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COACHING—ONE-TO-ONE LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION
CHAPTER 10
coaching because it equates development with compensation. The two are
independent of each other. Compensation is linked to job performance; devel-
opment is linked to individual growth and improvement. Good coaches, there-
fore, must learn to separate their role as arbiters of compensation from their
role as developer of talent—not an easy task.
BE A MENTOR 151
What is a mentor? A friend, colleague, and adviser, all rolled into one. A
mentor is a friend in the sense that he or she has the person’s best interests at
heart. A mentor is a colleague who is not afraid or unwilling to dispense
advice that the individual may not want to hear, but needs to hear. A mentor
is an adviser who looks toward the future, who dispenses wisdom that is
directed toward the current but mostly the future needs of the individual. Yid-
dish has a wonderful word for mentor, mensch, a person who can be counted
on to be a good friend and to be of assistance in times of need. That’s not a
bad summary of mentorship.
People have a desire for guidance. Just as children are taught life values
by their parents, employees are taught workplace values by their “superiors”
(managers, old-timers, retirees). Counsel is a form of advice. The good coach
aligns advice within a value system. For example, a coach may advise an
employee to show up on time as a means of demonstrating a commitment to
fellow employees. Timeliness is a lifestyle value that extends far beyond the
work environment. Likewise, the coach may advise an employee to listen
more attentively when a colleague speaks. Again, a good life lesson.
Very importantly, coaches give counsel through example. The old adage
“Do as I say, not as I do” cannot apply to coaches. A coach who advises an
employee to listen, but always talks over other people, undermines her or his
own advice. Leader-coaches do not have the luxury of slacking off when it
comes to advice giving.
Mentoring, by the way, can be a temporary or a long-term commitment.
General George C. Marshall was a mentor to many up-and-coming officers.
He kept their names in his famous “black book,” and when the time came for
a new generation of leaders to rise to the challenge, as happened at the outset
of World War II, Marshall knew whom to promote. Many people come back
to their mentors for ongoing advice at various stages of their lives. Others seek
a mentor for a given assignment. Mentorships, by the way, are gaining in pop-
ularity within the corporate arena for two reasons: First, young employees
need guidance, particularly when it comes to navigating the sometimes-
treacherous waterways of corporate channels, and second, mentors need expe-
rience in giving advice as a form of teaching. By being mentors, they learn