Mentoring and Coaching - Section 3B
Knowing where to go and knowing how to get there, it is necessary to find tools and assistance to make this journey possible. Sometimes, in certain “adventures”, all the care and help is little and certain tips and a dose of applied knowledge can save you a lot of time and, consequently, help you reach your goal.
Coaching is a part that, depending on your goal, can be crucial. People who aim for a common goal, but who started at different times can help each other productively, generating a win-win. Mutual gain, knowledge sharing, the drive to reach a common point, in short, these are some of the advantages of coaching.
In contrast to coaching, which is a more punctual maintenance tool (that is, it is necessary to use it if there is already an interest in the subject and the idea is to increase the potential of this skill), mentoring is a long-term tool and a relationship much closer is created between the mentor and the student than between the coach and the student.
It is necessary that, in both tools, the objective of where to arrive is understood both by the student and by those who will assist. Baby steps in the beginning, not practicing self-punishment in a very severe way and knowing how to identify if your mentor / coach sabotages out of envy or any other harmful feeling are facts that must be evaluated.
Using my own example, coach was an experience that helped both my goal and my own development. The lack of humility in me did not allow me to receive help, and seeing how useful this tool can be made me more useful and showed me that it is not a shame to need help to achieve something. Knowing how to identify the qualities in your mentor, having the humility to accept help and having a healthy relationship with those who help you, everything can become simpler.
References:
Cardon, P. W. (2018). Business communication: Developing leaders for a networked world. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Janasz, S (2019). Interpersonal Skills in Organizations, 6e. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Present in Greystone College material
https://www.kent.edu/yourtrainingpartner/know-difference-between-coaching-and-mentoring
Either coaching or mentoring can be useful indeed at certain stages of life. As you said there is no shame in calling for help since one will never have the answer for all the problems that might come across. Life is all about giving back therefore all of us should be mentors/coaches eventually since all of us have received advices from elders since day one.
ResponderExcluirI agree, if I had the support that I have today in the past, I could be far from the point that I'm right now. I do Poker coach, and after I see someone that can help me without try to make me feel bad about need it, my vision about what is real coach and mentoring changes completely.
ResponderExcluirThanks for your comment, Gabriel!