One of the things I have most loved about my academic librarian job has been mentoring junior colleagues. Each relationship has differed, of course, but they have always felt rewarding. So when I started exploring what else I want to do with my life and came across coaching, I thought it would be a natural fit.
I expected coaching to be like full time mentoring. Boy was I wrong about that!
I signed up for a level 1 ICF-accredited coach training program this past summer. In one of my first classes, we discussed the differences between different types of helping roles, including mentors and coaches.
Mentors share their knowledge of how to navigate systems with their mentees. In some cases, they push their mentee to follow the same path the mentor did. In my case, I focused more on sharing my knowledge of the systems, including how I made it through, so that my mentee could make the best choices for their own path. I didn’t expect anyone to do things “my way”, but I was definitely the more experienced colleague sharing my acquired wisdom.
Coaching focuses on partnering without that hierarchy of someone with more experience pouring knowledge into someone with less experience. The coach’s role is to actively listen, stay curious, and ask thought-provoking questions to help the coachee find the answers that work for them. That doesn’t mean the coach can never share information about a resource that is relevant to the discussion, but sharing information is not the coach’s first response and is not the core of the relationship. When coaching, my job is to help you clarify your goals and figure out the path that will be most effective for you. If I do share a resource or strategy, it’s to add an idea to the discussion, which you then decide whether to add to your toolkit or leave behind.
Working with my first client and seeing their transformation in just a couple of months has been amazing. They are making progress toward their goals and building strategies that work for them. They are succeeding in ways that they probably would not have if I had played the mentor role, suggesting that they *should* do this or that, because they are developing strategies that are authentic to them.
Wonderful!