Adjustments in the areas of regulation, technology, working practices, consumer expectations and the economy mean we’re increasingly aware we need to change too. This knowledge can often leave us feeling somewhat powerless, because we know we need to change, but don’t know how best to go about it.
Increasingly, those we recognise as successful and effective are using coaching and mentoring as a means to help them achieve their goals. These often include: maintaining competitive advantage, adapting to change, improving leadership skills, improving effectiveness, etc.
I’m often asked what is the difference between a coach and a mentor? The purest answer is that mentors teach and coaches help us learn.
Or put another way, a mentor has specific knowledge or skills to share that we might benefit from. A coach, on the other hand, doesn’t need any specific knowledge about what we do as their value is in helping us discover for ourselves possible new ways of working and seeing and reacting to situations.
There is a huge benefit to all of us in regularly spending some time with a trusted individual talking about the things that are really important to us, not just the urgent stuff that’s landed on our desk today.
So, how do you go about finding a mentor or coach?
A good potential mentor will be someone we already know and we would describe as a role model for what we do. Most of us are prepared to volunteer a little of our time for the good of our profession – not at all because we’re flattered to be asked you understand – and the same will apply to your potential mentor.
Go ahead and ask them if they’re prepared to meet, so that you can seek a little advice from them.
Coaching is a growing profession, which means different things to different people. Typical coaching assignments might include: improving business performance, achieving potential, preparing for promotion, developing leadership behaviours, improving work/life balance, career planning and more.
My tips for choosing a coach are:
– Choose a coach that is a member of a professional body with a code of ethics such as the International Coach Federation (ICF) or the European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC).
– Shortlist and meet two or three coaches to see if the ‘chemistry’ works (most will provide a free try-out session) and choose the one you get on best with.
– Ask any potential coach whether they have regular professional supervision. If the answer is no, chose another coach.
– Agree to a fixed number of sessions. This helps prevent you from becoming dependent on the coach and hence a ‘cash cow’ for them.
Mentors or coaches are generally not long-term crutches to be leant on for the rest of our lives. However, what they can offer is regular bursts of input to ensure we are meeting our potential and seeing the varied opportunities that are out there but may be missed while engaged in the day-to-day grind.
For this reason, it makes sense to spend some time with such individuals to ensure the broadest of horizons.
Peter Welch is head of sales and distribution at Bridgewater Equity Release
