A520.7.3.RB - Importance of Having a Coach and Mentor

Coaches and mentors have played an integral part of shaping who I am today.  Without them I would have been wandering through life aimlessly searching for answers to important questions.  I had many questions about life in general and about the direction I was supposed to go as an adolescent.  One person in particular helped me with my curiosity and guidance.  My Uncle was a man who I admired personally and professionally for everything he did.  I observed how he was a charismatic man who worked hard and was the best father and husband a man could be.  He was my mentor.  He was and still is a man who I consider one of the most important mentors in my life.  Another person who had a lasting impact on me was coach Buffalino.  He was my football coach through my entire high school years. He was an interesting man who worked as a high school teacher by day and a coached football after school.  I say interesting because he could be kind and gentle one minute and yelling and screaming like a military drill instructor the next.  But this man was not only a football genius, he was dedicated.  Some may say too dedicated because he spent hours upon hours coaching football players, sometimes at the expense of neglecting his own family.  He did not just teach me skills on the football field; he taught me how hard work really does pay off.  I witnessed how thousands of hours on the practice field eventually led to our team winning the Pennsylvania State Championship.  Talent and skill were obviously ingredients to our success, but without coach Buffalino, we never would have accomplished our goal.

Whether on a football field or life in general, coaches and mentors are keys to achieving objectives.  This is no different for the professional who wants to have a successful career because finding a great mentor and/or coach can mean the difference between being limited or limitless.  I know there are times I sell myself short professionally because I do not think I have the ability to advance into certain positions.  However, I am often reminded how I would be a great fit for these leadership positions by coworkers.  They are like my coaches because they see my potential when I have self-doubt.  Coaches can help create a specific plan catered to professional development.  I would look to a coach if I wanted to improve my skills for a particular goal or enhance my career.  Coaches are great teachers and “companies report that coaching has the biggest positive impact on micro-level outcomes such as developing future leaders and improving leadership behaviors and individual employees’ performance” (McDermott et. al., 2007, p. 32).  Having a mentor in an organization can make professional development much easier.  Mentors are experienced employees who typically have a detailed understanding of how the organization works.  I can compare having a mentor to having a treasure map.  Which would be easier, finding a treasure chest on an island with or without a map?  With a map of course.  The same goes for working in an organization.  Everyone has a different idea of what their treasure is in their career, but having a mentor will help give direction down the right path to find it.  I am a big believer of not “reinventing the wheel”.  Why would I want to go through the complications of trying to figure something out when someone has already figured it out?  I wouldn’t.  The mentor concept is similar to the answer of that question and seems quite simple to me.  For example, I find someone who I see in a position where I would like to be in my career, they become my mentor, and I follow their path.  Yes, I know I have oversimplified the process, but that would be the best case scenario in a perfect world.  Coaching and mentoring are both important to my professional success.  Incorporating them into my career goals can only increase my odds and help guide me down the career path I envision.       


Reference:

McDermott, M., Levenson, A., & Newton, S. (2007). What coaching can and cannot do for your organization. HR. Human Resources Planning, 30(2).