
measurement via anecdotal or intuitive assessment: this method is used in 77% of one-to-one and
23% of group coaching programmes. ‘Harder’ bottom-line-related business measures are used far less
frequently by employers.
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Our research shows that the extent to which the return on investment (ROI) of coaching interventions
is measured is somewhat hit and miss and depends more on the individuals involved in the coaching
programme – and whether or not they see ROI as important – than on any other factors. It is
unsurprising, then, that we continue to hear arguments questioning the value of coaching
interventions.
Why measure ROI?
The old adage of “what you measure is what you get” still rings true. In most cases, if an organisation
chooses not to measure coaching, it risks undermining the value and impact that coaching has and
calls into question what value the organisation wants to gain from it. Having strong, tangible business
or behavioural results can help in a variety of ways – whether by satisfying key stakeholders that their
investment has been worthwhile, validating an organisation’s spending on coaching, or by building
the business case for coaching.
Measuring ROI also acts as a good way of assessing progress. By putting a stake in the ground,
organisations can see how far they have progressed with their coaching initiatives and what more is
required to move things forward to the next level.
Taking the time and effort to measure the real value that coaching adds to an organisation will also
highlight precise, quantifiable benefits in terms of employee motivation, staff retention, teamworking,
speed of promotion, performance and behaviour.
How to measure effectively
Designing ROI evaluation activities for coaching is not as difficult or time-consuming as people might
imagine. Look at both the ‘hard’ business measures – including questionnaires, interviews, surveys,
and focus groups to evaluate improvements around increases in sales and productivity, accountable
profit, reductions in cost, and so on and ‘soft’ behavioural measures – such as 360° assessments, and
customer and employee surveys.
When being specific in measuring ROI there are several steps to go through:
• Begin by agreeing the business objectives, key behaviours and why they are relevant to
results. For example, the business objective may be to increase profits by 10% in 12 months,
while the key behaviours that can affect results could be to increase the average scores on
the staff survey around management behaviours by 20%.
• Next, calculate the likely impact of coaching, taking into consideration other organisational
variables. For example, if other initiatives for increasing profit are to introduce better IT
systems, recruit more sales staff and improve distribution, then look at the likely impact that
coaching could have on these. Is it 33% for each one or is it 20% for one, 30% for another and
50% for the other? Use this data to define an overall ‘percentage impact’ of coaching. (It is
important to point out that this is an art and not an exact science, so it is best to get all parties
involved in a discussion to decide on this figure.) Generally, the percentage impact of coaching
can be anywhere between 20% and 100%. The fewer organisational variables involved, the
bigger impact the coaching will have.
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• Once the programme has been rolled out, calculate the cost-benefit ratio of coaching. The
formula to use is: percentage impact of coaching multiplied by the year-on-year gain in
turnover, divided by the cost of coaching. So, if we continue our example, let’s say that the
percentage impact of coaching was 50%, the year-on-year increase in profit was £1m and the
cost of coaching was £100,000.
50% x £1,000,000 / £100,000 = ROI of 5.
The cumulative effects of coaching take time to filter through an organisation, so measure ROI one
year after the end of the coaching programme and then for the subsequent three years. ROI will
increase in additional years as there will be no cost of coaching involved.
Other measures to use include 360° assessments and staff surveys, both before and after coaching.
Note the differences in management behaviour scores.
Communicating the programme
You can maximise the impact that coaching has in an organisation by communicating the measurable
benefits to staff.
A structured, 12-month communications programme is essential, as this will help to highlight the
differences that coaching is bringing to the organisation and what people are now doing that they
weren’t doing before the coaching was introduced.
Be sure to include individual case studies from an employee’s perspective – particularly those who
would not be expected to endorse coaching – as this can help to highlight the impact of coaching as
well as encouraging employee buy-in. These case studies can be included in company newsletters and
on intranet sites.
Other initiatives could include developing a dedicated coaching intranet site with useful tools and
information, issuing regular e-mail bulletins, displaying notices and posters and implementing a
campaign to publicise the results to a wider audience – all of which contribute to employees feeling
proud to belong to an organisation that looks after its people.
Good communication of successes helps to generate excitement around coaching and supports the
successful embedding of new skills and behaviours.
Finally, remember to be realistic about when to measure the results of coaching interventions.
Fundamental step changes in individual behaviours must be given time – this kind of transformation
does not happen overnight.
Case study: Portman Building Society
Portman Building Society (which was absorbed by Nationwide in August) introduced coaching using
the Full Potential Group in 2005 to help support performance management. To gauge the return on
investment (ROI) after each coaching programme, an action plan was developed that included the
differences the society could expect to see in terms of increased sales, improved customer satisfaction
scores or improved staff retention.
Portman analysed the scores managers received in the areas of feedback, coaching and development
via annual staff surveys, and looked for evidence of stronger performance. Staff 360° feedback
questionnaires were also repeated to compare the scores people received pre- and post-coaching.
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For recruitment and retention, Portman measured feedback from candidates regarding their
experiences and reviewed their performance after they had been in the role for six months. It also
carried out a validity study looking at how well suited staff were to their roles, conducted mystery
shopping exercises and reviewed staff turnover statistics. Within six months of rolling out the
programme, staff turnover had been reduced by 2%. After 12 months this reduction reached 5%.
Exit interviews were also monitored and there was a reduction in the number of employees who cited
‘lack of development’ as a reason for leaving. This was attributed to the more effective coaching skills
of Portman’s managers.
Six steps to measuring the return on investment of coaching
1. Define the business strategy and identify the critical issues facing your organisation – be
courageous and put a cost on them.
2. Align the coaching to address the business goals that leaders value the most. Only then, agree
desired results, objectives and specific measures of success.
3. Build evaluation methodology into the coaching process at the outset and integrate this with
existing business and HR processes to help keep things clear and simple.
4. Create shared ownership of the evaluation by engaging evaluators from many levels and
functions within your organisation.
5. Manage perceptions and expectations, provide best practice examples, and communicate
quick business wins.
6. Remember you need to hold on to the strategic value and intent throughout. When you
believe in the monetary and intangible value coaching adds to your organisation and expect
to achieve transformational change, it will happen – what you measure is what you get.
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Ethical guidelines to be used in all coaching and mentoring activities The Global Code of Ethics supports excellence in the development of coaching, mentoring, and
supervision and it raises the standards of practice of their members. It was created by two professional
associations, Association for Coaching (‘AC’) and European Mentoring and Coaching Council (‘EMCC’),
in February 2016.
Three additional professional associations have joined this initiative in 2018: Association for
Professional Executive Coaches and Supervisors (‘APECS’), Associazione Italiana Coach Professionisti
(‘AICP’) and the Mentoring Institute at the University of New Mexico.
These five bodies have collaborated and combined their best practices to create an updated version
of the Global Code of Ethics for the benefit of their members and society at large. This version comes
into effect on 1 May 2018 and will apply to all the signatories’ membership categories. The signatories
will be inviting other world-wide professional bodies in the field, to join this initiative and become
organisational signatories.
The code has a wider impact by informing the work of people who may not be members of the
signatory bodies but who practice coaching, mentoring, supervision, and training related activities or
are sponsors, users, beneficiaries and purchasers of such services, anywhere around the world.
As an experienced professional coach or mentor, you will be guided by a code of ethics. This will define
the way you conduct yourself and your relationships as a coach or mentor.
A code of ethics, whether personal or from a professional body, enables you to set out what the client
can expect from the coach or mentor in either a coaching/mentoring, training or supervisory
relationship and should form the starting point for any contract agreed.
Both the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) and the International Coach Federation
have a code of ethics covering the following main areas:
• Competence: ensuring you have sufficient levels of knowledge and experience, operating
within your own limits of competence, making an honest representation of your skills and
qualifications
• Context: honest management of expectations, creating the right environment for learning and
development
• Professional conduct and integrity: meeting professional responsibilities, for example
keeping data and information secure, honesty, not exploiting the relationship in any way, for
example for financial gain, managing conflicts of interest, confidentiality, agreed levels of
disclosure and acting within the law
As a system leader working across a range of schools, you will need to consider how you manage both
your immediate client and the commissioning client.
Similarly, as a head developing coaching capacity within your school, you might need to consider
performance management, confidentiality and line-management relationships. The code of ethics can
be applied in both instances.
Key to success in both situations is maintaining openness and clarity of purpose. The issues raised are
explored further in the reflection activity.
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Supervision
I would expect coaches to have supervision as part of their continuous professional development and
I would not employ a coach who did not have supervision.
Shaun Lincoln, Centre for Excellence in Leadership, quoted in ‘Creating a coaching culture’, Hawkins,
2012, p156
Effective coaches and mentors use supervision as a means of professional quality assurance.
This means having your own expert coach or mentor to talk through your work confidentially, in order
to provide you with guidance and support on issues and challenges.
Effective supervision:
• acts as a quality control: identifying any ethical or contractual issues and any areas of strength
or needs for development and, as a result, helps to improve practice
• encourages reflection and development: through this, the supervisor helps the coach or
mentor to become more aware of their own reactions and responses, explores options and
helps to relate theory to practice
• provides challenge, objectivity and support: addressing any personal concerns, doubts or
issues that the coach or mentor may have in order to support them to move forward with
their client
Construct a policy that offers coaching mentoring for all staff during their employment
life cycle Spring is in the air and so are the welcome sounds of spring: the crack of the baseball bat as it hits the
ball high into the sky, vendors shouting out their treats for sale, and cheers and jeers from the fans.
High school, college and major league baseball teams have once again begun their quest for a
championship season. The typical professional baseball team has over a half dozen coaches on its
staff, all of whom have the purpose of developing and improving the knowledge, skills and abilities of
their team members. While each coach focuses on a different skill, such as hitting, pitching, fielding,
and baserunning, their primary goal is to develop the players individually and collectively into a
winning team.
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The roles of athletic coaches are very similar to the role of team leaders, supervisors, and managers
within the business world. In today’s successful organizations business leaders play the role of coach
and mentor, while the role of commander and controller is a thing of the past. Today’s leaders focus
on developing their employees into “all-star players” by removing obstacles, leveraging and
developing strengths, sharing information, instilling key behavoirs and engaging employees in the
growth and continuous improvement of the company.
These winning leaders play another critical role in organizational success – they help employees
transition through the constant change in today’s business world. Today organizations experience
change in many shapes and forms, from continuous improvement initiatives, downsizing, and mergers
to technical upgrades and changes in leadership. If there is anything else guaranteed in life besides
death and taxes, its change within today’s business world.
Organizations that successfully transition through these types of change realize that accomplishing a
change initiative is ultimately linked to all employees, from the boardroom to the factory floor,
performing their roles, responsibilities and duties differently. In order for employees to perform their
new responsibilities differently and successfully they need effective coaching and mentoring as they
progress through the change process.
Change occurs one person at a time. Even moderate to large scale transformational change initiatives,
such as Reliability Excellence and Operational Excellence, are only successful if individuals change how
they think and act when performing their day-to-day activities. Successful organizational change is the
result of several individuals transitioning from their own current behaviors to their own future
behaviors. Whether – and how quickly – the organization will realize its return on investment depends
on how effective you are as a “coach” at helping employees efficiently make the change.
Along with ongoing coaching and mentoring, one of the most essential things that you can do as a
business leader is to involve your employees in the change process. Allowing and providing the
opportunity for employees to be involved in the change process paves the way for engagement and
ownership. This approach takes a traditional “top down” driven change and turns it into a more
sustainable “employee owned” change initiative. In baseball, players are involved every step of the
way, from off-season practices and meetings, to spring training and then on through the regular
season. Together with their coaches, they share the desire to be winners, they understand the “why”
and “what’s in it for them”, they are fully vested in the process, and they work together as one team.
Coaching and mentoring an employee through the change process encompasses a variety of activities.
These include explaining why the change is necessary, communicating the positive and negaitives for
supporting or not supporting the change, soliciting and including their ideas, clarifying performance
expectations, giving positive and or constructive feedback, providing training, removing obstacles,
acknowledging and reinforcing success, addressing resistance, and ensuring both coach and employee
have a mutual understanding of expectations and critical behaviors.
Just like a major league baseball coach, you will need to provide continued guidance, support,
motivation, open communication, oversight and feedback to your employees both as a group and as
individuals. All of these activities are necessary to ensure that key changes in behavior occur and are
sustained, one employee at a time.
Similar to professional athletes, employees need to be involved, inspired, supported and reassured
that they are developing and performing towards desired expectations. Employees want to be part of
a winning team and your organization wants to be successful. You, as an effective coach, can make
that possible.
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Here are three straightforward steps to take when coaching employees:
Step 1: Communicate the business need for change
• Share with employees at an individual level the business need for the change, vision of the
future, benefits received from changing and consequences for not changing.
• Connect the change to specific roles and how these roles impact the desired results. Ensure
employees understand WIIFM (What’s in it for me).
• Provide two-way communication so that the employees can ask questions, and share
concerns and ideas; give them a voice in the process.
Step 2: Involve employees in the change process
• Allow for as many employees as feasible to be part of the change process.
• Include these employees in the planning and design process.
• Provide employees with the responsibility to train other employees.
• Engage employees in the evaluation process and in developing corrective/continuous
improvement plans.
Step 3: Coach and mentor employees as they transition through the change
• Demonstrate desired behaviors by “walking the talk” and providing an environment for
sharing, learning and continuous improvement.
• Inspire and motivate employees to achieve their full potential; remove obstacles.
• Develop action plans to help the employee transition through the change.
• Provide feedback on performance and reinforce positive behaviors and outcomes;
acknowledge and celebrate success.
The next time you sit back and watch your favorite team play, whether it’s baseball, football,
basketball, hockey or another sport, think about the efforts and actions taken by the coaching staff to
prepare the players to play effectively as a team. Then reflect on your team and coaching efforts. Are
you taking the best approach to successfully build a winning team? Are your employees engaged,
inspired and performing effectively as individuals and a collective team? Or are they simply doing what
they are told to do? Command and Control, or Coaching and Mentoring, pretender or contender, your
leadership style can and will directly impact the performance of your team.
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Demonstrate how impact, support and recognition of coaching and
mentoring is accepted in the organization
How coaching and mentoring is used to contribute to the performance of all in the
organization It's understandable that you might think mentoring and coaching are similar or even the same thing.
But they're not. Both warrant consideration in the workplace. Here are five differentiators that we
think are important.
Differentiator #1:
Coaching is task oriented. The focus is on concrete issues, such as managing more effectively,
speaking more articulately, and learning how to think strategically. This requires a content expert
(coach) who is capable of teaching the coachee how to develop these skills.
Mentoring is relationship oriented. It seeks to provide a safe environment where the mentoree
shares whatever issues affect his or her professional and personal success. Although specific learning
goals or competencies may be used as a basis for creating the relationship, its focus goes beyond these
areas to include things, such as work/life balance, self-confidence, self-perception, and how the
personal influences the professional.
Differentiator #2:
Coaching is short term. A coach can successfully be involved with a coachee for a short period of time,
maybe even just a few sessions. The coaching lasts for as long as is needed, depending on the purpose
of the coaching relationship.
Mentoring is always long term. Mentoring, to be successful, requires time in which both partners can
learn about one another and build a climate of trust that creates an environment in which the
mentoree can feel secure in sharing the real issues that impact his or her success. Successful mentoring
relationships last nine months to a year.
Differentiator #3:
Coaching is performance driven. The purpose of coaching is to improve the individual's performance
on the job. This involves either enhancing current skills or acquiring new skills. Once the coachee
successfully acquires the skills, the coach is no longer needed.
Mentoring is development driven. Its purpose is to develop the individual not only for the current
job, but also for the future. This distinction differentiates the role of the immediate manager and that
of the mentor. It also reduces the possibility of creating conflict between the employee's manager and
the mentor.
Differentiator #4:
Coaching does not require design. Coaching can be conducted almost immediately on any given topic.
If a company seeks to provide coaching to a large group of individuals, then certainly an amount of
design is involved in order to determine the competency area, expertise needed, and assessment tools
used, but this does not necessarily require a long lead-time to actually implement the coaching
program.
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Mentoring requires a design phase in order to determine the strategic purpose for mentoring, the
focus areas of the relationship, the specific mentoring models, and the specific components that will
guide the relationship, especially the matching process.
Differentiator # 5:
The coachee's immediate manager is a critical partner in coaching. She or he often provides the
coach with feedback on areas in which his or her employee is in need of coaching. This coach uses this
information to guide the coaching process
In mentoring, the immediate manager is indirectly involved. Although she or he may offer
suggestions to the employee on how to best use the mentoring experience or may provide a
recommendation to the matching committee on what would constitute a good match, the manager
has no link to the mentor and they do not communicate at all during the mentoring relationship. This
helps maintain the mentoring relationship's integrity.
When to consider coaching:
▪ When a company is seeking to develop its employees in specific competencies using
performance management tools and involving the immediate manager
▪ When a company has a number of talented employees who are not meeting expectations
▪ When a company is introducing a new system or program
▪ When a company has a small group of individuals (5-8) in need of increased competency in
specific areas
▪ When a leader or executive needs assistance in acquiring a new skill as an additional
responsibility
When to consider mentoring:
▪ When a company is seeking to develop its leaders or talent pool as part of succession planning
▪ When a company seeks to develop its diverse employees to remove barriers that hinder their
success
▪ When a company seeks to more completely develop its employees in ways that are additional
to the acquisition of specific skills/competencies
▪ When a company seeks to retain its internal expertise and experience residing in its baby
boomer employees for future generations
▪ When a company wants to create a workforce that balances the professional and the personal
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The support, internal and external, available for coaching and mentoring activities Suppose you have identified that a member of your team who would benefit from being coached to
improve their knowledge, skills, and performance for an activity due to be completed in the next
quarter. You need to ask yourself, Is this something you as their manager have the time and skill to
do? Or is this a situation where the use of a professional coach will be the most effective way to get
results?
Once you know who is performing the role of coach you then need to decide whether or not the
coaching should be conducted in a formal or informal manner. Coaching can be done using
professional coaching services supplied by an independent firm or consultancy, or it can be done by
the manager themselves or by someone else within the organization.
As part of your decision-making process you will have to consider the advantages and disadvantages
of each of these approaches.
External Coaches
External coaches have typically received a more extensive coaching training than managers, and have
spent more time coaching people. In addition to their core coaching skills, external coaches with
specialist expertise can be matched to the coaches requirements. For example, a coach specializing in
sales skills could be brought in to support a sales team.
Team members may feel able to discuss issues with an external coach that they would not discuss with
their line manager, and these hidden issues may be critical to improving performance. Because they
are not affected by the organization's internal politics, external coaches are more adept at providing
sensitive feedback, as well as maintaining objectivity and confidentiality.
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People are more likely to cooperate and discuss issues freely with external coaches as they are not
directly involved in the day-to-day business of the organization. An external coach is not burdened
with preconceptions about either the coaches or the organization. This means that they can often see
things that are not obvious to the coaches manager or to people embedded in the organization's
culture and processes.
Also, because the external coach does not have the additional responsibilities of a manager, they can
focus exclusively on the coaches needs before, during, and after the coaching session. This can lead to
an intensive, high-energy form of coaching that can produce significant results in a short time.
The disadvantages of external coaching include its cost, since it is always going to be more expensive
than using existing resources. Also, it might be felt that the coach's lack of intimate knowledge of the
organization's culture and processes could be a problem.
The interaction between the coach and coaches needs to create improved skills and knowledge that
can be incorporated into the culture and processes of the organization. For example, for the coaches
ideas to be adopted the organization might have to make significant and costly changes to one of their
systems.
This sort of issue can be avoided if the coaches manager has regular communications with the coach
and ensures that ideas that are outside of the scope of the particular development are brought to the
attention of the business development team who are able to explore them further.
Internal Coaches
For many reasons, such as pressures of time or budget, you may not have the luxury of using a
professional coach. This means that you have to resource the coaching needs of your team member
internally.
However, since very few organizations employ professional coaches, if an external coach is not going
to be used then the task usually falls to the team member's own manager - that's you! Or if not you
then it could involve you having to select a colleague, another manager, or human resource specialist
to perform the coaching role.
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The main advantage to the organization of using internal coaches is that they do not have the direct
costs that hiring an external coach would. Also, as the coaches direct manager you already spend time
with them and the coaching role provides you with the opportunity to get to know them well, whilst
you build and demonstrate a foundation of mutual trust and respect.
In addition, because you are constantly interacting with your team you will have many more
opportunities to influence them than an external consultant would have. This may not be so applicable
if the internal coach is someone outside of the team or department, unless the coach is already in
frequent contact because of the nature of the activity itself.
It is essential that whoever performs the role of internal coach remembers that the traditional
corporate 'command and control' approach is inappropriate in these circumstances. Instead, coaching
emphasizes:
• Collaborating instead of controlling
• Delegating more responsibility
• Talking less and listening more
• Giving fewer orders and asking more questions• Giving specific feedback instead of making
judgments
It is important to say that this style of management is not necessarily applicable all of the time and
there will be occasions when a manager needs to use a more autocratic leadership style to get things
done quickly or to break a deadlock situation.
There is good evidence though that using a predominantly coaching style brings medium- to long-term
benefits to the team, and to the organization as a whole. This approach works best in an environment
where there is a learning culture that is fully supported by senior management.
It is probably fairly obvious that coaching benefits the people being coached - but what about the
manager? If you are a busy manager, can you afford the time and effort required, when you already
have plenty of other demands to cope with?
Coaching is not a case of 'giving up' your time and energy to help others achieve their goals and solve
their problems. It can also bring you and the organization significant benefits. One of the most
significant is the effect coaching can have on the morale of your team. Showing that you value your
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team enough to spend time coaching them to develop their own skills and potential will gain their
respect and confidence.
Individuals are often just waiting for someone to show that they have confidence in them, before they
open up with their own ideas and feel that their contribution is valued. The more genuine control
people have over their own goals and decisions the more commitment they will display to attaining
those goals or following through decisions.
This openness and acceptance of others' ideas and thinking helps to improve the working relationships
within your team and organization. The collaborative nature of these relationships makes people feel
empowered and creates an atmosphere of trust and honesty. Such attributes will have a direct impact
on the performance of the individual as well as the team.
The long-term benefits of investing your own time in developing and coaching your team members
can be considerable. Your team will become more self-sufficient, enabling you to delegate tasks with
confidence and focus your skills and time on the higher-level tasks that only you can perform.
The environment of empowerment allows individuals to be creative and intuitive when solving
problems and issues. It also allows the circulation of more accurate and informative data, because no
one feels they will be penalized for making suggestions.
But making use of internal coaches does have some disadvantages and it is important to be aware of
these. If these issues are present in your own organization they will have an impact on how effective
internal coaching will be. In the short term your coaching activity can have a detrimental impact on
your time and possibly your productivity. With careful planning these impositions are short lived and
are far out-weighed by the long-term benefits.
Any internal coach must have the ability to adapt their communications style to that most suited to
this activity. The coach must be able to relinquish control for collaboration and, through careful and
well thought-out questioning, to draw out a solution from the coaches.
Another issue that can cause problems for internal coaches is the interference of their own task
pressures, which may prevent them from having the time they want (and know they need) in order to
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conduct coaching properly. These pressures may force the coach to take control back, or mean that
they don't have the time to explore the issue or problem facing the coaches and guide the coaches to
think of a resolution.
The attitude of the coaches and the culture of the organization also play a significant role in how
effective coaching will be. If the culture of the organization is such that employees see that to express
ideas and question things is harmful to their prospects they will be guarded in their approach to
coaching.
This occurs in organizations where individuals can see that questioning established processes or ideas
is poorly received by senior management. Such news always travels widely and quickly along an
organization's grapevine and is extremely detrimental to the level of trust and openness required in
order for coaching to be successful.
It could be argued that it is impossible for a manager to act as a coach, given their position of authority
over his or her team. This is not necessarily an obstacle, provided that there is genuine trust and
respect in the working relationship.
Finally, the decision regarding whether to use an internal or external coach will depend on the money
available, the needs of the people involved, and the ethos of your organization.
How coaches and mentors can be recognized for their contribution to the performance
of others Leaders exist in every generation—Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials. Each generation
brings something different, but important, to the workplace. And each generation needs leadership
development.
If you’re a Baby Boomer, think back to when you started your career. Were mentoring and coaching
part of your leadership development? If they were, there was likely no formal process, unless you
were at the highest leadership levels of the organization. Most mid-level leaders during that time had
to identify their own mentors and coaches. Sound familiar?
Meanwhile, members of Generation X probably remember a more defined process for matching them
with a mentor or coach. And Millennials (also called Generation Y) most likely experience even more
focused mentoring and coaching programs.
What has driven the increased focus on formal mentoring and coaching programs? Organizational
leaders have recognized their value in ensuring a robust leadership development program and their
vital role in developing leaders in an increasingly complex global world. Developing future generations
to succeed us must be intentional to ensure organizational sustainability.
Because coaching and mentoring are powerful components of developing sustainable leaders, both
must be incorporated into the fabric of our organizations. Acording to John Duggan, CEO of Gazely,
“We believe it's in business’ interest to become more sustainable…. This will become a must-have,
rather than a nice-to-have issue, going forward. We want to build our brand around that position.”
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My Own Experience
While working with clients, including Butler University, I’ve seen leaders “walk the talk.” MBA students
are assigned a coach early in their program. As one of the leadership coaches, I assist students with
completing the 360-degree feedback process, which provides them with feedback on how their
leadership style is perceived by their boss, direct reports, and peers.
Then, I help them design an action plan to increase their leadership effectiveness. The goal is to ensure
their effectiveness is sustained long after the MBA program is complete. I’m intrigued by this program
because I am passionate about helping leaders and organizations increase sustainability. I’ve also had
the honor of mentoring several young men and women over the years, and I take that honor very
seriously.
Differences Between Mentoring and Coaching
Through my experiences, I have learned that mentoring differs from coaching in that it’s generally for
a longer period of time and focuses on developing the individual holistically for the future—
professionally, personally, and often, spiritually. Coaching, on the other hand, may only be for a short
period of time and focuses on helping the individual overcome a specific issue or performance
challenge in the present. I’ve been fortunate to experience the power of coaching and mentoring.
While there are clear differences between coaching and mentoring, the differences complement each
other, making both valuable and necessary. Together they are a powerful, unbeatable combination
for developing future leaders. Their differences are summarized in the table below.
Bottom Line
It is evident that a balance of mentoring and coaching is important to overall leadership success. It is
my opinion that both approaches used together will significantly strengthen the development of our
future leaders, our organizations, and our communities.
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