Becoming an Advisor

Understanding the Difference

Coaching: The International Coach Federation (https://coachfederation.org) defines coaching as “Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”

Mentoring: A simple definition of a mentor is “an experienced and trusted advisor.” While many organizations offer in-house mentoring programs as part of a leadership training program, it is common for mentees to work with mentors outside the mentee’s organization. BusinessDictionary.com defines mentoring as an “Employee training system under which a senior or more experienced individual (the mentor) is assigned to act as an advisor, counsellor, or guide to a junior or trainee. The mentor is responsible for providing support to, and feedback on, the individual in their charge.” 

Whether an employee requires a mentor or a coach, either interaction will require access to a personal sounding board, or advice from a subject-matter veteran. Developing a rising young star through internal resources is the preferred approach, however, in a remote or hybrid workforce environment, it is not always possible.

Our coaches and mentors augment a company’s career development program. We recognize the subtle difference between the two advisory roles. The Coaching relationship is more likely to be short-term (up to 6 months or one year) with a specific outcome in mind. However, some coaching relationships can last longer, depending on the goals achieved. Whereas, the Mentor relationship tends to be more long-term, lasting a year or two, and even longer.

Our Advisor-On-Call Curators are careful in assessing the potential and interests of our coaching and mentoring advisory team members. We recognize that coaching is more performance-driven, designed to improve the professional’s on-the-job performance. The traditional structure of a coaching role involves regularly scheduled meetings, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. If the coach is a technical subject matter expert, it’s possible their contract will involve intermittent technical advice calls.

The mentor role is more development-driven. Although the mentor considers the mentee’s current job function, they take a more holistic approach to their mentee’s career development. Generally, meetings tend to be more informal, on an as-need basis required by the mentee.

Matching Clients to an Advisor

Your interface with our Advisor-On-Call Curator is straightforward, you tell if you seek to be a mentor or coach. Not everyone has the wisdom to be a mentor, and not everyone has the ability to impart knowledge as a coach. Our advisors are assessed behaviourally for both. We then profile your knowledge and skills, your preferred interaction and the time commitment you’re willing to make, including your expected billable.

We identify the relevant candidates through our in-house networks. Candidates undergo a similar analysis which determines their potential for high performance. For example, if our advisory roster has a former high-performing CFO available for coaching or mentoring, subject to compatibility and client need, the curator will match the CFO with a prospect that benchmarks as a “high potential” for CFO. A curated introductory meeting is held between advisor and client to determine compatibility and each other’s expectations. The curator looks after the logistics including the ongoing billing.

You are a Coach when You Seek to:

• Develop raw talent with a specific new skill,
• Enhance the experienced professional with a new or refreshed skill,
• Help individuals who are not meeting expectations or goals,
• Assist managers in coping with large-scale change through a merger or acquisition, like managing new “blended” work teams and adapting to the merging of company cultures,
• Prepare a professional for advancement in the organization,
• Improve behaviour in a short period, like coaching an executive to address the Board or stakeholders on a specific topic,
• Work one-on-one with leaders who prefer working with a coach rather than attending “public” training programs