Management
Stack OKRs for Team Engagement and Alignment [Free Tool]
OKRs are guides - not grades. Learn how to use OKRs to align everyone's efforts and drive company growth.
External Coaching is Different from Internal Mentoring
External coaching and internal mentoring work together to accelerate professional growth. Learn how and when to leverage each.
Dain Johnson
Jun 6, 2024
While mentorship is a staple of professional growth and is increasingly offered by companies, external coaching has emerged as a powerful complement for all levels, helping individuals forge their own path, apply their learning, and make progress on their goals faster.
Rather than asking which is best, we explore here what internal mentoring and external coaching are and how to choose the right resource at the right time.
The Unique Role and Value of Internal Mentoring
Mentorship is a unique (and deliberately lopsided) relationship that focuses on encouraging growth in others. Mentors share their stories and experiences, but they must remember that the mentee's journey is not their journey. The point of being a mentor is to tell your story in such a way that someone else can benefit from your journey, either by shedding light on their own path or by letting them learn from your mistakes.
Effective mentors keep the focus on the mentee, uncovering who they want to be and encouraging them as they try. By asking questions and showing curiosity, mentors can uncover the changes the mentee truly desires and provide guidance on the actions needed to achieve those goals.
Internal mentoring can provide specific insights, such as helping people understand their roles in a new company, making personal financial plans, learning about organizational processes and resources, navigating client relationships, or climbing the career ladder.
(I have many more thoughts on effective mentorships, but I'll refrain from adding it all here. I've written an article specifically about how to mentor well here: Mentorship: How to Encourage Growth in Others.)
The Power of External Coaching
While mentoring is about learning from someone else's journey, coaching is about forging your own path. External coaches are trained professionals who come alongside you to set goals and make meaningful progress. They ask powerful questions, challenge assumptions, and help you gain new perspectives.
Coaches create a safe space for exploration and self-discovery, helping clients work through feelings of overwhelm, gain clarity on their next steps, and develop action plans to achieve their goals. They also serve as accountability partners, checking in regularly to ensure their clients are making progress.
Many companies are beginning to institute internal coaching programs or putting the expectation on managers to be coaches. However, employees (especially senior leaders) are often hesitant to fully "open up" to an internal coach, limiting the coach's effectiveness. While managers should hone their coaching skills, they do not need to be a coach.
External coaching allows for a higher level of confidence in confidentiality, allowing participants to fully explore concerns related to their company, career, and life without fear of judgment, retribution, or reaction.
Coaching is a highly personal approach to professional development, which can help you unlock your potential.
The Complementary Nature of Coaching and Mentoring
When used together, external coaching and internal mentoring create a powerful support system for professional growth. Mentors provide cultural, industry, and organizational knowledge, while coaches help individuals apply that knowledge to their unique situations. Mentors offer advice based on their experiences, while coaches help individuals develop their own solutions.
One common pitfall of mentoring is the tendency for mentors to view their mentees as proteges, expecting them to follow in their footsteps. This can limit a mentee's growth and potential. External coaches, on the other hand, are solely focused on helping their clients achieve their own definition of success. Coaches provide an objective perspective and help individuals stay accountable to their goals.
Here are some of the ways in which we see mentors and coaches complimenting each other.
| Topics | Internal Mentor | External Coach |
| Career | Understanding career path options at your company. | Identify personal career vision and create a development plan. |
| Relationships | Figure out who to meet and get introductions. | Explore barriers preventing you from having positive relationships. |
| Conflict | Get advice on how to navigate conflict with a particular person. | Uncover stress response styles and develop strategies to be more effective in conflict. |
| Motivation | Celebrate your successes. | Help you to define success and make meaningful progress. |
| Confidence | Encourage you as you try. | Identify how to behave authentically that will allow you to show up how you want to. |
| Role Clarity | Get their opinion on what your role is. | Figure out ways to continually reaffirm your role. |
| Challenge | Provide another point of view. | Challenge your assumptions and behaviors relative to who you want to be. |
Conclusion? Use Both
Having multiple sources of support is essential. By combining the company-specific expertise of internal mentors with the personal growth facilitation and accountability of external coaches, individuals can drastically accelerate their development.
Whether you're a seasoned executive or just starting your career, investing in both internal mentoring and external coaching can help you navigate challenges, make better decisions, and achieve your goals faster.
Your future self will thank you.