What's in it for us? The organisational benefits of Coaching and Mentoring

Coaching and mentoring is recognised as a key organisational development tool, yet many leaders choose not to utilise either. Why is this?

Perhaps the greatest barrier to developing a coach-mentor approach to leadership is perception that coaching and mentoring does not represent a good return on investment. Many leaders see the surrendering of responsibility for staff development to senior and middle managers as losing a sense of control or power. Whichever the reason, this lack of support from the top-down prevents an organisation from flourishing.

Other barriers have also been posited:

The difficulty of matching of mentors/coaches and mentee/coachee.

Lack of key coaching and mentoring skills by those charged with the responsibility.

Resentment felt by those not involved in the programme or the perception of favouritism.

The creation of false promotional expectations that come from participation.

Problems with confidentiality due to a blurring of role boundaries and/or interference from a sponsor.

A leader with a coach-mentor style of leadership will have benefitted from the experience of being coached or mentored and may well have been trained in one or more approaches. They realise that the individual benefits lead to organisational benefits as employees develop greater understanding of their importance in the organisation, and become more confident, and motivated, going the extra mile, giving discretionary effort beyond the normal expectation of their role.

As discussed in the previous blog, individual benefits are the foundation of organisational benefits as represented in the Smart Performance Pyramid (Cross and Lynch):

This happens because the organisations values translate into behaviours that define their culture. Soft and hard skills are developed which bring tangible improvements in results (performance and returns).

Extensive research* shows that the benefits (as reported by coaches, coachees, and other stakeholders such as: clients of coachee, colleagues, senior executives etc. include:

Increased self- awareness & emotional intelligence or EQ.

Increased confidence.

Improved relationships.

Greater innovation.

Better work-life balance.

Increased loyalty to the organisation.

Improved leadership skills.

Increased career and promotion prospects.

Greater clarity of purpose and role in the organisation.

Increased motivation and discretionary effort.

Greater productivity.

Greater retention and saving HR costs.

Development of a high-performance team culture.

Greater use of talents.

Greater ability to cope with and embrace change.

(* the ones listed are reported by Whitmore (2017), Quast (2011), Carter, Fairhurst, Marwick, & Miller (2009).

In conclusion, an organisation that places coaching and mentoring at the heart of its staff development, by building systems and processes, supported from the top-down, is creating a culture of learning and development that improves capacity and capability.

Gerard McCann

MBA, Coaching, Mentoring, and Leadership.