3 Aug 2020Coaching and mentoringIdentify ways to apply coaching and mentoring principles as part of an overall learningand development strategyIntroductionCoaching and mentoring can be effective approaches to developing employees. Both havegrown in popularity, with many employers using them to enhance the skills, knowledgeand performance of their people around specific skills and goals.This factsheet offers a definition of coaching and mentoring, distinguishing between thetwo and emphasising the need to link with overall learning and development strategy. Itlooks at those typically responsible for coaching, both internal and external to theorganisation, and how to develop a coaching culture. Deciding when coaching is the bestdevelopment intervention is key to harnessing its potential. Lastly, the factsheet considersthe central role of line managers and people professionals in managing coaching andmentoring activities.The CIPD is at the heart of change happening across L&D, supporting practitioners inproviding insights and resources. We are proud to be at the ‘epicentre’ of this changingworld of L&D.What are coaching and mentoring?Coaching and mentoring are development approaches based on the use of one-to-oneconversations to enhance an individual’s skills, knowledge or work performance.It’s possible to draw distinctions between coaching and mentoring although in practicethe two terms are often used interchangeably. While the focus of this factsheet is oncoaching, much of it also applies to mentoring.What is coaching?Coaching aims to produce optimal performance and improvement at work. It focuses onspecific skills and goals, although it may also have an impact on an individual’s personal© Copyright Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2021, 151 The Broadway, London SW19 1JQ, UKIncorporated by Royal Charter, Registered Charity no. 1079797 123 Page 1 of 7attributes such as social interaction or confidence. The process typically lasts for adefined period of time or forms the basis of an on-going management style.Although there’s a lack of agreement among coaching professionals about precisedefinitions, there are some generally agreed characteristics of coaching in organisations:It’s essentially a non-directive form of development.It focuses on improving performance and developing an individual.Personal factors may be included but the emphasis is on performance at work.Coaching activities have both organisational and individual goals.It provides people with the opportunity to better assess their strengths as well astheir development areas.It’s a skilled activity, which should be delivered by people who are trained to do so.This can be line managers and others trained in coaching skills.What is mentoring?Mentoring in the workplace tends to describe a relationship in which a more experiencedcolleague shares their greater knowledge to support the development of aninexperienced member of staff. It calls on the skills of questioning, listening, clarifying andreframing that are also associated with coaching.One key distinction is that mentoring relationships tend to be longer term than coachingarrangements. In a succession planning scenario, for example, a regional finance directormight be mentored by a group level counterpart over a lengthy period to develop a soundapproach to dealing with the board, presenting to analysts and challenging departmentalbudgets.Mentoring relationships work best when they move beyond the directive approach of asenior colleague ‘telling it how it is’, to one where they both learn from each other. Aneffective mentoring relationship is a learning opportunity for both parties, encouragingsharing and learning across generations and/or between roles.More information on mentoring approaches to develop individuals for key or leadershippositions can be found in our succession planning factsheet and in our report Attitudesto employability and talent.CIPD members can make use of their mentoring skills in helping young job seekers intowork through our Steps Ahead Mentoring campaign. Our research published inVolunteering to learn: employee development through community action alsodemonstrates that such schemes and other volunteering opportunities can help buildcoaching and mentoring skills.Coaching and mentoring programmes© Copyright Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2021, 151 The Broadway, London SW19 1JQ, UKIncorporated by Royal Charter, Registered Charity no. 1079797 123 Page 2 of 7Our report Learning and skills at work shows that L&D teams view coaching andmentoring programmes as a priority and are exploring how digital tools can help withthis. Designing and managing coaching and mentoring programmes is a key part of theL&D specialist knowledge area of our Profession Map.The aims of providing workplace coaching and mentoring programmes include::Assisting performance management.Preparing and supporting people through change.Supporting self-directed learning and development.Sharing curated resources.Although coaching and mentoring programmes are widespread within organisations,there are challenges about how best to manage and deliver them. There’s often confusionover exactly what each involves, how best to manage the stakeholders in the process,when coaching is (or is not) an appropriate intervention for poor performance issues, andhow to work effectively with a complex external coaching industry. While someorganisations hire external coaches, particularly when coaching those in very seniormanagement or leadership positions, external mentors can also be an expensive option.Line managers are often expected to operate internally in a coaching capacity in theworkplace. Peer coaching, particularly by those with a known specialism, is also an option.Creating a coaching cultureOur podcast Coaching: it’s a culture thing explores development of coaching cultures andoffers advice for practitioners aiming to develop their organisations approach further. It’simportant to consider a range of ‘phases’ that are all driven by organisational context.These will include as a minimum:What is the organisation’s strategy?How does the organisation position itself?What priorities does the organisation have?Who supports coaching and mentoring?Once these are addressed, practitioners can focus on the practical aspects of workingthrough who will deliver the coaching and how this is to be implemented.Who delivers coaching in organisations?Coaching may be delivered by members of staff or by external coaches. The findings fromour 2020 Learning and skills at work survey illustrate that line managers are most likely to© Copyright Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2021, 151 The Broadway, London SW19 1JQ, UKIncorporated by Royal Charter, Registered Charity no. 1079797 123 Page 3 of 7take the main responsibility for delivering coaching.Effectiveness of line managers as coachesTypically, organisations apply coaching as a day-to-day management activity, embeddedinto one-to-one meetings and performance conversations. An issue that is often raised ishow effectively managers can coach their own staff, given the power relationship and theneed for some distance and impartiality in the coaching relationship.Coaching supervision and supportCoaching can be a challenging activity for both internal and external coaches. Thoseinvolved in coaching need structured opportunities to reflect on their practice, either inone-to-one or group sessions. Such opportunities can provide support and help coachescontinuously to develop their skills, while they can also act as an important qualityassurance activity for organisations and a source of organisational learning about issuesaddressed in coaching sessions.Where a combination of coaching responsibilities exist, it can be helpful if internal andexternal coaches share supervision arrangements and have opportunities to discusscoaching generally. This enables external coaches to attain a better understanding of theorganisation and to share their perspectives on what is happening within theorganisation.It’s also important to establish guidelines on confidentiality and information flow in theimplementation phase to develop trust between the individual and coach as well as otherstakeholders (for example, managers and/or the HR function).Coaching as a business partner skillIncreasingly HR and L&D business partners are expected to demonstrate coachingcapability. This particularly relates to the ability to coach business leaders to help themidentify and solve particularly business challenges.When is coaching the best developmentintervention?It’s important to consider how coaching is linked with overall learning and developmentstrategies. Among respondents to our Learning and skills at work survey coaching is seenas one of the most effective approaches, as are ’in house development programmes’which usually include a large coaching element.© Copyright Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2021, 151 The Broadway, London SW19 1JQ, UKIncorporated by Royal Charter, Registered Charity no. 1079797 123 Page 4 of 7However, coaching is just one of a range of interventions that organisations can use tomeet identified learning and development needs. Its merits need to be consideredalongside other types of development interventions. Employee preferences also play apart. There is a danger that coaching can be seen as a solution for all kinds ofdevelopment needs, whereas it must only be used when it is clearly seen as the best wayof helping an individual learn and develop.Some examples of situations where coaching is a suitable development tool include:Helping competent technical experts develop better interpersonal skills.Supporting an individual’s potential and providing career support.Developing a more strategic perspective after a promotion to a more senior role.Handling conflict situations so that they are resolved effectively.Dealing with the impact of change on an individual’s role.It’s also important to remember that sometimes individuals may not respond well tocoaching. This may be because their developmental needs are best dealt with by anothertype of intervention. For example, coaching may not be an appropriate intervention if theindividual is resistant to coaching or lacks self-insight. So before coaching starts,organisations need to assess an individual’s ‘readiness’ for this approach. This highlightsthe importance of the coachee’s motivation to achieve the desired outcome.Coaching isn’t a universal panacea and it’s sometimes used without a great deal ofthought or reflection. By being evidence-based, coaching can be more effective for bothindividuals and organisations. Listen to our podcast Is coaching actually solving problemsfor organisations?The role of people professionals in managingcoaching activitiesHR and L&D teams have a central role to play in designing and managing coaching andmentoring within an organisation. The quality of coaching and the results it deliversdepend on identifying appropriate performance gaps, choosing appropriate coaches andmentors, managing relationships and evaluating success.People professionals need to understand when coaching and mentoring are appropriateand effective interventions in relation to other options. They also need to explore therelevance, appropriateness and credibility of any models (such as the GROW or COACHapproaches) that are used. And they need to be clear on how to select appropriateexternal coaches and mentors by having a clear set of critiera to match the individual andorganisational needs.© Copyright Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2021, 151 The Broadway, London SW19 1JQ, UKIncorporated by Royal Charter, Registered Charity no. 1079797 123 Page 5 of 7Our Learning cultures report highlights the importance of creating a positive environmentfor learning. Line managers play an important part of creating this environment, so it isfundamental that they are developed accordingly. There’s more on this in ourmanagement development factsheet.Useful contacts and further readingContactsThe Coaching and Mentoring NetworkEuropean Mentoring and Coaching CouncilBooks and reportsBEEVERS, K., REA, A. and HAYDEN, D. (2019) Learning and development practice in theworkplace. 4th ed. London: Kogan Page.BRANN, A. (2014) Neuroscience for coaches. London: Kogan Page.HADEN, S. (2013) It’s not about the coach: getting the most from coaching in business, lifeand sport. Hants: Business Books.JONES, G. and GORELL, R. (2018) How to create a coaching culture. 2nd ed. HRFundamentals. London: CIPD and Kogan Page.LANCASTER, A. (2019) Driving performance through learning. London: Kogan Page.LANCER, N., CLUTTERBUCK, D. and MEGGINSON, D. (2016) Techniques for coaching andmentoring. 2nd ed. London: Routledge.PARSLOE, E. and LEEDHAM, M. (2016) Coaching and mentoring: practical techniques fordeveloping learning and performance. London: Kogan PageVisit the CIPD and Kogan Page Bookshop to see all our priced publications currently inprint.Journal articlesAZIZ, H. (2019) Why is humility so relevant for leaders and can it be developed throughcoaching? Strategic HR Review. Vol 18, No 1. Reviewed in In a Nutshell, issue 85.KASE, R., SAKSIDA, T. and MIHELIC, K. (2019) Skills development in reverse mentoring:motivational processes of mentors and learners. Human Resource Management. Vol 58,© Copyright Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2021, 151 The Broadway, London SW19 1JQ, UKIncorporated by Royal Charter, Registered Charity no. 1079797 123 Page 6 of 7No 1. January/February. Reviewed in In a Nutshell, issue 86.NORMAN, C. (2019) How to make a coaching relationship work. People Management(online). 20 February.CIPD members can use our online journals to find articles from over 300 journal titlesrelevant to HR.Members and People Management subscribers can see articles on the PeopleManagement website.This factsheet was last updated by David Hayden and Stuart Haden.© Copyright Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2021, 151 The Broadway, London SW19 1JQ, UKIncorporated by Royal Charter, Registered Charity no. 1079797 123 Page 7 of 7
