Coach or mentor?

July 2013

Greetings!

Mentoring has a long and valued history, dating back to Greek mythology. There are several benefits from developing a Mentor-Mentee relationship. The business world has recently recognized those benefits and have started developing internal mentoring programs. The Center for Business & Industry has recently assisted several organizations with the implementation of those programs.

Despite all the benefits of mentoring, sometimes your employees need a coach, not a mentor. Please read on to find out the difference between the two and determine which one your employees need the most.

COACH OR MENTOR: Which One Do Your Employees Need?

Damian J. Dinan

Most successful people, whether it's in business, sports or any walk of life, can look back on their achievements and point to a few key people that made the difference along the way. Oprah Winfrey credits her 4th grade teacher Mrs. Duncan; Hillary Rodham Clinton credits Rev. Donald James; Quincy Jones credits Ray Charles. Even Luke Skywalker had his Obi-Wan. Everyone has that one person who made a huge impact on the person they were to become.

People also remember the great coaches they've had. The people that saw our potential and then motivated us and pushed us to achieve results we never thought were possible. We tend to think of coaches in the context of sports and there are certainly great examples from that arena; Vince Lombardi, Phil Jackson, Bill Parcels just to name a few.

The business world needs coaches as well. According to the Harvard Business Review, the number one reason coaches are engaged is to develop high potential employees. Good coaching is an immensely powerful tool because it helps the individual to help themselves, while mentoring is much more about sharing experience with a willing person on how to approach specific business problems that they have successfully dealt with in the past.

A mentor is generally defined as a trusted counselor or guide. A mentor, whether assigned to us through a formal program or self-selected, is there to provide support and guidance for both career and personal development. Dr. Matt Starcevich,

defines a mentor as "...a sounding board, they can give advice but the partners are free to pick and choose what they do. The context does not have specific performance objectives."

CONSORTIUM BASED CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

Fall 2013

Business Woman

CBI is offering new sessions of its popular, consortuim based, comprehensive certificate programs beginning in August. Certificate programs consist of four to six learning modules, depending upon the certificate. However, meeting dates are not consecutive which enables participants to practice what they learned between modules. To learn more, please click on the certificate title listed below:

Economics of Safety - Aug. 6

Successful Safety Committee - Aug. 6

Customer Service - Aug. 20

New! Continuous Process Improvement - Sept. 12

Healthcare Leader - Sept. 12

Management Certificate - Sept. 12

Fees per certificate vary. To learn more about the programs, please contact Damian Dinan at ddinan@northampton.edu or at 610-861-5064.

CBI Workshop Resources