Guiding people through the right way through life can be a daunting task for anyone tasked to do it. A person who has to do the guiding has a lot of delicate balances to strike: they have to be strong enough to reprimand the person who is following them when that follower is not being obedient or is straying from the right path; on the other hand, they sometimes have to allow the follower the chance to wander, so that the follower can gain experience and thus be much wiser. There are many different things a person has to do to guide their follower or followers. These concepts of guidance are covered below under coaching and mentoring.
The mentoring process involves a bonding relationship between master and pupil, commonly referred to as mentor and protégé. A mentor may sometimes be older but is undoubtedly more knowledgeable, wiser, and perhaps even more serene and settled than what might predictably be a less familiar, less competent, and flighty protégé. The mentor’s task is to be the guide for the inexperienced protégé: as the protégé learns more from the mentor, the protégé grows into greatness.
The mentor-protégé relationship has long existed in history and still thrives in the modern world. For example, when employees first enter a company, they are adopted by someone who has been in the company for a longer. Because a new employee might experience culture shock or be unprepared for the rigours of the current workplace, the mentor serves as a buffer and guide through how the company or business operates, making the transition easier for the protégé.
Still, in line with workplace relationships, an existing employee might show potential as someone who could one day lead or move on and be significant elsewhere. In this case, a person experienced in the company could informally take on this employee and be their mentor. In this relationship, the mentor will teach the protégé the necessary skills to advance in the workplace so that one day, the protégé might perhaps take the mentor’s place, advance elsewhere in the hierarchy, or move on to another company and do even better.
On the other hand, the concept of coaching is quite different from that of mentoring. In coaching, a method is employed by which a leader or overseer directs a person’s movements or group of persons. In coaching, the instruction and training concentrate on a definite end goal. The methods of producing people’s movements and thought processes might include giving motivational talks. There are also ways to train people to make them perform better, such as through seminars or workshops or practice, such as those done by sports teams.
In mentoring, a mentor teaches a protégé how to live or function better. In coaching, perhaps better seen as a more specific method of mentoring, the coach guides their team to meet an end goal. For example, sports coaches focus on game victory, marriage coaches focus on stronger marital bonds, and family coaches concentrate on the stronger familial bond between parents and children and, sometimes, among the children.
There are many different kinds of mentoring and coaching with various techniques. For more information, you can talk to professional mentors and coaches or do more research online.
by the Digital Media Hub