Why Invest in Coaching and Mentoring?

The trend for coaching and mentoring in the UK is on the increase and rightly so. It can bring tremendous benefit to both the individual and organisation by providing a secure and confidential forum for personal development and focus on meeting long-term business objectives.  

Many people confuse the two roles and for clarity our definition is:  

A Coach is a trusted and respected professional who works with the ‘Coachee’ in a secure and confidential environment, sharing work experiences and helping the ‘Coachee’ to reach decisions, change practices and behaviours that will ultimately lead to a greater personal understanding and achieve personal and professional goals.  

A Mentor is a professional, who has direct technical and/or managerial experience and shares this with the ‘Mentee’ in order to help that individual achieve personal and professional success within the organisation.  

The benefits of adopting a Coach or Mentor include:

• Having a respected confidant with whom ideas can be shared and concerns voiced.
• The enhancement of skills and behaviours appropriate to the organisation
• The opportunity to learn new skills
• Develop a stronger personal awareness
• Understand how behaviours impact on others
• Have a totally objective, unbiased viewpoint when sharing ideas
• Gain a fresh perspectives and a secure environment for innovative thinking
• Get advice, suggestions and options.

Coaching and Mentoring are both action-orientated partnerships focused on results. And, because both practices are established on the key principles of developing self-awareness and taking responsibility, the overall benefit to business is:  

• once an individual is more self-aware and has a greater understanding of others it becomes easier to manage and change actions
• change will only be really effective when an individual can take ownership for their development.

Research shows that businesses, corporations and individuals who invest in Coaching and/or Mentoring are more likely to achieve business success as well as personal and professional goals.