Coaching and Mentoring

by Anna Britnuor Guest

Coaching and Mentoring for the Senior Executive

In employing a coach or mentor, the senior executive needs to consider a number of factors. The first key consideration is the objective - what am I hoping to achieve? Coaching and mentoring services are often required at times of significant organisational or personal change, for instance on promotion to board level. Many new Directors face a variety of challenges, from how to behave with former peers who are now subordinates through to operating more strategically. Whether the requirement is driven by the individual or the company, the choices are numerous. For instance, is it appropriate to engage a member of the same organisation, a peer within a different company via an exchange scheme or professional mentor or coach? There are no hard and fast rules: there are benefits and drawbacks to each.

An internal mentor can be a powerful aide in providing admittance to parts of the organisation otherwise inaccessible. Their strength comes from their detailed and specific internal knowledge but this can evidently pose some issues in terms of company politics and matters of confidentiality. A mentor who comes from another organisation brings different benefits, particularly in offering alternative perspectives and insights. The downside is that mentoring relationships are not always easy to establish and maintain and can peeter out if they are not formalised at the outset and managed appropriately.

The alternative is to employ a professional coach or mentor. The benefits are gained from working with an individual who is highly skilled as well as experienced in managing such relationships. Drawbacks are that an external coach may not be able to leverage opportunities for networking and inside track promotion.

The growth of coaching as a means of organisational development and training is not insignificant with many prestigious organisations opting to fund one-to-one programmes for entire senior or middle management teams. Others provide board members with a personal, external mentor or coach to facilitate improvements in key interpersonal skills such as communication and co-operation within a team environment. Using this approach, a leading china manufacturer is gaining considerable benefit in examining, understanding and evolving how the board members operate as a cohesive team.

For the senior executive, the coach is an ideal sounding board and a powerful facilitator for personal growth along with behavioural and attitudinal change. He or she is an objective partner who will support and yet challenge views, behaviours and attitudes in a constructive manner. Above all, the executive gains an ally whose primary motivation is their success.