While some professional bodies like ICF have a very pure definition of coaching, it's common for people coming to coaching to be unclear what we offer.  Sometimes the organisation has commissioned you to do a combination of coaching and mentoring. What's ethical? What's partnership? What's useful? 

Today Claire is joined by

• Michael Kell who emailed [email protected] with an idea to have this conversation
• Gary Crotaz
• Mark Mercer
• Matthew Rayward
• Nathan Whitbread
• Ivan Yong

Takeaways

• The tension between coaching and mentoring arises when and how to give advice.
• Having a clear niche can be helpful, but it's important to remain open-minded and authentic.
• Credibility and authority from previous professional experiences can influence coaching.
• Coaches should strive to be in the same conversation as their clients and maintain flow and flexibility in sessions.
• Letting go of imposter syndrome and perfectionism allows for more effective coaching.
• Transitioning between coaching and mentoring should be fluid and natural, using normal language to indicate the shift.
• Good enough for now is a valuable mindset in coaching, allowing for progress and improvement over time. Staying in flow and allowing the client to stay in flow is crucial in coaching conversations
• Mentoring requires the mentor to hold back from giving answers and instead guide the mentee towards finding their own solutions
• Experience can be valuable in mentoring, but it's important to recognize that what worked for the mentor may not work for the mentee
• Team mentoring can provide a unique opportunity for collective learning and the development of diverse skills
• The concept of changing hats in coaching and mentoring may require coaches to expand their range and be comfortable with change

Before you go - we’ll never use the podcast to directly sell you anything, but we’re always here for a chat if you are thinking about doing something with us

Remember to subscribe or follow The Coaching Inn wherever you access your podcasts to get every new episode as they drop.

Keywords

changing hats, coaching, mentoring, advice, niche, freedom, credibility, authority, imposter syndrome, conversation, flow, flexibility, changing hats, flow, coaching, mentoring, experience, team mentoring, collective learning