Coaching Employees vs Mentoring, Counseling or Training. Distinctions New Managers Need to Know
Coaching Employees vs Mentoring, Counseling or Training. Distinctions New Managers Need to Know
If you are planning to improve your coaching skills with your employees to help develop their potential, here’s what you need to know first.
Mentoring is not Coaching although there are many similarities.
Like Coaching, Mentoring can be formal or informal. Like Coaching, it’s a positive relationship, often between a more experienced person and a less experienced person. Like Coaching, Mentoring is also done with respect and wisdom and is valued by the other person.
However unlike Coaching, Mentors provide advice and solutions and tell what they think the other person should do. Key words are: “provide advice and solutions”
If you find yourself providing advice to your employees you are not coaching.More on this in a moment.
Counseling in business is not Coaching. Counseling is where either:
a) A staff member receives disciplinary action and is counseled on their behaviour and that terminology is used very much in the military and police force or
b) Your staff are having serious personal problems and need to speak to a qualified counselor who specialises in that area.
Unlike Coaching, Counseling focuses on past issues and ends in the present. Key words are “disciplinary action, personal problems and past to present”.
So if you find yourself having in-depth conversations with staff about personal issues and trying to provide guidance, chances are you are not Coaching, you are Counseling them.
Training is different again. A trainer tells and demonstrates. Often it’s a one to many scenario and the trainer has a license to be quite prescriptive in his/her language and directive in their actions. Key words are “tells and demonstrates”.
Now this is where students often say—“hey wait a minute Juliette. What about a sports coach? Their job is to tell and demonstrate the techniques”.
Well that’s true. That’s how Sports Coaching typically works. The Coach tells, plans the play, demonstrates the techniques and gets the team to act on it. That sports coaching. But that’s not what Coaching employees is all about and if you visit any Executive, Business or Life coaching school or check in with the International Coach Federation which is the leading body for professional coaching world wide you’ll soon see that professional coaching in business demands a different approach to your regular sports coach.
Read this very carefully because this is the simplest yet often the most contentious concept for managers to grasp yet it goes to the very heart of who you will or will not become as a coach for your people.
Coaching in the workplace does not provide advice. It does not spend a lot of time looking into the past. It does not rely on a one way flow of telling and instructing.
Life, Business and Executive coaching all:
a) Start in the present (not the past)
b) Use listening and powerful questioning techniques to understand where your employee is now and where they want to go so that they determine how they will get there.
c) Are based on the philosophy that your staff already know the answers to the majority of their challenges but lack confidence or insight to back their own judgment and take action.
d) Focus on unlocking the employees’ inner wisdom so that they can solve their own problems with confidence.
Business, Executive and Life Coaches all know that in the majority of circumstances, their coachee (staff member) has either experienced a similar problem before or know someone else who has or have the ability to come up with a variety of options and chose a solution with a little help.
The coach’s job is not to provide the solution or give advice (as a Mentor would) but to question the person to help them find and seize opportunities for themselves so that they develop their own ability to find their own solutions.
It is surprising, how a few quick guiding questions can help others on the path to see the opportunities around them and give them confidence and insight to explore them.
Coaching Employees vs Mentoring Counseling or Training Distinctions New Managers Need to Know - To learn more about this author, visit Juliette Robertson's Website.
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In all my years training managers how to coach staff, common misconceptions always arise regarding what we actually mean by coaching in a business setting.
If you are planning to improve your coaching skills with your employees to help develop their potential, here’s what you need to know first.
Mentoring is not Coaching although there are many similarities.
Like Coaching, Mentoring can be formal or informal. Like Coaching, it’s a positive relationship, often between a more experienced person and a less experienced person. Like Coaching, Mentoring is also done with respect and wisdom and is valued by the other person.
However unlike Coaching, Mentors provide advice and solutions and tell what they think the other person should do. Key words are: “provide advice and solutions”
If you find yourself providing advice to your employees you are not coaching.More on this in a moment.
Counseling in business is not Coaching. Counseling is where either:
a) A staff member receives disciplinary action and is counseled on their behaviour and that terminology is used very much in the military and police force or
b) Your staff are having serious personal problems and need to speak to a qualified counselor who specialises in that area.
Unlike Coaching, Counseling focuses on past issues and ends in the present. Key words are “disciplinary action, personal problems and past to present”.
So if you find yourself having in-depth conversations with staff about personal issues and trying to provide guidance, chances are you are not Coaching, you are Counseling them.
Training is different again. A trainer tells and demonstrates. Often it’s a one to many scenario and the trainer has a license to be quite prescriptive in his/her language and directive in their actions. Key words are “tells and demonstrates”.
Now this is where students often say—“hey wait a minute Juliette. What about a sports coach? Their job is to tell and demonstrate the techniques”.
Well that’s true. That’s how Sports Coaching typically works. The Coach tells, plans the play, demonstrates the techniques and gets the team to act on it. That sports coaching. But that’s not what Coaching employees is all about and if you visit any Executive, Business or Life coaching school or check in with the International Coach Federation which is the leading body for professional coaching world wide you’ll soon see that professional coaching in business demands a different approach to your regular sports coach.
Read this very carefully because this is the simplest yet often the most contentious concept for managers to grasp yet it goes to the very heart of who you will or will not become as a coach for your people.
Coaching in the workplace does not provide advice. It does not spend a lot of time looking into the past. It does not rely on a one way flow of telling and instructing.
Life, Business and Executive coaching all:
a) Start in the present (not the past)
b) Use listening and powerful questioning techniques to understand where your employee is now and where they want to go so that they determine how they will get there.
c) Are based on the philosophy that your staff already know the answers to the majority of their challenges but lack confidence or insight to back their own judgment and take action.
d) Focus on unlocking the employees’ inner wisdom so that they can solve their own problems with confidence.
Business, Executive and Life Coaches all know that in the majority of circumstances, their coachee (staff member) has either experienced a similar problem before or know someone else who has or have the ability to come up with a variety of options and chose a solution with a little help.
The coach’s job is not to provide the solution or give advice (as a Mentor would) but to question the person to help them find and seize opportunities for themselves so that they develop their own ability to find their own solutions.
It is surprising, how a few quick guiding questions can help others on the path to see the opportunities around them and give them confidence and insight to explore them.
Coaching Employees vs Mentoring Counseling or Training Distinctions New Managers Need to Know - To learn more about this author, visit Juliette Robertson's Website.
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Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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