Coaching and Mentoring 1 L 005
There has been much written about these subjects. For my purposes I simply want to encourage all leaders or aspiring leaders to seriously pursue the vital input and catalyst to personal growth that a coach or mentor can bring
My simple definition of a coach is someone who helps you develop your skills, be they in leadership or in any other area of life. A mentor by my definition is someone who is more interested in the whole of your life and is likely to touch on other areas such as character and relationships s well. A coach is likely to be quite hands off compared with a mentor, who may ask quite personally probing questions. A coach may be quite directive in helping you acquire specific knowledge and skills, a mentor is more likely to help you towards self-discovery and self-awareness.
However, the point is not to get hung up on what you call them, we all need others to speak into our lives and help us develop if we are to grow, (and if we stop growing we start dying). We need the challenge of others insights and at time brutal honesty if we are all to make our best contribution and reach our full potential.
Over the years I have enjoyed the benefit of many different people’s input and still do. If you do not have someone like this, then why not pray and ask God
- What you need
- Who you need
- Why you need it
This last question is probably the most important and will keep you motivated to pursue such a relationship. It is also the first questions that they are likely to ask you. The ‘why’ questions is always the most important
