Do I need a Coach a Mentor or Both?

I had a young CEO approach me the other day with a Question that had been puzzling for Her for some time- "What is the difference between a Coach and a Mentor? Could I benefit from having Both?"

As I promote my ability to be the Entrepreneur's Entrepreneur providing both Coaching and Mentoring services, (www.cedarvue.ca) I felt compelled to respond.


On Mentors:
Mentors can historically be linked back to the Trojan War when Odysseus, the King of Ithaca entrusted his kingdom and the care of his son to Mentor. A common definition would include words such as : "trusted, wise, counselor, guide, teacher, role model, resource, support mechanism or sounding board". Mentors are usually self selected by the individual and the relationship is build on a solid foundation of chemistry and trust. The focus of the Mentor's program is all about the individual and will be dynamic and fluid depending on the client's changing needs.
A key trait of a Mentor's work is that the Mentee may choose to be selective of the advice they choose to heed. Mentors will Facilitate, Question, Listen, Challenge, Build and Inspire but for the most part, allow the Mentee to find their "own path to through the forest". Much of my work as a Mentor is personally enriching - there is not a session that I have with a Mentee where I didn't add to my long list of key learnings.

On Coaches:
Coaches on the other hand are established to: "instruct, direct and teach individuals or teams to improve in a sport, skill or subject". Coaches are usually focused on performance improvement and follow a very specific and regimented program agenda. (When was the last time your hockey coach asked what does the team wants to work on today?) Unlike a One on One Mentor program, a Coach could be working at the individual or team basis. Coaches bring both a perceived and real sense of authority or power to the relationship. Ultimately, the Coach is driving "compliance" to the advice and instruction. Results are clearly measured and linked back to the Coaching agenda.

On Both:
In response to the Headline question -its probably both. On the personal level, many would suggest that having a wise Mentor would be one of the most valuable career assets a leader could have. Coaches will also be critical in ensuring that individual and team performance levels are consistently challenged and achieved.

Mentors - Filling in the Experience Gaps

Fresh out of school I started my career at one of the icons of Canadian business - Bell Canada. Included in the icon group were other national brands such as IBM, Xerox, Petro Canada and Imperial Oil. At the time the world was still thinking about starting and finishing your working life with the same company. These organizations were legendary for Leadership Training, Skills Development and Coaching programs that included "a new job every 6 months".


On my first day on the job, I was given a team of 12 individuals who I had to coach, motivate and manage. To support my efforts, I was sent to leadership training courses every 6 months to fill in the gaps. In hindsight, I now realize how fortunate I was to be part of a New Graduate Training program - my education and practical on the job training has been part of my fabric ever since.


In today's world a lot has changed. Clearly, the concept of "employment for life" has a new time horizon and companies are spending less on their graduate programs. Company training and education services have also been severely cut back. Gone are the days where companies would hire you for your ability to learn and proceed to train you to fill in the gaps. Recruitment today is looking for the individuals who can do the job with their existing tool sets and hit the ground running.


Working with our new breed of Entrepreneurs has a different twist. A full 50% of entrepreneurs fall between the ages of 19 and 30. How and where do these individuals get their training and skills development in today's environment?


In a recent study conducted by OI Partners (www.oipartners.net) a number of key items were identified that were consistently lead to the failure of newly minted leaders. Five of these factors include:

1. Leadership & Delegation - the ability to get results through others.



2. Motivation - the ability to rally the troops to higher levels.



3. Communication - the ability to provide clear and concise messages.



4. Personal Skills - the ability to relate on an interpersonal level.



5. Recognition - the wiliness to celebrate the successes no matter how small.

When you scan this list you conclude these factors can be "theoretically" studied, but the realty is that they have to be "experienced". So where do Entrepreneurs get the experience to fill the gap?

In a previous blog,we chatted about the importance of Advisory Boards and their impact on improving company success. These boards are helpful to gain traction in the marketplace - but today's young Entrepreneurs will need more. To supplement the experience & training gaps, a strong prescription of Mentorship from a seasoned "been there done it" Coach is clearly warranted.

Coaches will come in many forms and range from a "certified" professional, to a relative or simply a trusted friend. Often coaches are joined together in business forums, where the Entrepreneur can open up amongst a group of peers in a "risk free" environment. Regardless of the background or format, the coach will need to add value by identifying and filling critical experience gaps. Rounding out the theoretical with practical experience, will clearly enhance the probability of commercial success.