What is a Coach?
A coach is a personal trainer for your life...a advocate, partner and a sounding board. A coach can help you develop and implement an action plan for attaining your life vision and goals. The coach provides structure, focus, feedback and support. Whether it is a problem managing your business, career blocks or trouble in a relationship, a coach can help you effectively achieve what you want, or even help you determine what you want when you’re not sure what it is.
A coach is:
- an advocate to support you
- a collaborator—an equal—acting together to help you reach your goal
- a challenger, telling you the truth and challenging your decisions when needed
- motivational....celebrating your insights and choices
- objective, bringing a fresh perspective
- understanding of you and your situation
Coaches often use inventories and other assessment tools to determine your present level of effectiveness. Through a “gap” analysis, they can then determine what support is needed.
Contact one of ITS-IDEAL coaches if your want someone to help you develop specific skills for personal and professional advancement.
What is a Mentor?
Mentoring is a "power-free," two-way, mutually-beneficial learning situation where the mentor provides advice, shares knowledge and experiences, and teaches using a low pressure, self-discovery approach.
Proteges bring their own personalities and perspectives to the mentoring relationship. The best mentoring relationships are action oriented and emphasize doing, trying, practicing versus telling, listening, and passive learning.
Mentoring is a reciprocal learning environment, and the mentor is encouraged to learn from the protege’s perspective, as well as share the inner workings of the organization. Mentors are often able to paint the “big picture” as they are distant from their protege’s work problems and trials. Proteges grasp learning opportunities, take learning risks, and engage the mentor as an active development partner in an “active learning” environment.
Mentoring can be done one-to-one, in learning groups, or in a virtual environment.
The payback comes not just in the reward for the organization, but also
in personal dividends.
Talk with one of ITS-IDEAL mentors to set up a mentoring program in your organization.
