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Mentoring, coaching...same thing?

For those of us who have had both mentoring and coaching, in or outside of your professional life, may we start with a definition?  The concept of a coach or mentor are indeed different.  Indeed, as I was doing a little research for this blog, I found conflicting definitions from sources, so if you have a discussion with someone and hear different definitions, it's reflective of a few things.  The first is this is a popular topic and the second is beware of what you agree to pay for when purchasing coaching services.

Per Webster's online Dictionary: 

Mentor n.  1. A wise and faithful counselor or monitor.

Coach   n.  2.  A special tutor who assists in preparing a student for examination

Retreived from:  http://www.coachingandmentoring.com/Articles/mentoring.html

Coaching.  It is quite possible you have received the benefits of both mentoring and coaching without realizing the difference, unless you have called that person "Coach", since we rarely call a mentor, "mentor Jim", or "mentor Sue".  I grew up with athletic coaches so let's start there.  Coaching activities are specific to tasks.  When I was learning how to swim, I had (still have) a coach to continue to help me achieve that activity to the best of my ability.  Coaches are typically paid in some way to help you achieve that task, indirectly through your organization, or directly by you.  Personal athletic coaches are almost always paid directly by the athlete.  In the workplace, the athlete is replaced by the individual worker/employee, however I like the metaphor of the worker athlete reaching a specific task that is measurable.  If I work with a coach before a race, measure my time; work with my coach for a faster time, and measure the time improvement (or no improvement), then I can measure whether or not a coach possibly contributed to my performance  If your employer suggests you engage with a workplace coach, then insist on measuring what will be achieved.  In other words, be an engaged "worker athlete".

Mentoring.  I have had various "inner circle" people in my life, however my mentor has been a constant in my professional life for more the past 25 years.  I still check in with her a few times a year, partly out of respect for her as a person and also because she has so much wisdom and tacit knowledge that she willingly shares in a mentor role.  You might be wondering, so what?  What's the difference here?  My mentor taught me how a CPT code works (leading to my Certificate in Coding) and how to find a diagnosis code in an ICD9 (now 10) book.  My mentor sat down at her kitchen table in Dillon, Colorado with me one day, where she was managing the clinic at the base of Keystone mountain in Colorado and showed me how to set a physician practice fee schedule from beginning to end.  Three years ago I came to her thinking about obtaining Fellow status.  She wasted no time, by setting a deadline for my outline so I would achieve (no "if", but "when") Fellow status by Annual Conference time.  My mentor critiqued my outline, paper and multiple revisions.  Her experience from serving on the MGMA Professional Papers Committee was insightful.  When I pushed back; she pushed harder because she knew what it took to get there (she was retired at the time).  I chose my mentor hoping she would say 'yes'; she did not choose me.  I sought her knowledge and she freely gave it to me and continues to do so today regardless of what position I have had in the healthcare field.  This is the difference a mentor can make in a life.

She introduced me to the value of being a member of National MGMA through her actions as a role model. 

This year in Nashville at AC15, due to overwhelming feedback from attendees in 2014, MGMA will have an extended session on how to have a mentee and how to choose a mentor.  This is invaluable for us, as a family of healthcare leaders and for the future of healthcare leaders.  If you are on the fence on becoming a mentor ("I don't have time", "I'm not a teacher") or as a mentee ("I'm embarrassed I need help", "I'm too old to have a mentor"), then come to the session and consider the rich experience you are missing.

AC15:  Monday, Oct. 12th      

Having and Being a Mentor session (2:15-4:00 pm)

Developing a relationship with a mentor can lead to greater career satisfaction, professional recognition and career mobility and opportunities. This session will focus on why mentoring is important, where to find a mentor and how to select the right mentor. The second half of the session will consist of speed mentoring/networking with potential mentors and mentees.

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