Coaching and Mentoring at Work: the Relationship is the Key

The growth of coaching in recent years exponential has been exponential. A recent issue of People Management (May 2014) noted, from a CIPD survey of HR learning and development professionals, how coaching, mentoring and other face-to-face disciplines were gaining rapidly in popularity and that such services were on offer in 76 per cent of those surveyed – and up to 85 per cent in public sector bodies. This is a staggeringly high percentage and may well be a cause for concern given that the coaching field remains a relatively unregulated market readily open to inexperienced new entrants.

Gone seem to be the days when clients were cautious about owning up to seeing a coach, or therapist in the workplace, or opaque when asked who was mentoring and sponsoring their career progression. Times have certainly changed and arguably there is now quite a cachet, even a boast, when talking about one's coach, mentor or therapist.

As the books under review illustrate it is now possible to choose between quite a variety of coaches oriented to differing aspects of the client's life (i.e. sports, life, diversity, high- potential, gender, etc.) each offering varying approaches in how such face-to-face engagement will be structured. The approaches on offer range from the psycho-analytic to the existential to the humanistic and beyond. The lure and appeal of face-to-face support – however, it is described – is big business and whether it comes under the heading of coaching, counselling, mentoring or therapy it remains a largely unregulated field.

Continuing unregulation is not only a minefield for clients but also for those seeking to organise, authorise and assess the competence of those claiming to have the necessary skills, experience and expertise to work ethically with their clients. And this is where the four books reviewed are of tremendous help as they each, in differing ways, examine the world of coaching and mentoring.

This is a timely update of the 4th edition, which was published a decade ago, from a prolific and accomplished writer with extensive experience in this field. It remains a gem and demands a place on the bookshelf of those involved in the business of coaching and mentoring because of its down-to-earth and practical approach.

The 21 Chapters build from an introductory “The What and Why of Mentoring”, through to an examination of the structuring of such programmes for different types of mentees. The Appendix outlines 20 case studies – covering a diverse range of organisational contexts – which illustrate very well the potency, variability and applicability of mentoring programmes in the workplace.

The book offers a robust “way in” to those interested both in introducing a mentoring programme and for those who want to re-appraise their existing mentoring schemes. Very much a “How To” book it will be invaluable to those charged with setting up and running mentoring programmes within the workplace as well as practitioner mentors. The author places considerable emphasis on the many practical and ethical considerations which need to be examined before a mentoring scheme is introduced.

In conclusion well worth a purchase and – as the title suggests – “everyone should have one”!

First published in 2009 this second edition adds to what has become a valuable text and presents a broadly based introduction to the study and practice of coaching and mentoring for students and practitioners alike. Case studies are included which illustrate and extend the core text and the book is supported by a “companion website” which offers power point slides for lecturers and relevant web site references for students. Chapters conclude with explorative questions inviting the interested reader to reflect further on the material presented.

The 15 Chapters are organised into four parts as follows: Part 1: An Introduction to Coaching and Mentoring, Part 2: Influences on Coaching and Mentoring, Part 3: Contemporary Issues in Coaching and Mentoring and Part 4: Towards a theory of Coaching and Mentoring.

It is especially pleasing to see that a chapter has been devoted to highlighting the importance of “power” within the coaching or mentoring relationship. This has tended to be a somewhat neglected, yet critically significant, facet of such face-to-face relationships. As such the chapter provides a good enough way into exploring this topic – one which all those involved in such work should examine fully.

One of the most interesting features of this book is the penultimate Chapter 14 which introduces “A United States perspective on coaching and mentoring” written by Dawn Chandler an American Professor of Management. This is an important inclusion because American perspectives on coaching, mentoring and therapy have pretty much dominated this field of work in spite of the sterling efforts of European thinkers and practitioners in recent years. As in the UK the US field is flush with coaches oriented towards different sections of the business and social world and the US “market” too remains largely unregulated.

The final chapter – “Towards a Theory of Coaching and Mentoring” – helpfully pulls together the underlying themes explored in the book. What emerges is how coaching and mentoring is characterised by its diversity of orientations, definitions and approaches and that there is no “one best way”. However, as the attentive reader may well have deduced, it is the relationship which emerges as the key factor in such interactions almost irrespective of the orientation and individual approach of the coach or mentor.

This book positions coaching and mentoring as a means of facilitating organisational effectiveness and for enhancing personal development.

The book is geared towards the student and organised into 12 chapters and is supported by a “companion website” which offers material for lecturers and students; a valuable learning resource which also includes self-assessment exercises. What is quite outstanding about this book is the effort the author has put into referencing and cataloguing pages and pages of useful websites providing the reader with a really quite excellent set of resources to pursue.

The introductory chapters – including a very helpful one on coaching and mentoring models and frameworks – present an overview on the theory, practice, skills of mentoring and coaching in organisational settings. The book then concentrates on the contribution which coaching and mentoring can have in different contexts such as innovation, strategy development and organisational change. Each chapter concludes with references and a listing of web pages to explore further and a number of case study vignettes are also included which add tone and colour and link the reader back to the organisational practicalities and realities of coaching and mentoring at work.

There is much for the novice as well as the more experienced coach to draw upon to enhance their skills and practice. I especially liked the reference to Natale and Diamante's (2005) view of the coaching process “[…] as a series of checks: an alliance check which defines what will be addressed in coaching; a credibility check of the coach; a likeability check for compatibility between coach and client; a dialogue and skill acquisition stage; and a final action planning stage” (p. 15).

Readers keen on models and frameworks will be pleased that in addition to the familiar “GROW” (i.e. goal, reality, options and will) one, we have “CLEAR” (i.e. contract, listen, explore, action and review) amongst several others.

An informative, practical and readable book.

As a previous Editor of the International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching the author – an experienced and accomplished executive coach – is well placed to offer perspectives and perceptions in “making sense” of coaching, as the apt title of this work indicates.

The book is organised into nine chapters which map the nature and pattern of a coaching relationship. The author thus begins with introductory chapters which introduce and underpin the nature and practicalities of the coaching engagement and then moves onto some of the underlying philosophical considerations which should demand the attention of any serious-minded coach.

Having set out a sound basis to the process of coaching the bulk of what follows concerns itself with how a coach seeks to make sense of the client's material and of the interactional dynamics which are generated within the coaching relationship. The author describes what goes on within a coaching relationship as “the black box” of coaching and advocates promoting a mood of constructive scepticism to encourage the coachee to make sense of the ever-present ambiguity of their situation. It is this emphasis on reflection and “sense-making” which marks this book out from the other ones reviewed. The book is directed at the more systemic and eclectic-oriented coach and highlights the significance of the coach's philosophy and critical self-reflection as central to the coaching relationship.

This is a very interesting book and well worth a read.

Across all four books it is the quality of the dynamic relationship between the coach and client which emerges as the single most significant factor in such private 1:1 engagements irrespective of the orientation or “school” of practice to which the coach, mentor, counsellor or therapist is aligned.

Each of these books has valuable insights, offers good common sense and describes ways of engaging with clients in an ethical, informed and respectful manner. However, as with many things it depends what one is looking for and the four books reviewed, whilst sharing many features are quite different in what they offer.

My recommendation for the reader new to this field would be to buy a copy of Everyone needs a Mentor because of its uncomplicated format and the range of material covered. This is closely followed by Coaching and Mentoring which also covers the ground very well again in an uncomplicated and interesting manner. It is a good read.

For the more nuanced and experienced reader I would go for Making Sense of Coaching because of its philosophical base and because it hits at the heart of what I consider coaching, mentoring, counselling and therapy is all about which is making the best sense one may of one's engagement face-to-face with the client (i.e. coachee, mentee).

This is not to suggest that coaching and mentoring for business should be dismissed out of hand, or neglected, however.