What is the difference between mentoring and managing

The scope of this extends beyond organizational structure and need not be constrained by the current role of mentee in an organization. A manager trying to fit themselves into the role of a mentor may be faced with a conflict of responsibilities for themselves and also towards the employee.

A mentor is not faced with the conflict of responsibilities towards their mentees. Therefore, they can empathize and understand personal issues that are restricting a mentee from achieving their goals and possibly be able to provide additional guidance.

Mentor feedback and reviews are personal communication targeted to help a mentee remain focused on their long-term goals. This formal arrangement leads to employees potentially wanting to hide their weaknesses from the manager. They do not want to be seen as vulnerable or receive critical and negative feedback. Open and candid communication is a key element in a mentor-mentee relationship.

In fact, the entire purpose of the relationship is to openly talk about your shortcomings and learn how to overcome them with the help of an experienced mentor. Partnering with Local Universities: A company may ask a university professor to develop executive management courses for their organization. And a company executive may work with a local university or college to teach a course. This specific process results in the sharing of both business and academic experiences that can establish the foundation for a rich mentoring program.

Informal Programs: These programs begin with coaching sessions. Coaching can be described as a short-term method of providing immediate feedback to improve performance. We may think of the role a coach plays within a sports team.

The guide defines the skills necessary for successful coaching and suggests that organizations have a strategy for leadership development in place. These are also key considerations for all employee management.

But a manager is responsible for the performance of an employee, takes part in the defining the job description, and clarifying the roles and responsibilities for the position. A coach and manager establish the playbook and tactics for achieving peak performance.

However, if mentoring an individual that you also line manage it can be more challenging to remain objective, non-directive and to ensure that the mentee drives the agenda. It is important to ensure that information learned in mentoring discussions does not influence work related processes e.

For these reasons, it is usually advisable to establish mentoring relationships outside the usual line management or supervisory chains. Organisational Development Back to previous menu What is mentoring? Schools and services Organisational Development Mentoring What is mentoring? I am a student of the Japanese language.

It takes a lot of practice—and a lot of "CPU cycles"—to flip the order of words before uttering a sentence! That has significant impacts on both external and internal stakeholders. For example, say your company sells a unit test tool. You want prospects to find you, so you finance a keyword search targeting Japan. However, sponsoring "unit testing" may not yield much in terms of leads. So, do you need a Japanese website? However, it would help if you did not forget the impact of the language barrier you may have internally.

For example, communicating with your local employees can sometimes be equally challenging. As a result, they may feel that you do not fully grasp their situation.

You may fail to pick up on a few cues they provide out of cultural differences. For instance, Japanese business speech tends to be very formal, very polite, and for those accustomed to a much more direct speech style, it may create confusion. For a funny example, watch my video above. Just as showing the flag is an effective strategy to build your local presence see the first part of this article , it can also be an excellent lubricant for your relationships with the remote Japan office or distributor.

In my experience, there are plenty of things that may only become apparent to executives after speaking face-to-face with remote employees. As I explained before, business relationships in Japan tend to be very formal. When you enter a boardroom to meet people for the first time, you are expected to go around the room in a specific order. You meet the senior person first and yes, you sometimes need to guess who that is. You then present your business card with two hands, with the writing facing your counterpart.

Then, pronounce a few words to introduce yourself bonus points if done in Japanese , and bow down. Repeat for other attendees. The Japanese language reflects this. Ever wondered about the long diatribes waiters at restaurants pronounce when you enter the place? Yes, that is keigo too. You ignore manners to your peril.

If a prospect concludes that you are not paying sufficient respect, he may conclude you will not be a reliable business partner. Pure and simple. Fortunately, there is a simple way for you to prepare: do your research. You may even learn some of the local tongue. After all, doing business is about building trust, which requires breaking the ice. However, there is no need to be perfect.

For one, usually Japanese do not expect perfection from you. You are a foreigner, after all. Besides, keigo is difficult even for the Japanese to master! For example, a few years ago, I visited a prospect of ours.

A competitor also a foreign company visited them before and claimed that only their tool could be used for a certain level of certification because they had a feature we lacked. That was incorrect. We were used successfully at that level of certification by other clients. And that competitor probably knew it, as I saw this "fact" repeated by many clients in Asia.

However, when you tried to set the record straight, many clients viewed my answers with suspicion. Usually, I keep my cool at all times, especially in Japan. But on that occasion, I allowed myself, quite consciously, to express irritation. Irritation because it was not accurate.

Irritation because, in my view, this was a lack of respect for the client. I told him they probably knew better. And I offered to put him in contact with clients of mine that would confirm what I said. That is definitely not what you can expect from your typical Japanese businessman. And truth be told, expressing irritation is usually a risky strategy.

But in my judgment, the circumstances warranted it. As a foreigner, I enjoyed a bit more leeway. So, by all means, learn and respect the local culture. The more you know, the better you will be. But realize that your status as a non-native doesn't only carry disadvantages. It can sometimes play in your favor. Has your relationship with your boss suddenly changed and you're not sure why?

It's smart of you to notice, and even smarter of you to do something about it. So many of us settle for an unhealthy relationship with our manager, hoping that it will eventually blow over. The truth is, relationships are a lot like icebergs—what you see above the water is usually rooted in something much bigger happening beneath the surface.

What you may experience as a pattern of sharp feedback or increased micromanaging might be rooted in something bigger. Even if it's not, sweeping these concerns under the rug will likely put you on edge and make you more likely to make mistakes or assume the worst. In a dream world, your manager may see what you're doing and want to meet you halfway, but you can't bank on that. If trust has been broken, it will take a while to rebuild. If your competence is in question, you may need several successes before you chip away at their false perception of you.

No matter what the root cause of the breech is, you must be willing to stay the course and be consistent until the relationship turns around. To improve your relationship with your manager, you must convince them that you can and will help them be successful. This convincing isn't about apologies or persuasive words; it's about consistently communicating through your language, work products, loyalty, and warmth that you care about your company, your boss, and your team —and that you have the skills to get your job done well.

Human beings aren't stupid. We are biologically programmed to know when someone is faking admiration for us. Our gut tells us not to trust them, and our suspicion goes into high gear.

Your manager is no different. You won't be able to build a relationship with your manager if, deep down, you don't respect them.

Unfortunately, respecting them isn't something we can pretend our way into. To like or respect someone, you have to find things about them you want to emulate. The good news is, even if your manager is Mr. Hyde on steroids, chances are there are things about them worth admiring. Take a minute to decide what those things are and keep them top of mind. One way to do this is to create a sincere one-sentence response to the question, "What do you admire most about your manager?

You'll find that telling others what you like about them makes you believe it more. As a bonus, if your manager hears that you've been spreading praise about them, it can't hurt your relationship! If you say you'll be at work at am, do it. If you promise a deliverable by a deadline, keep that deadline.