Which Hat Are You Wearing Today?
Are you a coach or mentor? More importantly, do you know when you need to assume each role? You know that it’s important to be able to perform both roles but do you know which hat to wear and when? :
When you get promoted, you take on the responsibility of leading others to achieve organizational goals. Pretty simple, right? You’re given the authority, you accept the responsibility, and you are assumed to have the basic skills for success. What’s often lacking, especially in the beginning, is understanding the difference between managing, coaching, and mentoring the team.
The Manager
Management is the process of getting work done through others. Whether you’re assigning tasks, creating projects, or delegating responsibilities. You’re the one that keeps the train running on schedule. To do that you must have the right people in the right jobs and that they have the right skills to do it.
The Coach
Coaching is a bit different. Once you’ve started assigning work to your team, you start to notice how well they perform. Improving performance requires that you elevate your skill set. You’ve got everyone in the right jobs with the right skills but the train is running a little slower than you’d like. Now you start to assess your team and figure out who may need some individual instruction to get things back on schedule. This is where you become the analyst and the teacher. This is where you go 1:1 and create specific goals and instructions for the individual team member.
The Mentor
Mentoring is a whole different ball game. Your team is performing as expected and the train is running smoothly. One of your strong performers wants more. They want more responsibility and career development. In my opinion, this is where your leadership skills come into play. Great mentors create great organizations because they are invested in owning the whole . The great thing about mentoring is that it’s not about correcting problems or teaching skills. It’s about the employee’s career development and the future of the organization. It’s about using your knowledge and skills to guide them through growing pains as they attempt to figure out who they are, what they want, and how to get there. Heck, it’s not even really about the train.
While coaches are in the business of helping team members improve, it is not the time and place for mentoring. On the other hand, mentoring can be a component of coaching. Your job is to know the difference.