{"id":7153,"date":"2023-12-04T07:52:26","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T07:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/benelux-en\/?p=7153"},"modified":"2023-12-04T07:52:27","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T07:52:27","slug":"why-coaching-isnt-always-enough-at-c-suite-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/benelux-en\/developing-leaders\/why-coaching-isnt-always-enough-at-c-suite-level\/","title":{"rendered":"Why coaching isn\u2019t always enough at C-suite level"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article is part of a series on the importance of humanization in today\u2019s organizations. To find out more, see our articles on what humanization<\/a> is and how it\u2019s impacting businesses<\/a>.<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mentoring and coaching are often treated by C-suite leaders as interchangeable terms, but there is a fundamental difference between them that goes overlooked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coaching is the process of supporting leaders to come up with their own ideas, without the coach bringing their own experience to the table. But with mentoring, experience is vital \u2013 mentors provide leaders with someone to bounce ideas off, a thought partner backed up by insights from their career and network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both mentoring and coaching are equally valid when deployed in the right situation. But in a humanized business \u2013 one that prioritises people and the human factor over bottom line results<\/a> \u2013 mentoring is essential for C-Suite leaders who need to look beyond their own experience and view strategic topics from multiple perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To explore the difference between mentoring and coaching in a humanized business, we spoke to Frouke Horstmann, managing partner of TPC Leadership Netherlands, as well as TPCL executive coach and mentor Luc Kenter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The benefits of a good mentor at C-suite level<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When working with C-suite leaders, there\u2019s always a balance to be found between coaching and mentoring. Executives rarely like to be told what they should do \u2013 they want someone who will be a traveling companion as they discover the road ahead, not a GPS laying out every turn they need to make and when. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But at the same time, executives also value the experience of a mentor who\u2019s faced similar challenges in different sectors, and who can spark new ideas by sharing their own stories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The difficulty is that C-suite leaders often don\u2019t understand that this is what they need, and they might not know it is an option they can ask for. As a result, executives usually look for a coach, even when they really need a mentor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frouke recalls an example of being approached by the CEO of two merged companies. The CEO was having trouble balancing the needs of the many stakeholders in both companies, and they asked for a coach to help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Frouke recognised that because of the CEO\u2019s experience and the complexity of the role, a coach wouldn\u2019t have been credible. What they really needed was someone who understood the situation from their own experience and could be someone to bounce ideas off \u2013 in other words, a mentor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s lonely at the top,\u201d Frouke says. \u201cLeaders need someone who understands what they\u2019re going through, and the dynamics and complexities of the decisions they have to make.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why humanization makes mentoring essential for C-suite executives<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world in which businesses operate is changing rapidly. Boards are having to adapt to ensure they\u2019re building diverse teams, rising to the ESG challenge and meeting the varied demands of multiple generations within the same company. Now, the rise of humanization<\/a> can be added to that list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, C-suite executives could look five years ahead, set out a strategy for that period and stick to it, but that\u2019s no longer a viable option when change comes so rapidly. Mentors can provide a sounding board for leaders who aren\u2019t sure how to meet those challenges, but they can also ask the right questions to make sure the C-suite isn\u2019t overlooking the human factor in their decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A CEO might have a strong track record in the role, but their experience might be centered around a specific kind of situation like launching a new business or navigating M&A. When they\u2019re faced with an organization in a different phase or situation, a mentor can provide them with the perspective to look beyond their own experience, and help build synergy between board strategies<\/a> and the people they impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luc recalls a time from his own C-suite career when the human element of a situation made mentoring essential. He was experiencing friction between himself and the chairman of the non-executive board, and that interpersonal relationship was having a consequential effect on the business. He quickly realized that what he needed wasn\u2019t a coach to help facilitate ideas, but a mentor who could provide a different perspective than his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy mentor didn\u2019t have to give me advice on what to do,\u201d Luc says, \u201cbut we had good objective discussions and I took my own inspiration from them. Then I went to speak with the non-executive chairman, and we were able to sort out both our relationship and the business situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does a good mentor look like and how do you find one?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a place for both coaching and mentoring when it comes to the C-suite. But in a humanized future, leaders will need to embrace both to find nuanced solutions to complex situations, and to see beyond their own perspectives for the good of their employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mentoring and coaching aren\u2019t mutually exclusive to each other, and a good mentor should bring a coaching approach to what they do as well. They should combine the deep knowledge of what it means to be a coach with their credibility and experience as a leader in their own right, and understand that an executive bears responsibility for more than just the financial results of a company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding a mentor who can bring that right balance \u2013 particularly if you don\u2019t know for certain whether it\u2019s a mentor or a coach that you need \u2013 is not always easy. At TPCL, part of the process when we\u2019re approached by C-suite executives is figuring out when they need a coach and when they need a mentor, and making the right recommendation. Either way, our mentors are trained to bring a coaching approach in addition to their extensive leadership experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more, see our other articles on how humanization impacts every aspect of running a business, from M&A due diligence<\/a> to board synergy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d like to see how TPC Leadership can support you with mentoring, get in touch<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article is part of a series on the importance of humanization in today\u2019s organizations. To find out more, see our articles on what humanization is and how it\u2019s impacting businesses. Mentoring and coaching are often treated by C-suite leaders as interchangeable terms, but there is a fundamental difference between them that goes overlooked.  Coaching […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":7154,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[150,30],"featured-blog-post":[],"page-type":[],"class_list":["post-7153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-developing-leaders","tag-coaching","tag-leadership"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/benelux-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/benelux-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/benelux-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/benelux-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/benelux-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/benelux-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/benelux-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/benelux-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/benelux-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/benelux-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7153"},{"taxonomy":"featured-blog-post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/benelux-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured-blog-post?post=7153"},{"taxonomy":"page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/benelux-en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/page-type?post=7153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}