Point/Counterpoint: Mentoring vs. Coaching

Upon hiring a new employee, is mentoring a more effective leadership strategy than coaching?

YES.

New employees bring skills that hopefully ensure they will make a valuable contribution to your business. They may even be a hew hire in their very first job. Regardless of a new employee’s prior experience, if an employer wants to create an environment that motivates, satisfies, supports and retains them, the best approach is to engage them upon hiring in an effective mentoring program.

We often confuse and even misuse the terms “mentoring” and “coaching.” Businesses have focused on internal coaching for years without recognizing the benefits of mentoring, which is a strategy to develop the whole person through guidance and long-term development opportunities. It is personal and friendship based, and it offers non-judgmental support for the volunteer mentee from a positive role model: their volunteer mentor. Mentors help mentees thrive in a new environment, teach them how to navigate the business culture and pass along strong leadership skills.

Coaching, on the other hand, involves different goals. While all new employees can benefit from mentoring, not all need coaching. Typically, the goal of coaching is to improve job performance or promote career development. The focus is often on immediate problems and learning opportunities.

Most managers don’t make the decision to provide a coach for a new employee until later in their employment, and this coaching intervention is usually not voluntary. For example, the human resources department may determine that an employee needs to improve their performance and implement coaching as a response.

When implemented for a new employee, mentoring offers perspective, insight, support and wisdom based on experience. It is not only a sound and invaluable investment in new employees, it’s also two-directional. Mentors get as much out of the experience as mentees.

—Dr. Susan G. Weinberger, president, Mentor Consulting Group

NO.

It’s always a good idea to keep your eyes open for a potential mentor when beginning a new job. A mentor can help with acclimation, development and engagement—which, during the first 90 days of employment, can be especially challenging.

However, finding a mentor without a deeper knowledge of the organization can often be too overwhelming for a new recruit and could even be unadvisable until at least a few months have passed. Some experience with an organization is often helpful before entering into a mentoring relationship because it gives the mentee the opportunity to observe the leadership styles, strengths and attributes of a potential mentor.

Many businesses require employees to wait a specified time period before joining an existing mentoring program. But even if employees have the option to join a mentoring program on their start date, since the goal of mentoring is development, some may find it more advantageous to wait to develop an awareness of their learning needs in the new role.

In the first 90 days, new employees often face a barrage of not only new information, but also a new organizational culture and new team dynamics—which means coaching may be a better solution than mentoring. In contrast to mentoring, coaching offers an opportunity for new employees to begin familiarizing themselves with the organizational structure, politics and culture right out of the gate.

For example, a coach can play a pivotal role in helping an employee devise a plan for learning and discovery in the first 90 days, better equipping the employee for navigating the organization and setting themselves up for success. By facilitating discovery of a new employee’s strengths and identifying gaps in skills and knowledge, the coach can increase the new employee’s likelihood of success and engagement.

Bonus: Often, this process better equips a new employee to articulate the right qualities in an effective mentor once the time is right.

—Lisa Fain, diversity and inclusion leadership strategist, Leadership Development Services, LLC