Importance of Business Mentoring and Coaching
Who is a business mentor? A business mentor involves in a long-term relationship with a mentee (a mentee is someone who is bring mentored). The duty of the mentor is to provide candid and useful business advice to the mentee. A mentor does not necessarily have to be from the same field as you. He might not be an entrepreneur like yourself he could be a trusted and respected family member, he could be a friend . Anyone whose judgment you respect and hold in high esteem could stand in as your mentor. The foundation of any business mentorship is based on trust, you should trust a mentor to give you personalized genuine advice.
Who is a business coach?: a business coach engages in a short-term relationship with you. He uses his expertise to train you and your workers in certain aspects of business. Unlike mentors, coaches do not have to be closely related to you, they do not have to be your friends or family, but they must be an expert at what they do . What you basically need from them is their craft and expertise, nothing more. One of the key ways of utilizing the services of a business coach or mentor is understanding who they both are and their different functions and knowing whose service to employ at the right time. Although the terms mentor(ing) and coach(ing) are now being used interchangeably, understanding the role of each will help you find out which technique you need to employ when the time comes. For the purpose of this article, I will be using the two terms interchangeably, since they are now being interchangeably in use.
Importance of mentoring and coaching:
Learn new skills. Coaching especially helps you to learn new skills from your coach. You might need to drop that “I too know” ideology and learn new skills from your coach or your mentee. Undergoing mentoring and coaching enables you to learn new things, unlearn the needless and relearn the needful. Therefore prepare your mind to receive so much while undergoing a mentorship program.
Learn to solve problem in new ways: this is like the ” learn” part I mentioned earlier. Mentors and coach give you new insight to solving problems encountered in your business. This is easier for them because coaches on one hand have been trained in that aspect of solving problems and proposing new solutions, while mentors on another hand are more experienced either career-wise or “experience wise”, they propose solutions based on what they have experienced either in that same field as yours or in life as a whole. The elders say when a child falls, he looks up, but when an elder fall, he looks down to see why and how he fell and what made him fall. You have coaches and mentors to guide you from falling into that same mistake you once fell into, and learn new approach towards tackling the mistakes.
Read Also: Planning a Business In Nigeria
Give answers to your questions: every business minded person always has some questions which they do not have answers to, and it might keep bothering their mind. Coaching and mentoring sessions are avenues to ask these questions. Your coach and mentor would do their best in making sure they supply you with answers strong enough to make you more convinced.
Accountability: having a mentor will help you set high goals for yourself . Setting goals do not mean he will be the one to do the work for you and achieve the goals, no. Rather, he will help you achieve your set goals by seeing to it that you work towards your target and do not get distracted. He will hold you accountable in case you never reached the set goals. Having someone we are accountable to always help us to work harder because a lot of humans hate to be blamed for things that happen, notwithstanding if they are the cause of not. This is what coaches and mentors do. Holding you accountable so that you will see the need to achieve that business target.
Challenge you: sometimes, we tend to relax after making some cool cash, but you mentor will scold you, he will challenge you to go extra mile and do exploit. Who says you cannot achieve a greater goal. Mentors and coaches will arouse the champion in you.
Better tomorrow: if you dream of having a better tomorrow than today in your business, then undergoing mentoring or coaching programs will never be a regret for you as mentors help you see the jade in you. They encourage you to try out new ideas. They tell you enough with the one-way you are going, they tell you to go express and will stand fully by you. This is aimed towards making you a better person tomorrow than what you are now and whom you were yesterday. You tell them about your problems and they try their best in helping you get out of it. They help you get better. “Talking through business problems and successes with other people who are in the same position is of great benefit. In fact all but one of the participants are still meeting to support and mentor each other. The other participant is working with me in my business as a technical advisor one day per week.”- Sandra Hale
Reduces risk: running a business is all about taking risks. Yes, but risks could be reduced with the help of mentors. Having someone to share your opinions with in order to help weigh the risk of a particular action or step you are about to take could really save you from a bombshell that could have exploded. Mentors help look at your ideas or intention from a critical point of view to determine if the step you intend to take is the right one, or if it could backfire. They guide you out of trouble.
Rapid progress: taking the right actions is a blessing to every business. Having the right set of people to help initiate that action is another blessing. Undergoing a coaching or mentoring session could open business opportunities for you and make you make rapid progress.
Mentors and coaches are like guardian angels in every business, so do not underestimate their Influence when you find one.
Hope you enjoy this article?
Share your thoughts in the comment session.
Contact us today for your business consultancy and business advisory services. We can help you fine tune your idea, structure your business, market your business, train your staff, consult on your retirement plan, coach you for financial success. We also write business plan and help with fund raising strategies and Grant applications. We can help you start, grow and expand your business.
Call or WhatsApp us now on 081 0563 6015, 080 7635 9735, 08113205312 or send email to dayohub@gmail.com and we will solve any of your business problem.
Related