Mentoring and coaching in the workplace: an insight into two leading leadership development programs in organizations.

Publication: Canadian Manager

Publication Date: 22-SEP-04

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COPYRIGHT 2004 Canadian Institute of Management

What most of us don't realize when we get dressed to go to work every morning is that the workplace is a unique learning environment with opportunities to continue life-long learning agendas. Today, more than ever, organizations have realized the importance of providing leadership development opportunities to its people to motivate employees, stay competitive and, ultimately, positively impact the bottom-line of business. The terms mentoring and coaching have come to be used more frequently in organizations to improve leadership competencies.

These terms, however, are used interchangeably and the meanings are confused easily. It is important for organizations to have a clear definition of each program and a solid understanding of what leadership means to them --it doesn't necessarily have to be the identical definition/understanding for everyone--but unexamined assumptions may lead to unintended outcomes. What is important is that the different needs and requirements be clearly understood and the suitable action (be it mentoring or coaching) be taken. This will lead to the optimum effectiveness of the programs. Below the different aspects of mentoring and coaching are examined.

Mentoring

Leading organizations today are recognizing mentoring as an effective program to develop their organization's intellectual capital to remain competitive. Mentoring is the form of providing support in which individuals with more advanced experience and knowledge (mentors) are matched with lesser-experienced and knowledgeable individuals (mentees) for the purpose of advancing the mentee's development.

For mentoring programs to be successful within dynamic contexts, there are several factors that organizations will need to pay attention to. First and foremost, is the need to assess the situation and determine if mentoring is the most effective course of action. For example, mentoring is an effective knowledge...

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