As a mentor and mentee or coach and player, I have been intrigued about the relationship from both sides and that is where today’s journey begins.

I have had a number of mentors in my career. In my first experience as a mentee, what was clear in my mind was that I was supposed to learn from my mentor so that I could pass bar school! Well, I did pass bar school, by the way, but my point here is that the relationship between a mentor and mentee is much more than achieving the overt milestones in one’s career development.

During this experience, I found myself observing my mentor very closely…decorum, scrutiny and his general conduct as he performed legal work, which I admired. I learned that he had a certain way of doing things that singled him out as unique and I resonated with that notion. I wanted to be as astute as he was (and still is) but I was resolved to develop my own “pizazz”!

When the opportunity came for me to mentor someone, I was totally committed to the process, just like my first mentor taught me. I also came to certain realizations about myself. For example, how much I knew about a certain issue or subject and my responses to different challenges presented to me by my mentee became critical success factors to the mentorship program. Sometimes I was even gripped with the fear that I was not adequately addressing issues. I was ushered into the world of teaching myself with a view to imparting experience and knowledge to others. I was constantly reminding myself of the responsibility I had towards the process and how I valued doing it well.

Mentoring is also about being able to address the softer sides of career development, such as factors that may add or even impede performance. It is important for a mentor to create an environment that says, “we are human and that is completely fine”! One’s experiences and personality traits are an important consideration in the process of career guidance and development. I find the part where mentor and mentee take time to tell each other about themselves (within acceptable boundaries) and explain their expectations and aspirations, very helpful. There is a lot you can walk through and address when you are equipped with the correct information.

In relation to coaching, it differs from mentoring because in coaching, the focus and goal is to teach the player how to perform the task in accordance with set rules. For example, in a football team, the players are taught how to attack, defend, strike and so on in accordance with the rules of the game. In governance, one would coach colleagues on procedures, processes and delivery on targets. Due to the nature of corporates, you will find that there is more coaching being done because that is what helps to achieve and even exceed performance targets. In short, that is where the money is!

Having said that, I believe that coaching and mentoring can happen simultaneously and I propose that the hybrid is optimal. A leader is supposed to be able to mentor and coach at the same time if given the opportunity, especially if the mentees and players belong to their group in the organisation. The case may be different if your mentee is from a different profession.

I would particularly like to commend those organizations that have a deliberate mentorship program as part of key performance indicators for their employees in positions of leadership. Having been privileged to have worked for one such organisation, I can only thank the organisation for contributing to enhancing some of my attributes!

Thank you!