Mentoring, coaching, and advising people

Entrepreneurs who manage small enterprises carry the burden of developing their people directly, particularly those who are in charge of critical functions. Small enterprises cannot afford to free their managers to attend training seminars. Management development, therefore, becomes the task of the entrepreneur himself or herself. The entrepreneur sets the direction, tells the people how to achieve their targets, and guides them through all the necessary steps and processes in order to produce their best work.

There are three ways by which entrepreneurs can evoke and coax the best from their people. These three ways go beyond commanding and controlling people, which gets the work done but may not necessarily stretch people’s capacity to perform and reach their full potentials. The three ways are mentoring, coaching, and advising people.

Advising

Advising is the first way. It is the way of the teacher who is able to impart knowledge, develop skills, and enhance competencies.

The adviser provides technical and managerial expertise through direct training, through experiential learning, and through demonstrated behavior. The adviser suggests possible approaches and alternative methodologies to arrive at the desired results. The adviser critiques the process adopted and evaluates the outputs and outcomes produced through continuous feedback, dialogue, and reflection sessions. The adviser maintains a healthy, open, and transparent atmosphere. The adviser learns with the advisees and improves upon their own styles of advising. The adviser leaves ample room for the advisees to explore, experience, and experiment and to make their own evaluation. The adviser accompanies advisees through their journey of development.

Coaching

Coaching is the second way. It is the way of the leader who is able to rally the people and inspire them to excel. The leader instills discipline, builds confidence, and raises morale. The leader toughens without breaking, softens without pampering, praises without humoring, corrects without belittling. The leader organizes and orchestrates a team that believes in unity amid diversity, harmony in the face of conflict, and winning without loss of integrity.

The coach sets high goals and designs game plans. The coach drills the team to perfection until the individual members attain their peak. The team works hard and plays hard until they know, almost intuitively, what each one will do. The coach must earn the respect of the team in their struggle for victory.

In this struggle, the team learns the three "C"s of champions–courage, charisma, and commitment. Courage is needed to meet challenges and face all odds. Charisma is essential to influence, encourage, and transform people. Commitment is vital to harness energy and to focus power.

The coach knows all too well that winning the game is just as important as how the game is won. The coach stretches the team to the limits of performance and the frontiers of excellence.

Mentoring

Mentoring is the third way. It is the way of the spirit guide.

The mentor nurtures the mentee through the painstaking path of self discovery. The ultimate destination is the mentee’s total recognition of his or true essence. The mentor does not teach. The mentor does not lead. Instead, the mentor provokes, probes, and postulates. There are no ready answers, no pat formulas, just a litany of questions peeling and revealing what is already there, seeking and hounding what else could be there.

The mentor blows a fervent breeze that inflames the heart and mind of the mentee until it scorches the soul. The mentor listens with great empathy, trying to discern the many layers of meaning in the words, demeanor and deeds of the mentee. Over time, like a seed that grows into a tree, the mentee reaches out to the sky in spiritual celebration. The mentor creates a safe and trusted space for enlightenment.

The entrepreneur plays the three roles of adviser, coach, and mentor, depending on the situation at hand. Advising is employed when technical and managerial knowledge and skills need upgrading. Coaching is done in order to move people towards the desired goals. Mentoring is used when the entrepreneur wants to develop people as persons who must grow from within.

The fourth role of commanding and controlling people is always there for the issuance of orders and to keep people in check. But commanding and controlling is a tiring task because the entrepreneur has to do things all by his or her lonesome self. It is much better to multiply one’s self through others.

(Eduardo A. Morato, Jr. is on the faculty of the W. SyCip Graduate School of Business of the Asian Institute of Management. For comments and inquiries, you may contact him at: [email protected]. Published "Entrepreneur’s Helpline" columns can be viewed on the AIM website at www.aim.edu.ph).