Written by: Leah Tomlin, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” ― Rumi, Persian Poet
Anecdotal evidence has long told us of the benefits of coaching and mentoring, but the science is now catching up to demonstrate the powerful impact that executive coaching and mentoring can have on individuals and their organisations (de Haan, 2021). But is coaching really a wise way to spend your money?
What exactly are Coaching and Mentoring?
Effective coaching and mentoring of people take place where both disciplines are used in combination (Clutterbuck, 2008). Many leaders don’t understand the difference between the two entities, but knowing the difference is key to how we help individuals progress throughout an organisation.
Coaching is about facilitating a transformational development journey, by raising a person’s self-awareness, helping them to gain a deeper understanding of their values and enabling them to broaden views of their choices. It’s about helping people to dream big, get clarity on their goals and to forge new paths through adopting changed beliefs and behaviours.
Mentoring is more directive than coaching. It’s about imparting knowledge and skills. The word ‘Mentor’ originates from Greek mythology. Mentor was an old, wise friend to Odysseus. Mentor was given the role of guardian and teacher to Odysseus’s son and was left in charge of his palace when Odysseus left for the Trojan war. The term has since been adopted into the English language to describe a wise teacher or imparter of knowledge.
Coaching individuals takes great skill and is about asking the right questions for the coachee to find answers within themselves. A skilled practitioner will combine both coaching and mentoring, understanding precisely which clients or situations require coaching and which require mentoring. It is not possible to coach knowledge, so an executive coach needs to know exactly when to coach and when to mentor.
What are the Benefits of Coaching?
1. Coaching enhances leadership competency and provides a positive ROI
Clients frequently want to know if coaching will be value for money, and whether they will see a return on investment (ROI). Leadership is arguably the greatest determining factor in organisational success, with leaders having a significant impact on their people, and on a company’s ROI (Shenkman, 2007). Leaders have complex roles which need to be carried out equitably, but we see large scale failure of them, even in the top positions globally. Approximately 40% of new leaders fail within the first 18 months of appointment to their leadership role (Skipton Leonard and Lang, 2010). Executive coaching and mentoring is the answer to creating and developing leaders, both for successful organisations and a more equitable society.
2. Coaching provides people with trusted support
Leadership can be a lonely place. For many leaders, coaching sessions are their only opportunity to confide in someone and to have space solely held for them and their professional goals. Therefore, leaders highly value the process and support provided by coaching. The coach-client relationship should be based on trust, confidentiality and openness, giving leaders the time and space to reflect and think deeply about themselves, their work and their organisations. Rapport and relationship building are essential and enables the coachee to feel fully supported and at ease reflecting openly on themselves and their role.
3. Coaching increases self-awareness and deepens understanding of current situations
Self-awareness is crucial as the first step to making transformational change. The coaching process should begin with the coach gaining full and complete understanding of the coachee, through questioning and listening. This can uncover hidden challenges that the leader is facing. Ideally, coaching should start with a baseline assessment of current leadership competency, through a 360-degree assessment or a self-assessment such as that provided by the Level Up Your Leadership Tool. These assessments enable coaching to be targeted at the leader’s development points, and to be measurable and tracked as progress is made. It involves deep discussion and questioning that raises coachee self-awareness, challenges beliefs and helps both parties gain clarity.
As leaders move through the coaching program, the improvements made should be measurable and therefore tangible. This enhances self-confidence and faith in the process, creates a more reflective leader and increases leadership competency in a clear and measurable way.
4. Coaching allows people to get clarity on their vision and values
Getting clear on our values is a fundamental step for effective decision making. Our values enable us to determine what is important for us and our organisations, what can and cannot be tolerated, and what steps we should be making to reach our goals. Coaching should help clients to think big, create a dare-to-dream vision and feel excited about the possibilities ahead. Exploring many avenues and options, and aligning them with clear values, allows a person to broaden their horizons and feel more confident in their final decisions to create a crystal-clear vision of their future.
5. Coaching challenges limiting beliefs, attitudes and behaviours
One of the main factors that impede our success as humans is our limiting beliefs. What’s more, most people aren’t even aware of these beliefs, as they are so deeply rooted in our subconscious. Through the coaching process, people can gain a greater understanding of how their beliefs, habits and behaviours help and hinder them. With a balance of support and challenge, a skilful coach will equip the coachee with a deeper understanding of their choices and how they impact their lives, leadership and organisations. The coachee should leave the sessions with a clearer understanding of what they need to do, how they need to think and feel, and the habits they need to develop in order to achieve their goals.
6. Coaching can propel organisation-wide culture change
Organisational culture, alongside leadership, is the most important factor in determining the success of an organisation (Xenikou and Simosi, 2006). A vibrant, learning culture should be the driver of the organisational mission. Too often culture is responsible for the downfall of strategies, and even causes the slow and painful demise of businesses. Frequently, senior leaders know that they need to address culture change, but they feel overwhelmed in terms of where to begin. Effective executive coaching enables leaders to assess and strategize culture change to ensure effective and transparent organisation-wide implementation. Creating a coaching culture, where learning, teamwork and transparency are at the heart of progress, propels organisations forward.
Finding the Right Coach
Coaching provides the most powerful means of transformational development for individuals and organisations. However, the personality, qualifications and experience of the coach are crucial in determining success. The world is awash with coaches, so finding the right one for you takes some consideration.
In my own field of Executive Coaching, it’s imperative that the coach has significant leadership and coaching experience, as well as holding an academic qualification. What’s more, a great coach will engage in regular coaching reflection and supervision, to continually challenge themselves and develop their practice. When looking for a coach, prepare a list of questions and ensure you feel a sense of rapport and trust before parting with funds. A contracting process with clear coaching objectives should start all executive coaching relationships, so find out about this crucial step and understand how impact will be measured.
Changing ourselves for the better, in a strategic, transformational and life-long manner is the wisest investment we can make.
Leah Tomlin, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Leah coaches professional women for transformation in leadership and life. She holds an exceptional range of qualifications and skills as a certified Executive Coach, business owner, published Neuroscientist and qualified Head Teacher. Her understanding of the brain, and how people learn, ensures she inspires transformational, life-long positive impact for leaders and their organisations. Her scientific background allows her to employ evidence-based brain and coaching methodologies that achieve success. Leah is passionate about gender equality, helping propel more women to the top and seeing them succeed as incredible leaders. She empowers women to understand how their brains can help and hinder them, enabling them to develop greater self-awareness, confidence and a dare-to-dream vision. Her clients love the way she coaches with emotional intelligence and warmth, focused on improving their leadership competency and helping them develop new and effective professional behaviours and habits. Working with Leah, leaders achieve greater success for themselves and their teams, as well as creating supportive cultures of excellence in their workplaces. Leah lives in Bristol, England, as a single mum to her three young children. She is passionate about wellbeing and takes time to enjoy her hobbies, including music, film, reading, art and design, yoga and dog-walking.
References
Clutterbuck, D. 2008, "What's happening in coaching and mentoring? And what is the difference between them?", Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 8-10
de Haan, E., 2021. What Works in Executive Coaching: Understanding outcomes through quantitative research and practice-based evidence. Routledge.
Shenkman, M. and Gorbaty, B., 2007. Your highest‐yielding (under‐capitalized) asset: the ROI of leadership. Business Strategy Series.
Skipton Leonard, H. and Lang, F., 2010. Leadership development via action learning. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 12(2), pp.225-240.
Xenikou, A. and Simosi, M., 2006. Organisational culture and transformational leadership as predictors of business unit performance. Journal of managerial psychology.
