170 - How does being a manager impact the way you mentor or coach?

How does being a manager impact the way you mentor or coach?

When I started writing Think Like A Coach I had this triangle in mind.

I thought it might help me convey that managers have two ways to develop their team:

Mentor, characterised by a telling style where you share your experience, advice or guidance.
Coach, characterised by an asking style where you ask questions to help people find their own solution.

If you’ve read the book, this might seem familiar to you, except you might notice that ‘Manager’ is not included in the diagram I used.

And that’s because I cut it.

Initially I got into a lengthy discussion of the power dynamics of a manager and their team and I wanted to use this diagram to depict it.

I explained to my book coach that the bottom of the triangle, mentor to coach, is a continuum and as a manager you’ll be dancing up and down that line. Like this:

He then asked me what it looked like to move up and down between manager and mentor or manager and coach.

And I didn’t have an answer.

I grappled with it for ages and finally found another way to get my point across so I cut it from the book.

Which is ironic, because I profoundly believe that taking a coach-like approach frees you from having to have all the answers and yet I shied away from that idea in writing this part of the book.

Just goes to show that after 12 years of coaching I still slip up too. We’re all awesomely human and the best thing to do is notice the slip ups, reflect on them and do something different next time.

So in that spirit I’ve got some questions for you and I’d love your thoughts.

❓ What do you notice when you look at the triangle?
❓ What impact does your role as manager have on your choice to mentor or coach your team?
❓ How would you describe the role of manager as distinct from mentor or coach?
❓ What other questions do you have?

In my market research of L&D people in professional services firms, I’m seeing a trend of new managers not understanding what their role is.

I want to create something that helps new managers understand their role better so please share your thoughts with me and your questions. Because while I don’t have the answers, I bet collectively we do.