Introduction
Coaches and Mentors have a legacy in human history. Humanity has known about their benefits since time immemorial. However, only recently, this field of study has become popular; that too, with the advent of digitalization, a larger pool of opportunities and higher education reformation. Even Hollywood is full of coaches and mentors in many popular movies and series.
Currently, corporations and individuals alike are becoming aware of the coaching/mentoring in their lives. Thanks to social media and the highly connected digital world, the famous and successful mentorship relationships of corporate tycoons, well-known athletes, sports figures, politicians, and humanitarians are all being circulated in the media. More than ever, professionals are recognizing their weaknesses, strengths, and the need for external accountability, to guide them to become more productive.
Many online websites, apps, and services have been launched over the years to help professionals with coaching and mentoring services. Some of them are pre-written and follow rigid algorithms, while others are based on artificial intelligence and deep learning. Human interfaces are also flooding the mentoring space with many success stories from around the world. With so much buzz around mentorship, it is important to understand the importance of coaches and mentors and what they can do for you. If you are wondering if you need one, then this article is just for you.
Who is a Coach?
Coaches are industry/subject experts who work with you for a short period to improve your performance in a particular industry, skill, or subject. Coaching sessions can be as short as 10-15 minutes of conversation to such sessions for months. Often, coaching programs are highly interactive, with coaches asking questions, providing space for independent thinking, and helping the clients achieve their predetermined goals. Coaching is performance-driven and is aimed at increasing performance in the client's day-to-day activities.
Some popular coaches are Bill Campbell, Antony Robbins (Business coaches), Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho (Football coaches), and many more.
Who is a Mentor?
Mentors are highly successful and experienced professionals in the industry who act as advisors to less experienced individuals. Normally, both the mentor and the mentee work in the same or closely-related industry. According to an Olivet Nazarene University survey, 81% of employees have a mentor from the same industry and 61% of the employees have a mentor in the same organisation. The relationship helps both individuals grow professionally and personally together. Mentors can not only offer industry expertise but can also offer personal, social, and financial advice. Unlike coaching, mentorship is a long-term process and takes a holistic approach toward the whole development of an individual.
From Steve Jobs mentoring Mark Zuckerberg to Maya Angelou mentoring Oprah Winfrey, history is full of mentorship relationships and their contributions to successful mentees.
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The difference between Coaching/Mentoring and Corporate Training
Corporate companies often conduct training sessions for employees, managers, and senior managers to bring more productivity or knowledge to the table. These training sessions are mostly related to productivity, product introductions, and performance. Often, these training sessions involve a group of employees taking informative sessions from a company's appointed senior in a seminar or discussion format.
However, coaching/mentoring focuses on individuals instead of whole groups like in training programs. The scope of coaching/mentoring is to have face-to-face conversations between two individuals. This provides a personalised platform for the beneficiary to become involved in their development through the help of coaches or mentors.
Coaching and mentoring can be beneficial to both parties involved. Those who receive coaching or mentoring can achieve their long- and short-term objectives more effectively. Likewise, those who coach or mentor someone find amazing benefits that include but are not limited to fulfilment, income, industry recognition and exposure.
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Why is Coaching/Mentoring important for professionals?
Coaching and Mentoring helps in employee Retention
If the company has a mentoring program, new employees are less likely to quit (Source: CNBC/Survey monkey). Coaching and mentoring programs offer guidance and motivation to the workforce. It gives them a neutral space to share their true selves and opens up a platform where they can freely discuss their fears. Active listening on the part of coaches/mentors can lead to trust-building between the employee and the company. These sessions build up a personal relationship between both the company and the employee. This increases employee loyalty, which in turn results in employee retention.
Mentoring gives Job satisfaction
Due to the support and an outlet for sharing their issues, employees can often easily increase productivity in their work. As coaching helps increase employee performance, this can result in job satisfaction. Indeed, 90% of employees who have a mentor are happy at their jobs (Source: CNBC/Survey monkey). Performance increases in employees will lead to mutual satisfaction between them and their companies. This can get them promotions, salary hikes, and rewards.
Coaching helps in personal and professional development
Coaching and mentoring sessions can transform professionals into their best selves. Through performance-based coaching or holistic mentoring, employees not only perform better in their jobs but also in other aspects of their lives. Coaching and Mentoring will have a deep impact on interpersonal skills and build strong bonds, especially in the case of mentoring.
It increases team efficiency
Coaching and mentoring will lead to better team efficiency for professionals. Due to higher performance coupled with better interpersonal skills, professionals in teams will have an understanding of each other. This lessens workplace conflicts considerably. As a whole, team efficiency will be better with teams that receive coaching or mentoring.
Coaching boosts employee performance
Professionals who receive coaching sessions or have long-term mentors perform better in their jobs. This can boost their confidence levels. Employees' performance is often affected by stressors. Though stressors alone rarely cause productivity loss, they do so by inducing other means like depression and anxiety (Ian Donald, Paul Taylor, and Sheena Johnson ResearchGate).
It gives the benefits of accountability
Coaching and mentoring programs will provide professionals with an accountability partner. According to a study, professionals with accountability partners are 95% more likely to complete their goals (Source: Association for Talent Development). Having someone with whom one can share struggles and goals can greatly increase employee performance.
Mentoring gives encouragement
Professionals also get due encouragement from their coaches and mentors. This will help them in many ways. Having someone who values them as a person increases employee involvement in their work.
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It builds trust
Coaching and mentoring help to build trust. According to breathehr, one fifth of employees said that they do not trust their managers! These shocking statistics show the shaky grounds on which companies stand these days. As trust is one of the most important building blocks for a company, without workplace trust, employees' performance will considerably decrease. This is why it is more important than ever to rebuild trust and implement it into the everyday activities of the company.
Feedback helps employees
Coaching and mentoring can give an employee constructive feedback. Many professionals and individuals are not open to feedback. When a manager-like authority gives feedback, chances are that it will be taken negatively by some employees. This is where a personal relationship with the employee and trust come in. Employees are easier and open to feedback and criticism when there is trust and bonding between them and the company. This is why coaches and mentors are highly successful in jacking up employee performance. Due to their investment in the mentee or coachee, they first build rapport and trust with the employee. Hence, constructive feedback instead of general criticism or stress will be fruitful with these mentees.
Set goals and guidelines
Coaches and mentors set goals and guidelines to achieve those goals. Often, professionals are underperforming because there is a lack of clear goals and paths towards those goals. This is where coaching and mentoring help a person. They help define clear-cut goals and practical ways to achieve them consistently. With an element of accountability and trust and a feedback loop, coaches and mentors help employees achieve their goals more easily than managers with traditional methods.
It builds network
Ultimately, coaches and mentors open up valuable networks and opportunities for their mentees. Because coaches and mentors are more experienced professionals than mentees and coachees, they typically have a larger network to share with their mentees. Mentors, in particular, are eager to introduce their mentees in networking events or industry-related functions. They connect their mentees with anyone who can assist in achieving their highest career goals. This can be invaluable to young mentees in the long run.
It gives perspective
Finally, having an experienced mentor or coach can help you with perspective. Mentors can provide feedback from a third person's perspective. This helps understand overlooked weaknesses and patterns in the mentees. Mentors have most likely made several mistakes in their careers. These can be precious lessons that can be easily avoided. This increases the chances of success in an endeavour in the industry.
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Why being a Coach/Mentor is important for management professionals
It can help Mentors face their own fears
Mentorship will help many professionals overcome subconscious biases or fears. They gain invaluable perspectives and discover new dimensions of their personalities that they had never known. This can help mentors and coaches identify similar patterns in the struggles in their lives.
Coaching/Mentoring enhances skills
Mentorship helps mentors with their own skill enhancement, interpersonal skills, industry knowledge, and leadership skills. As teaching someone is considered one of the best learning techniques, mentorship provides the mentor with the best learning experience. As a result, mentors are 6 times more likely to get a promotion (Source: Sun Microsystems).
It builds network
Being a mentor opens up networks. This is possible when a mentee becomes highly successful in their domain and everyone knows the value you have provided them with your deep knowledge. In the era of digitalization and social media, this is easier than ever. Success stories are spreading like wildfires. This ultimately results in larger networking opportunities and industry recognition and reputation. Coaching and mentoring can also be used as a qualification when you apply for a new job.
It builds confidence
Coaching and mentoring can build confidence in your skills. When your mentees succeed in their endeavours because of your advice and teaching, it inadvertently leads to self-appreciation and self-respect. It boosts self-confidence, which is a skill that is in short supply in the modern world.
Coaching/Mentorship is a great learning opportunity
According to Coqual, Mentors are twice as likely to understand their juniors' concerns. Coaching or mentoring someone provides as much of a learning opportunity for the mentor as for the mentee. As humans are adept at learning from others' mistakes, mentors can identify patterns in the struggles of their mentees and easily apply them to their own struggles. They can easily leverage this in their lives and solve many identical problems in their lives.
Coaching or Mentoring can give time for self-reflection, which helps in performance boosting. Identifying weaknesses and shortcomings, acknowledging them, and overcoming them become possible only with self-reflection.
It gives Fulfilment
Finally, coaching and mentoring give one a sense of fulfilment. Changing someone's life for the better is one of the most fulfilling endeavours a man can do in his life. Coaching and mentoring certainly pass this test.
It strengthens your company
Ultimately, it creates a better, more productive and more resilient company in a chaotic business world. A highly motivated team that is easy on cooperation and performance is a dream asset for every company on the planet. Coaching and mentoring can provide a company's workforce with all these sought-after qualities. Even with bad hires, mentoring can increase productivity significantly.
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Conclusion
Often, senior professionals are bombarded with requests for favours in jobs, financial help, and networking opportunities. Rarely are they appreciated by someone for their knowledge and personality. This is why it is easier to get mentorship from a senior professional.
As we can see, coaching and mentoring can turn the tables in your favour. It doesn't matter if you are a professional, manager, senior manager, VC, president, or owner of a company. Coaching and mentoring have a lot of gold mines to offer you in terms of knowledge, network, skill enhancements, etc. It builds a professional individually, in personality, and professionally. Having a coach or mentor will always be a good investment of money, time, and efforts. It also helps you build trust, a strong team, and, ultimately, a stronger company. In the corporate world, such qualities and personal help can retain employees and build company loyalty.
If you have experience in coaching or mentoring and don't know where to find a prestigious qualification that puts your name ahead of the competition, try SNATIKA. SNATIKA's Masters degree program in Coaching and Mentoring is designed exclusively for senior professionals. Our online UK Masters Degree will give you prestige and flexibility. Also, our ISO-certified program delivery process makes your learning enjoyable while maintaining the highest quality.
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