When is mentoring not a suitable intervention

Beware the diffident candidate who expects the mentor to keep the relationship going, or the candidate who insists on doing things their way. A mentee should be curious, organized, efficient, responsible, and engaged. One way to look for these traits is to test prospective mentees. For instance, we often ask mentees to read a book and return within a month to discuss it.

Similarly, we sometimes give a candidate a few weeks to write a review of an article in a relevant area. In a business setting, you might ask a prospective mentee to prepare a presentation in their area of expertise, or join you on a sales call or at a strategy offsite and write up their observations. This gives you a good sense of their thinking process, communication skill, and level of interest.

Consider the case of a partner in a major consulting firm who told us of how he struggled with his first mentoring relationship. Sam appeared keen, ambitious, and enthusiastic. He emailed constantly, asking about the position and reiterating how much he wanted to join this team.

Unfortunately, Sam proved to be a disaster. When the client finally complained, the partner had no choice but to take Sam off the project. Rather than being apologetic, Sam criticized the manager for cutting him loose. The exclusive, one-on-one relationship of mentor and mentee, long the norm, was ideal for a time when both parties stayed put in one institution or devoted to a single mission. That time has passed. Professionals in business and academia are highly itinerant, moving from one project or institution to another.

Moreover, faculty and managers alike are under constant and growing time pressure. As a result, most mentors today share responsibility with others for the growth of a mentee. It makes sense: Few senior-level people have the time or range of expertise to serve as a solo mentor. Having a handful of co-mentors also gives mentees a fallback position if the relationship with their primary mentor fizzles. Mentees should work with mentors to create a mentorship team, with members selected for their various areas of knowledge, such as subject matter expertise or career advice.

The individuals chosen need to work well together and with the mentee. The primary mentor should function as the go-to person, providing mentees with moral, career, and institutional support, ranging from choosing a project focus, to helping build a network, to strategizing for success. The concept of mentorship teams has slowly started to spread through management. Inherent in each of these brain trusts is the notion that the myriad skills and knowledge needed in business are difficult to acquire from a single individual.

Indeed, firms such as Credit Suisse now employ a multiperson mentorship strategy when assigning new analysts to projects. Coaching and mentoring can be beneficial to employees for a range of reasons and in a range of contexts. One persistent myth surrounding coaching is that it is a remedial intervention, only given to those with shortcomings, missing skill sets and knowledge gaps.

In reality, coaching is most effective when used to reward high-performers, giving them the space and guidance to set and achieve goals and become the best version of themselves at work. Mentoring can be an open-ended intervention, developing the mentee as a whole person, and draws on the personal experience of the mentor.

Mentoring can be appropriate in certain situations, however it often lacks the structure of a good coaching program, and can be inappropriate in situations when guidance from a professional coach would better serve the individual. Coaches work with their coachees to set goals that are significant to them, relating to challenges and opportunities present in their working lives. The opportunity to work with a coach allows high performing employees to explore and meet their potential, through guided goal setting and action planning.

A good coach will help their coachees set achievable goals but will also challenge a coachee when setting goals that are too safe, or that can be achieved though business as usual activities. This encouragement and challenge from a coach serves to energise the coachee and remind them of their capabilities and ability to reach ambitious goals.

Coaching goals may also involve input from the organisation, particularly where the organisation has arranged for leadership coaching to occur. Mentoring goals are often much broader, and the ownership of goal setting often rests with the mentee. As mentoring goals can be less clearly defined, challenge and feedback surrounding these goals can be less impactful coming from a mentor with no formal coaching training. External and professionally trained coaches will often be the most impactful solution for coachees.

These coaches create a safe, yet challenging environment within which coachees can work to understand their own motivation and behaviours, and identify strengths and opportunities for growth alongside their coach.

Finding the right coach is critical to the success of the coaching program. Trevor-Roberts ensures this by beginning each coaching program with a chemistry check - a meeting between coachee and potential coach that ensures that they are a good match and have the potential to develop a strong relationship.

This meeting sits outside the coaching sessions it is not counted towards the hours of the program , and can be repeated as necessary until the coachee finds the right coach for them. A good coach will build a robust relationship with their coachee, and will take several measures to ensure the continued success of the relationship. Coaches will establish a regular schedule of meetings, either face to face or phone, and will hold their coachee accountable to the schedule.

A successful coach will make explicit to their coachee the extent of their personal commitment to the coaching program, and the success of the coachee in reaching their goals. Confidentiality is a big part of a successful and impactful coaching relationship. A coachee must feel as though they can be open and honest with their coach, and that any information shared within the coaching relationship will not be shared outside of it.

Trusting that their coach is not providing any sensitive information back to their organisation when reporting allows a coachee to talk openly and honestly with their coach. A good coach will be upfront about discussing and agreeing on program confidentiality with their coachee, as well as disclosing their reporting obligations to the sponsoring organisation. A coach ensures the success of the coaching relationship by providing honest and constructive feedback.

The integrity of the coaching relationship is dependent upon the coachee trusting that the feedback and advice they receive from their coach comes from an authentic, truthful place. He sees a bit of himself from 20 years earlier. He wants to groom Jeremy for a management position in the next few years. The boss has two options: To mentor Jeremy himself or to find another senior level sales professional to mentor Jeremy. Sometimes the boss plays the role of coach or mentor; sometimes, it is more appropriate to select another person either inside or outside the organization to assist the professional who needs help.

Once you see early results, you will know if your decision was the right on or if it needs to be modified. As you can see, being involved in a coaching or mentoring relationship can enhance your professional and personal life in ways that you could not achieve on your own.

Keep your mind open to the possibilities. When you have been coached and mentored, then you can pay it forward by coaching or mentoring others. Take what you have learned and pass it along to those who can benefit from your knowledge and experience.

Subscribe to Our Blog. Skip to main content. Live Chat. Know the Difference Between Coaching and Mentoring. Definitions The best place to start is a definition of coaching and mentoring.

The best way to understand how coaching and mentoring relationships are structured is to do a side-by-side comparison: Topic Coaching Mentoring Timeframe Relationship is more likely to be short-term up to 6 months or 1 year with a specific outcome in mind. Relationship tends to be more long-term , lasting a year or two, and even longer. Structure Traditionally more structured, with regularly scheduled meetings, like weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.

Expertise Coaches are hired for their expertise in a given area, one in which the coachee desires improvement. Agenda The coaching agenda is co-created by the coach and the coachee in order to meet the specific needs of the coachee. The mentoring agenda is set by the mentee.

The mentor supports that agenda. Questioning Asking thought-provoking questions is a top tool of the coach , which helps the coachee make important decisions, recognize behavioral changes and take action. Outcome Outcome from a coaching agreement is specific and measurable, showing signs of improvement or positive change in the desired performance area. Here is an example of how a coach and a mentor could be used: Jeremy is an energetic sales associate who has been identified as a high potential.

As you delve deeper into working with a coach or a mentor, consider these final tips: Decide what assistance you need.