When it comes to having a mentor/coach in your professional journey, I am glad to say I have experienced this interaction, and it has benefited me today. I had this mentor (who I consider a brother, father figure, and all around awesome guy) who helped mold and shape my mentality, leadership career, and most of all my attitude toward things that surround both my personal and official life (career). “Advancement can be a benefit of mentoring, but it is not its purpose. The sole purpose of mentoring was once career advancement and promotion, which explains why mentoring was often seen as merely an activity to groom the next generation of leaders. The goal of mentoring today has shifted to focus on helping anyone gain new insights and abilities” (Emelo, R. 2011).
The significance and importance of having a coach and or
mentor is to allow an individual to become a successful leader/manager. As a
coach I like to use the coaching zone method from “uses effective
communication, such as listening for underlying themes or assumptions, asking
questions, posing possibilities, and pushing thinking so that clear and
creative ideas emerge. Decisions are therefore created by the group, not by any
one individual, as they openly share information and thinking” (Novak, D.,
Reilly, M., & Williams, D.2010). As a mentor the significance and
importance can relate to as a “process that supports learning and development,
and therefore, performance improvements for an individual, team, or business.
It typically involves offline help by one person to another in making
significant transitions in knowledge, work, thinking, or career” (Emelo, R. 2011).
Having a great coach and mentor really impacted me in my
career as I stated earlier. He taught me the dos and don’ts of my career in the
Army. From how to approach soldiers, to care for them, to take care of my
administrative career, to be actively participate and show them I am one of
them (as a subordinate). Even when it comes to coaching, I remember a time when
he taught me to never whine when it comes to doing tasks, physical training,
and overall working to improve myself. Even when the tasks seem so difficult he
taught me how to adapt and overcome it. “Coaching in most applications
addresses performance in some aspect of an individual’s work or life; while
mentoring is more often associated with much broader, holistic development and
with career progress” (Salter, T., & Gannon, J. M. 2015).
As I continue my professional growth and journey I plan to
continue to learn my craft. There is never too much information to learn. I
remember I was always told, “If they send you to a course to learn how to clean
a bathroom, you learn it, and be the best bathroom cleaner you can possibly be”.
I always appreciated my coach and mentor for he paved the way for me to create
my own path and allow me to become the coach and mentor he sees that I can be. “There
are times when mentoring is required, when your colleague wants the benefit of
your knowledge, experience and advice on what course of action he/she should
take. Then there are those times when a coaching conversation is called for,
when your professional experience and beliefs are not what’s required, and can
even get in the way” (Hicks, R., & McCracken, J. 2009)
References:
Emelo, R. (2011). Conversations with mentoring leaders. T
+ D, 65(6), 32-37,6. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/872083534?accountid=27203
Emelo, R. (2011). CREATING A NEW mindset: Guidelines for
mentorship in today's workplace. T + D, 65(1), 44-49. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/846785033?accountid=27203
Hicks, R., & McCracken, J. (2009). Mentoring vs.
coaching--do you know the difference? Physician Executive, 35(4), 71.
Novak, D., Reilly, M., & Williams, D. (2010). LEADERSHIP
PRACTICES ACCELERATE into HIGH SPEED. Journal of Staff Development, 31(3),
32-37,66. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/870834137?accountid=27203
Salter, T., & Gannon, J. M. (2015). Exploring shared and
distinctive aspects of coaching and mentoring approaches through six
disciplines. European Journal of Training and Development, 39(5),
373-392. doi:10.1108/EJTD-02-2015-0014
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