Analysis of Article about the Difference between Mentoring and Coaching - Assignment Example

Article Organization and its leaders will expect every employee to perform at their best and optimal levels all the time. However, certain employees could exhibit certain deficiencies in their skill level, knowledge level, work productivity, etc, etc. When the employees have shortfalls in their performance and productivity, apt training has to be given to them. Among the various training modes that are currently followed in various organizations in different sectors, coaching and mentoring appears to be two of the well-known ones. Although, coaching and mentoring appears to be one and the same, they have certain distinct differences. These differences were pointed out various experts and authors, which have been featured in articles. So, this paper focusing on two articles titled Mentoring and coaching: what’s the difference? Written by David Macafee and Bob Garvey and Coach, Mentor: Is there a difference? written by Matt M. Starcevich will first provide a summary of the article, followed by the discussion of the main issues in both the articles and its impact organizations, finally ending with a contrast and comparison with the text titled Employee Training and Development written by Raymond A. Noe. Summary David Macafee and Bob Garvey start of their article by providing details about the origins of the word and practice of mentoring and coaching. Then, before focusing on the differences, they first start off by providing the similarities between coaching and mentoring. In the main body of the article, the authors discuss coaching and mentoring separately, but in that discussion, they point out how both of them differ in the purpose and in the process. That is, they opine that mentorship is a long-term beneficiary act, while coaching is a short-term performance-oriented act. In the subsequent paragraphs, the authors discuss the difference by focusing on the applications of coaching and mentoring, and how they are applied differently in differently. The authors mainly point out how coaching has become more commercialized than mentoring. The authors Macafee and Garvey end the article by stressing the importance of having good and effective coaches and mentors, and how they can bring out positive effects on the employee and thereby the organization as a whole. On the other, in the second article, its author Starcevich begins off his article by pointing about an on-line survey conducted “to define what protégé’s felt were the attributes of effective mentoring relationships” (Starcevich, 2007). Then he jumps in the main subject of Coaching and Mentoring by bringing out the differences between a mentor and coach in the form a Table. He mainly differentiates the coaches and the mentors by analyzing them under six different perspectives. That is, coaches and mentors are analyzed on basis of their Focus, Role, Relationship, Source of influence, Personal returns and Arena. The author Starcevich by discussing each of these perspectives effectively is able to bring out the differences between coaching and mentoring Main Issues of Both Articles The main issues which were discussed by the authors Macafee and Garvey and then Starcevich in their articles are the differences between coaching and mentoring, then suggesting which could be more effective and finally the role of each training method in an organization. Speaking about differences, the authors in both the articles mainly point out that mentors focus on the employees and their all round development particularly their personal growth, while coaches focus on the organization’s targets and workers’ performance. Focusing on this key difference, Macafee and Garvey (2010) state, “The mentor is a facilitator without an agenda, and although improvement in performance may be one outcome, the focus is more holistic and includes personal growth and learning”, while “Coaching, with its origins in sport, frequently has a performance focus and a specific agenda and is, therefore, often task oriented within the workplace.” On the same lines, Starcevich (2007) also brings out these two diffenent roles of coaching and mentoring by stating, “The mentor has a deep personal interest, personally involved—a friend who cares about you and your long term development. The coach develops specific skills for the task, challenges and performance expectations at work.” Because of this focus, the role of mentors will be of facilitators and a guide, while coaches will play the role of teachers, who demand results. This focus on developing or importantly training an employee by providing optimal environment also differs between coaching and mentoring. That is, one of key expectation of training is, it should not only make the employee job equipped, but should also make him/her trained and developed individual. In that direction, Mentors instead of coming up with their own solutions or forcing their own decisions, will allow his/he mentee to explore the available solutions by themselves. This key point or difference was pointed out by both the authors, with Macafee and Garvey (2010) stating “a mentee only decides, with their mentor’s help, what his or her options are, makes a decision right for them, and goes through the period of change with ongoing support from the mentor.” On the same lines Starcevich (2007) points out how mentoring is actually two-way mutually beneficial relationship, with mentors facilitating his/her mentee or understudy to discover their own solutions or direction, while a coach will have a set agenda and will expect solutions on those lines. Thus, the relationship between mentor and employee will be more warm and longstanding than between coaches and employees. In coaches’ case, the returns will be in the form of reaching targets and financial benefits, while mentors would not expect any returns as part of the mentoring process, whatever is the arena. This is reason why coaching is becoming more commercialized than mentoring. Coaching is carried out by outside experts who are paid sizable remuneration, on the other hand mentoring is out carried by in-house senior or experienced employees without any extra payment apart from their salary. So, in the case of mentoring, the returns will be mainly in the form of learning and knowledge which are gained through the process. This perspective by pointed out by Starcevich (2007) “The mentoring relationship is reciprocal. There is a learning process for the mentor from the feedback and insights of the partners.” Macafee and Garvey (2010) focus on the financial or commercial nature of coaching by pointing out, “The differences between mentoring and coaching are more apparent because of commercial pressure rather than underlying beliefs and concepts. Modern “coaching” is a huge business (£72m in 2006), with few modes and many brands”. Although, the authors point out all these above mentioned differences, the also put forward some similarities in relation to coaches and mentors, apart from the common purpose, they both hold. That is, both the authors state that coaches and mentors does not need to be experts or specialist or proficient in a particular field. They mainly need to be attentive, inquisitive and even sensitive to the needs of the training employees. As Macafee and Garvey (2010) states coached “need not be a specialist in the field but should be skilled in questioning and listening to enable the individual to find answers themselves.” Starcevich (2007) also toe the same line and even states that it would be detrimental for the employee, if the mentor is a specialist in a field. “Mentors need not be an all-knowing expert—such a position could be detrimental.” (Starcevich, 2007). Impact of each issue on today’s organizations To run an organization without any impediments, training programs should be conducted in an optimum way and for that coaching and mentoring will be greatly helpful. That is, organizations can do that by using the services of existing experienced employees (Mentors) or experts from outside (Coaches). Mentor and Coach can train not only the under-skilled existing workers, but also the newly recruited groups of workers. Actually, coaching and mentoring have become an integral part of many organizations’ functioning, as the employees themselves are expecting some aid and guidance. Through this aid and guidance, the employees can become optimally trained and equipped, and that can enable to contribute effectively to the organization. That is, a trained employee could carry out his/her allocated tasks efficiently, timely and even in an enriching way. This will surely increase the productivity of the organization, and thereby more production, leading to better financial profits and success. Thus, organizations can achieve their business goals through effective coaching and mentorship programs. Contrast and Comparison with the text In the book, Employee Training and Development, Raymond Noe focuses on the fundamentals of training and development, and how it could impact organizational functioning. The author lists out various training processes for different organizational situations. Among the many training processes mentioned by Noe, the articles discuss just the two training processes of coaching and mentoring. The difference or natural difference is, the text does not discuss mentoring and coaching in an in-depth way and slightly touch about both the processes. That is natural because the text focused on whole range of training processes, and so allocation to coaching and mentoring has to be minimal. However, the bottom line is, both the articles have aptly brought out the differences between coaching and mentoring, and importantly provided good information on how equip the employees optimally through both the processes. Reference: Macafee, D and Garvey, B. (2010). Mentoring and coaching: what’s the difference? Retrieved from: http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/view- article.html?id=20001204 Starcevich, M. M. (2007). Coach, Mentor: Is there a difference? Retrieved from: http://www.coachingandmentoring.com/Articles/mentoring.html Read More