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taking competencies and the impact you can make with them to the next level...

Professional coaches also specialize in other types of coaching including executive/leadership coaching, career coaching, and life coaching.  Selection of a coach really is a very personal decision - you need to feel comfortable with rapport, trust, and breadth of experience.  You also need to develop confidence in the approach, structure, and process a coach utilizes - ask questions upfront as you make your selection and anytime along the journey.

Coaching, Mentoring, and Counseling defined and explored

Many organizations and leaders (present company included) have spent untold hours wringing our hands over precise and exclusive definitions for each of coaching, mentoring, and counseling.  They legitimately can mean somewhat different things in different organizations and cultures.  While I have personally come to believe that the behaviors, dialogue, and activities associated with each are perhaps more important than the respective labels and roles per se, I do have some favorite and relatively succinct definitions that seem to resonate well with people:
Coaching
Structured encouragement and skill-building with permission in the interest of achieving incremental performance
Mentoring
Trusted guidance often delivered through the sharing of experiences
Counseling
Advisement, support, and feedback throughout performance management, goal setting, and career planning cycles
Sponsorship
Another support role or activity that can mean very different things in different organizations.  While In some cases funding may be involved, it is often more about serving as an advocate or champion.

I have also come to appreciate the similarities among these activities and to respect the differences.  Many attributes of those performing these important support roles and demonstrating associated behaviors are common among all.  Someone who is good at coaching is often also good at mentoring and counseling.  Someone who is lousy at counseling may also be lousy at coaching and mentoring.  Some would say it is more about will than skill; however, there is more to consider:


  • In selecting performance coaches, subject matter expertise in the skill(s) you are seeking to further develop is relevant.  For example, I feel very comfortable coaching someone in behavioral interviewing; I would not feel comfortable coaching someone in scuba diving.  Those with whom you work day-to-day may be wonderful sources of support in the form of informal coaching.  Sometimes it is helpful to also gain benefit of professional coaching structure and objective perspective.

 






  • In selecting mentors, richness of experience is probably a distinguishing variable.  You might look to individuals who have accomplished the things you seek to accomplish as a starting point - role models.  Also consider those who have already expressed or demonstrated an interest in your career - you may be developing mentoring relationships without having declared them as such.  Initiating new mentoring relationships really can be much easier than you may think - a great way to start is by asking someone about his/her experiences.  Trust me, people love to talk about what they have done and what they have achieved - you really can't go wrong...!


  • In selecting counselors/advisors; success, respect, and knowledge of the organization (including official and unofficial politics) are criteria to consider.  The abilities to serve as your feedback interpreter, support you in navigating your organization, and perhaps to serve as an advocate when appropriate are all important.  (Note: in some organizations, counselors/advisors may be assigned and/or by definition may be your boss/supervisor.)


  • In positioning yourself to be supported by sponsors, consider how influential they may be in your organization specific to what you want to achieve.  Because sponsorship is very organization-specific, it's important to understand what the relationship is intended to be and how it is intended to work in your environment.  For example, it may be aligned with something like a promotion process or it may be more broadly defined.
I was honored to be interviewed and quoted by:

USA Today - "Get by with a little help from your mentor..."

California CPA Magazine - "Teach them well: mentoring programs go a long way toward staff retention, development..."