Mentoring / Coaching
The word Mentor refers to a trusted counselor or guide and is Greek in origin. Mentor was a friend of Odysseus that he entrusted with the education of his son Telemachus.
Coaching and Mentoring is very similar, although the work Coaching refers to a more structured approach to mentoring. Mentoring is a more internal function where a senior or more experienced individual (the mentor) is assigned to act as an advisor, counselor, or guide to a junior or trainee. The mentor is responsible to support, provide feedback, encourage the mentee to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and grow into the person they have always wanted to be. Coaching is the process of establishing an atmosphere of mutual trust, respect, safety, challenge and accountability by engaging in regular, structured conversation with a “client”: an individual or team who is within a organisation, to enhance the client’s awareness and behavior so as to achieve business objectives for both the client and their organization in ways that are measurable and sustainable. The coaching process may take different forms (e.g., individual or team coaching) and involve different goals (e.g., problem solving, career and succession planning, leadership/executive development, creation of high-performing teams), but throughout there is a clear focus on the organisation objectives of both the client and the organization.