A comparison of mentor and coach approaches across disciplines
Coaching and Mentoring Research Conference at Oxford Brookes University: January 2014
TINA SALTER
DCAM STUDENT
• Diversification of the field has contributed to definitional confusion:– Personally– Professional bodies and training
providers varying in focus– Literature definitions inconclusive and
often limited to the author’s experience• Clarification of mentoring and coaching
needed:– Instil greater confidence in the
profession as it becomes more established
– Appreciate the complexities, specific client needs and practitioner approaches within and across disciplines
THE PROBLEM
MENTORING Membership Organisations:
COACHING Membership Organisations:
MENTORING AND COACHING Membership Organisations:
Mentoring and Befriending Foundation (www.mandbf.org)
Association for Coaching (www.associationforcoaching.com)
European Mentoring and Coaching Council (www.emccouncil.org)
International Mentoring Network Organization (www.imno.org)
The Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (www.wabccoaches.com)
The Coaching and Mentoring Network (www.coachingnetwork.org.uk)
International Association of Coaching (www.certifiedcoach.org)
International Coach Federation (www.coachfederation.org)
Coaching Supervision Academy (www.coachingsupervisionacademy.com)
The Association for Professional Executive Coaching and Supervision (www.apecs.org)
MENTORING AND COACHING MEMBERSHIP ORGANISATIONS
A comparative case study using a social constructivist approach
Six mentoring and coaching disciplines were selected in order to explore how practitioner approaches might be similar or different
RESEARCH APPROACH
RATIONALE FOR SIX DISCIPLINES
Criteria:•Established disciplines where existing research can be found•Disciplines where practitioners can specialise or work full-time•Disciplines which offer elements for comparison
• Semi-structured interviews• Three participants
representative of each discipline (18 in total)
• Thematic analysis was used to analyse interview transcripts
• Each discipline was analysed separately before comparisons were made between all mentors and all coaches; and then comparisons were made across all disciplines
METHODOLOGY
Discipline-specific approaches – nature or nurture?Mentors of Young People
Understand the needs of young people Normally adopt a non-directive approach Do not usually need to have any specialist
knowledge Understand safeguarding, child protection and
boundary-setting Normally work with the mentee long term
Mentors of Leaders
Understand the needs of leaders and senior managers
Normally adopt a directive approach when focusing on skills
Require specialist sector and leadership knowledge
Understand organisational culture Normally work with the mentee long term
Mentors of Newly QualifiedTeachers
Understand the needs of teachers Normally adopt a directive approach Require specialist teaching knowledge Understand school culture Normally work with the mentee long term
• With child protection and safeguarding there are limits to what can be kept back (mentor of young people)
• Sponsorship mentoring which is very cleverly about the mentor being somebody very senior in the profession doing things on behalf of the mentee… somebody who is very protective (mentor of leaders)
• It will be somebody in their faculty because they can discuss very specific lesson planning or very specific syllabus type stuff (mentor of newly qualified teachers)
EXAMPLES OF DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC MENTORING KNOWLEDGE
Discipline-specific approaches – nature or nurture? Executive
Coaches
Understand the needs of executives Normally adopt a non-directive approach Do not normally require specialist knowledge
about coachees’ skill-set Understand aspects of organisational culture Normally work with coachee short term
Coaching Psychologists
Understand the internal needs of humans Normally adopt a non-directive approach Require training in psychology Normally understand aspects of
organisational culture Normally work with coachee short term
Sports Coaches
Understand the physical needs of humans Normally adopt an instructional approach Require training in sports coaching Understand technicalities of sport Normally work with coachee long term
• When I am working with my clients today who are often running a section, or sitting on a board, I have credibility immediately because I understand and I have been there (executive coach)
• I am equipped therefore to go into domains that other coaches might not be because I have that psychology and psychotherapy training. But only if the individual wants to do that. It is very client-led (coaching psychologist)
• You have to understand the role of the player in that position. And for me, to look at the technical, tactical, psychological, biomechanical and social side of the development of the individual and within a team (sports coach).
EXAMPLES OF DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC COACHING KNOWLEDGE
INTER-DISCIPLINARY SHARED PHILOSOPHIES
Deficit model
Mentors of young people
Mentors of NQTs
Sports coaches
Developmental model
Mentors of leaders
Executive coaches
Coaching psychologists
INTER-DISCIPLINARY SHARED APPROACHES
Directive approach
Mentors of leaders
Mentors of NQTs
Sports coaches
Non-directive approach
Mentors of young people
Executive coaches
Coaching psychologists
• A greater acknowledgement of where and how mentor and coach approaches adapt according to the discipline they are situated within
• Coaching young people, mentoring athletes and coaching NQTs need greater theoretical attention
DEVELOPMENT OF THEORY
• The need for practitioners, purchasers and referrers to understand how mentoring and coaching disciplines are shaped; and where alternative approaches might better fit the need of the client
• Offer mentors and coaches the opportunity to receive training so that any specialist knowledge required of a new discipline can be learned
• For practitioners to grow and become more equipped and supported to mentor and coach competently in range of settings; or be clear about the reasons why they have chosen to specialise
DEVELOPMENT OF PRACTICE
Due to the limitations of this study, further research is needed which appreciates alternative angles and experiences:•Additional perspectives from other disciplines•The mentee-coachee perspective•Views and experiences from other stakeholders
THE NEED FOR FURTHER RESEARCH