Hi Murtaza. Love your work. I wonder if you could help me.
I am a young lady in my 20s with a career in finance. I recently had to ‘fire’ my seasoned industry mentor because we weren’t seeing eye to eye on some things. Key of all, it felt like I was living their dreams instead of my own. Their expectations and goals didn’t align with mine although I benefited greatly from their guidance. The tools they gave me have changed the course of my life on many occasions. I came across your article on coaching and I believe you could help point me in the right direction. Going forward, how do I go about finding the right mentor or coach for me? Thanks!
Versi says:
a) Well look no further! You’ve found him i.e. me. Here’s my booking info:-D
b) A lot of people use the terms coaching and mentoring interchangeably to mean the same thing. While have things in common, they are very much different and are used differently to help you improve and be better.
As Murtaza Versi the coach; I help others develop through learning more about themselves as opposed to teaching them. Rather than just a problem, you come to me with your solutions and together navigate that experience and improve yourself. Coaching is very much based on the future, your future, and doing things differently to develop into who you really are. (Creating the future by unlocking gifts and skills, focuses on your potential, you give 80% I only give 20%)
As Murtaza Versi the mentor; I give advice, offer opportunities and open doors for you to make the moves to get you where I am/was. Together we go through my experience, assessing your needs and I impact wisdom on you to get you to the next level. Mentoring is based on the past, my past, and using those experiences to pass on the torch in transforming yourself. (Transformation by acquiring wisdom, I give 40% you give 60%, focuses more on career development)
c) When do I need a coach a mentor?
On the former, when you need to:
- Develop a raw skill or talent
- Enhance professional skills
- Improve behavior (e.g. during a transition or career advancement)
- Work on yourself one-on-one as opposed to in a group or via trainings in public
- Further your self-awareness, self-management and improve for the sake of teams
On the latter, when you need to:
- Transfer knowledge to junior team members
- Succession planning
- Inspire people on what is possible for their careers
- Motivate and enhance professional development
d. Both have their place, both are very useful. When you are looking to choose between the 2, consider the goals with which you need help achieving. You can both and multiples of each depending on what you would like to achieve e.g. for professional and personal goals. Yes, even personal goals need mentors and coaches. Here a few other things to consider:
- Decide on your WIGs. I have a whole other article about that which I highly encourage you to review and put into practice as it will help you narrow down the goals with which you need a mentor or coach
- Establish trust and respect. All other values and rules are built on this foundation. They have to be trustworthy because this will facilitate openness between you thus increase the chances of success. An NDA also never hurt.
- Assess your outcomes. What do you want to happen at the end of your relationship?
Good luck and let me know how it goes!