Mentorship and Coaching: Nurturing the Growth and Development of Team Members Richard Ghilarducci
A rising number of modern corporate businesses prioritize the practices of mentorship and coaching for the development of their employees. Apart from nurturing their professional growth, an expert mentor can support employees in their personal growth and enhance their skill level. According to Richard Ghilarducci, it is high time for businesses that are yet on the fence to integrate coaching and mentoring to explore how adopting the practices can be beneficial for the overall development of team members. For a thorough understanding of the importance of these two components keep reading.
Why are Mentorship and Coaching Important for Businesses?
The whole objective of mentorship and coaching in a business establishment involves developing the personal and professional skills of employees while making them a valued part of the workplace. It can be a short-term or ongoing process that focuses on the overall development of every employee involved. It also helps in learning new skills or sharpening existing ones, and thereby instills self-confidence in employees. Each member in the workplace ranging from the leaders to junior employees requires specialized coaching and mentorship.
While professionals from external sources with specialization in the industry are chiefly hired for mentorship and coaching, a co-founder and one or more internal members of the business may play the role of a mentor and coach employees.
How does Coaching Differentiate from Mentorship?
According to Richard Ghilarducci, although, the terms mentoring and coaching are often used interchangeably, however, there is a noteworthy difference among them. Here is an outline
Coaching helps by outlining the strategic ways that a team needs to follow to reach their desired goals. Depending on the need, the instructions can be more specific or detailed to help employees get a clear impression of what they are expected to do to perform better. Coaching focuses on teaching something new to the employees, so it can be a short-term strategy or continue for the development of newly boarded employees. Thus it can lead to
- Increased confidence in employees
- Greater self-awareness
- Unleashing Potential
Conversely, mentoring involves regular as well as ongoing (for a certain period) one-to-one meetings/sessions in which a mentor focuses on employees’ personal and professional growth, soft and hard skills and also monitors each employee’s rate of progress. Effective mentorship can take the self-confidence and self-awareness of employees to a new level and also instill greater communication and leadership skills in them. Regardless a mentor is a team member or an outside professional, the professional focuses on the long-term growth of each employee and thereby aligns their skills gradually with the workplace objectives.
Thus, mentorship can lead to
- Creating support networks
- Widening prospective
- Up-skilling
- Building personal networks
- Progressing careers
Key Benefits of Mentorship and Coaching
As per Richard Ghilarducci, mentorship, and coaching work in conjunction as two vital pillars in employee development programs. Here’s an impression of how they work together and benefit employers who integrate it into their business practices.
- Personal and professional growth of employees leading to improved performance;
- Effective mentorship and coaching promote employee engagement and make them collaborative;
- The sessions are proven great for upskilling employees leading to increased productivity;
- The special attention employees receive from a coach and during mentorship makes them feel valued, making them inspired to put in their best efforts for the employer;
- Incorporating coaching and mentorship works wonderfully to lessen employee turnover and promote the retention of talent.
To conclude, considering the potential of mentorship and coaching for the progression and development of employees, it makes sense for employers to implement the practices and reap their outcomes.
