The
importance of a coach or mentor in your life can be paramount to the success of
you as an individual within both your personal and profession life. A mentor is
helpful and will give you personal guidance and direction in times of
uncertainty or difficulties. A coach will help to evaluate your performance,
and develop and set goals to improve or mold your productivity.
I think back to when I was in little
league baseball and the relationship I had there with my coach. He was the
father of two other baseball players and very knowable in the sport. He had played
personally in the sport upwards through college. I’ve always had a lot of
natural talent and I remember at our practices the one on one coaching I
received. I played the positions of pitcher, catcher and short stop and only
recall 3 innings of my entire little league “career” spent in the dug-out. I
could throw the baseball fast and hard but my coach trained me to throw it accurately.
His techniques and form also made it so I did so safely not to injure my arm. My
coach in this scenario would dedicate as much time as I did to practice; if I
wanted to stay late so would he to work on a particular skill. His coaching
made me a better player and is how I think coaching works to develop skill sets
to improve performance overall. This applies also to the professional realm, without
someone to give you guidance and hone in your skills you may not achieve your
full potential.
A mentor takes on a similar but
different role. I view a mentor symbolically as an “old, wise man with gray hair.”
I picture him to have a bag of experiences but would not necessarily be getting
his hands dirty in task specific elements of your personal or professional
life. The role of a mentor will act to provide inspiration or guidance and
allow the individual to seek out their path. I’ve had several instances of being
mentored throughout my career however after reading more into how mentorship and
coaching differ I can say I’ve not had a steady mentor. I‘ve discussed my
future plans with some senior leaders and there feedback gave me guidance and
provided some direction.
Overall, mentors and coaches have particular
roles that aid an individual along their personal life or professional career. Although
individuals can make it on their own, their productively will be better with a coach
and their determination will progress with the inspiration of a mentor.
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