Coaching and mentoring are development approaches based on the use of one-to-one conversations to enhance an individual’s skills, knowledge or work performance.

It’s possible to draw distinctions between coaching and mentoring although the two terms are often used interchangeably. 

What is coaching?

Coaching aims to produce optimal performance and improvement at work. It focuses on specific skills and goals, and may also have an impact on an individual’s personal attributes such as social interaction or confidence. The process typically lasts for a defined period of time or forms the basis of an on-going management style.

Although there's a variety of definitions, there are some generally agreed principles of coaching in organisations:

• It's essentially a non-directive form of development focusing 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, for individuals to assess their strengths and development areas.
• It's a skilled activity, which should be delivered by those trained in coaching skills.

What is mentoring?

Mentoring in the workplace describes a relationship in which a more experienced colleague shares their greater knowledge to support the development of an inexperienced individual. It calls on the skills of questioning, listening, clarifying and reframing that are associated with coaching.

One key distinction is that mentoring relationships tend to be longer term than coaching arrangements. In a succession planning scenario, a regional finance director might be mentored by a group level counterpart over a lengthy period to develop a sound approach to dealing with the board, presenting to analysts and challenging budgets.

Mentoring relationships work best when they move beyond the directive approach of a senior colleague ‘telling it how it is’. An effective mentoring relationship is where there are learning opportunities for both participants, encouraging joint sharing and learning.

More information on mentoring approaches can be found in our succession planning factsheet and in our report Attitudes to employability and talent.

CIPD members can make use of their mentoring skills in helping young job seekers into work through our Steps Ahead Mentoring campaign. Our research published in Volunteering to learn: employee development through community action also demonstrates that such schemes and volunteering opportunities can help build coaching and mentoring skills.

Coaching and mentoring programmes

Our learning at work report shows that L&D teams view coaching and mentoring programmes as a priority and are exploring how digital tools can help with this. Designing and managing coaching and mentoring programmes is a key part of the L&D specialist knowledge area of our Profession Map.

The objectives 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 needs to have clarity on: 

• how best to manage the stakeholders,
• when coaching is (or isn't) an appropriate intervention for poor performance
• how to work effectively with an external coach. 

While some organisations hire external coaches, particularly when coaching those in very senior positions, external mentors can also be expensive. Line managers are often expected to operate internally in a peer coaching capacity in the workplace.

It’s important to consider a range of ‘phases’ that are driven by organisational context. These will include as a minimum:

• What is the organisation's strategy and priorities?
• How does it position itself?
• Who supports coaching and mentoring?

Once these are addressed, practitioners can focus on the practical aspects of working through who will deliver the coaching and how this is to be implemented.

Coaching may be delivered by members of staff or by external coaches. The findings from our Learning and skills at work surveys illustrate that line managers are most likely to take the main responsibility for delivering coaching.

Effectiveness of line managers as coaches

Typically, organisations apply coaching as a day-to-day management activity, embedded into one-to-one meetings and performance conversations. An issue that is often raised is how effectively managers can coach their own staff, given the power relationship and the need for impartiality in the coaching relationship.

Coaching supervision and support

Coaching can be a challenging activity for both internal and external coaches. Those involved in coaching need structured opportunities to reflect on their practice, either in one-to-one or group sessions. Such opportunities can provide support and help coaches continuously develop their skills, while also acting as an important quality assurance for organisations and a source of organisational learning.

Where a combination of coaching responsibilities exist, it can be helpful if internal and external coaches share supervision arrangements and have opportunities to discuss coaching generally. This enables external coaches to attain a better understanding of the organisation and to share their perspectives of the organisation.

It’s also important to establish guidelines on confidentiality and information flow in the implementation phase to develop trust between the individual and coach as well as other stakeholders (for example, managers or HR).

Coaching as a business partner skill

Increasingly, HR and L&D professionals working as business partners are expected to demonstrate coaching capability. This particularly relates to the ability to coach business leaders to help them identify and solve business challenges.

It’s important to consider how coaching is linked with overall learning and development strategies. Our Learning at work report shows that coaching is one of the most effective approaches.

However, coaching is just one of a range of interventions that organisations can use to meet identified learning and development needs and is not the solution for all developmental needs. Its merits need to be considered alongside other types of development interventions and it must only be used when it is clearly the best way of helping an individual learn and develop. Employee preferences also play a part. 

Some examples of situations where coaching is a suitable development tool include:

• Helping competent technical experts develop better interpersonal skills, such as handling conflict.
• Supporting an individual’s potential and providing career support.
• Developing a more strategic perspective after a promotion to a senior role.
• Dealing with the impact of change on an individual's role.

It's also important to remember that sometimes individuals may not respond well to coaching. This may be because their developmental needs are best dealt with by another type of intervention, so before coaching starts, organisations need to assess an individual’s ‘readiness’ for this approach and motivation to achieve the desired outcome.

Coaching isn’t a universal panacea and it’s sometimes used without a great deal of thought or reflection. By being evidence-based, coaching can be more effective for both individuals and organisations.

HR and L&D teams have a central role to play in designing and managing coaching and mentoring programmes within an organisation. The quality of coaching and its results depend on identifying appropriate performance gaps, choosing appropriate coaches and mentors, managing relationships and evaluating success.

People professionals need to understand when coaching and mentoring are appropriate and effective interventions in relation to other options. They also need to explore the relevance, appropriateness and credibility of any models (such as the GROW or COACH approaches) that are used. When selecting appropriate external coaches and mentors they need a clear set of criteria to match the individual and organisational needs.

Our Learning cultures report highlights the importance of creating a positive environment for learning. Line managers play an important part of creating this environment, so it is fundamental that they are developed accordingly. There’s more on this in our management development factsheet.

Contacts

The Coaching and Mentoring Network

European Mentoring and Coaching Council

International Coaching Federation

Association for Coaching

Books and reports

Beevers, K., Rea, A. and Hayden, D. (2019) Learning and development practice in the workplace. 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, life and sport. Hants: Business Books.

Jones, G. and Gorell, R. (2018) How to create a coaching culture. 2nd ed. HR Fundamentals. 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 and mentoring. 2nd ed. London: Routledge.

Nicholl, S. (2023) Learning Habits. London: Kogan Page.

Parsloe, E. and Leedham, M. (2016) Coaching and mentoring: practical techniques for developing learning and performance. London: Kogan Page

Visit the CIPD and Kogan Page Bookshop to see all our priced publications currently in print.

Journal articles

Aziz, H. (2019) Why is humility so relevant for leaders and can it be developed through coaching? Strategic HR Review. Vol 18, No 1. Reviewed in Bitesize reaserch, The modern workplace leader.

Berry, P. (2021) What people professionals should consider when choosing an executive coach. People Management (online). 8 March.

Kase, R., Saksida, T. and Mihelic, K. (2019) Skills development in reverse mentoring: motivational processes of mentors and learners. Human Resource Management. Vol 58, No 1. January/February. Reviewed in Bitesize research, Reverse mentoring: the motives.

Norman, C. (2019) How to make a coaching relationship work. People Management (online). 20 February.

Sharma, S. (2020) The importance of mentoring through a crisis. People Management (online). 9 June.

CIPD members can use our online journals to find articles from over 300 journal titles relevant to HR.

Members and People Management subscribers can see articles on the People Management website.