The Concepts of Coaching and Mentoring

Guiding people through the right way through life can be a daunting task for any person who is tasked to do it. A person who has to do the guiding has a lot of delicate balances to strike: he or she has to be strong enough to reprimand the person who is following him or her when that follower is not being obedient or is straying from the right path; on the other hand, he or she has to sometimes allow the follower the chance to stray, so that the follower can gain experience and thus be much wiser. There are many different things that a person has to do to guide his or her follower or followers, and these concepts of guidance are covered under coaching and mentoring.

The process of mentoring involves the relationship and bonding; a togetherness that is more commonly referred to as mentor and mentee. A mentor is someone who may sometimes be older, but who is certainly more knowledgeable, more wise, and perhaps even more serene and settled than what might predictably be a less knowledgeable, less wise, and flighty mentee. The mentor’s task is to be the guide for the inexperienced mentee: as the mentee learns more and more from the mentor, the mentee is farther thrust into greatness.

The mentor-mentee relationship has long existed in history, and has been glorified by pop media. There are also many different mentor-mentee relationships in the modern world. For instance, when an employee first enters a company or business, he or she is adopted by someone who has been in the company or business for a long while. Because a new employee might experience culture shock, or might not be prepared for the rigors of the current workplace, the mentor serves as a buffer and guide through how the company or business operates, making the transition easier for the mentee.

Still in line with workplace relationships, an existing employee might show potential as someone who could one day lead, or who could move on and be great elsewhere. In this case, a person experienced in the company could informally take on this employee and be his or her mentor. In this relationship, the mentor will teach the mentee the necessary skills to advance in the workplace, so that one day, the mentee might perhaps take the mentor’s place, advance elsewhere in the hierarchy, or move on to another company and do even better.

The concept of coaching, on the other hand, is quite different from that of mentoring. In coaching, a method is employed in which a leader directs the movements of a person or a group of persons. In coaching, the instruction and training given are done with a definite end goal in mind. The methods of directing people’s movements and thought process might include giving motivational talks. There are also ways to train people in order to make them perform better, such as through seminars or workshops, or through practice, such as those done by sports teams.

In mentoring, a mentor teaches how to live better or how to function better. In coaching, perhaps better seen as a more specific method of mentoring, the coach guides his or her team in order for them to meet an end goal. For sports coaches, this will mean victory in a game. For marriage coaches, this will mean a stronger marital bond. For family coaches, this will mean a stronger familial bond, between parents and children, and sometimes, amongst the children themselves.

There are many different kinds of mentoring and coaching, as well as different techniques associated with each. For more information, you can talk to professional mentors and coaches, or do more research online.

A little humor always helps during these crazy times

Thanks to Wally for these gems.

I recently spoke at an Internet Professionals Meeting and advised all attendees to immediately pull their money out of certain stocks. Of course these days everyone is an Internet Professional, so I received a wide variety of answers from the various professions.

The Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.

The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it.

The Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception.

The Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted

The Pathologists yelled, 'Over my dead body!

The Pediatricians said, 'Oh, grow up!'

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness.

The Radiologists could see right through it.

Some Surgeons wanted to cut right through the red tape.

Other Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing.

The Internists claimed it was a bitter pill to swallow.

The Plastic Surgeons said, 'This puts a whole new face on the matter.'

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward.

The Urologists felt the scheme wouldn't hold water.

The Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas.

The Cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no.

In the end, the Proctologists left the decision up to the assholes in Washington.

It's Mueller Time! Trump Administration Season Ending

A wonderful dream, I saw this on As Time Goes Bye and then watched it on YouTube. It is wonderful satire. and could be conceived of as a liberal dream or a conservative's nightmare, take you pick.

Seniors and Pensions

I had an interesting talk, a few days ago with a young senior who was talking about her work in Ontario, a few years ago. The problem is that for the government in BC and in Ontario Senior issues are pushed to the back of the bus. Not because these issues are not important, but because seniors do not speak as one voice on many issues. The young senior talked about how she had worked with her organization to focus all of the various senior groups on the issue of income security for seniors. 

She said there was great interest and after a few years, there was growing support being formed around the issue, and the government was finally starting to listen as this group represented over six million seniors. As the momentum started to grow, petty politics started to grow as well. One group thought there was more attention being paid to another groups wishes, and that attitude of "my way or the highway" slowly took over and the momentum that was building collapsed as in-fighting grew in the member organizations.

The reality is that seniors are going into debt at a faster rate than other groups and sinking into poverty at a faster pace than in the previous decades. We are facing many crises with our seniors, crises of long term care, health care, housing, isolation, and poverty are just a few of the issues seniors face. 

Each of these issues are multi-layered and complex and are expensive. Senior groups form to protect the interest of their members, and teachers have different issues then doctors, who have different issues than rail workers. This means that senior groups do not coalesce around one issue, which is how governments like the situation as this way the government can study the issues and not act on any issue.

The issue of income security for seniors becomes more complicated because it gets mixed in with the issue of income security for all, minimum wage, liveable wage, are thrown in and the issue becomes confusing. My experience with confusing issues is that most people will walk away rather than take the time to think through to a solution. Thinking about complex issues is hard work, many of us do not have the time, energy, desire or understanding to know where to start, and then through up our hands when we realize that in all of these issues there is more than one right answer. 

The issue of income security also becomes complicated, because some have defined payment pensions, which they paid for when they were working, while others have defined contribution pensions, while others have only Old Age Security and/or Canada Pension. The problem is that many with no pension are encouraged by the press and governments to find ways of taking away pensions from those who paid into their plans while they were working. As a result the issue of jealousy makes it hard for seniors to work together on this issue.

In Canada we are lucky because we have the Canada Pension Plan which all workers contribute to over their working career. We need, as seniors to find a way to strengthen this program and raise the contributions so that the payout at the end will give recipients a living wage. Once we have this done, then we can look at ways to increase people who rely on only Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement and raise that source of income to a living wage. 

I think we as Canadians believe that every senior should be able to live in dignity. But workplace pensions simply don’t provide for everyone, and they don’t recognize time spent on caregiving or the wage gap faced by Canadian women. They also exclude persons with disabilities who can’t work or who find their careers disrupted by episodic disabilities.

That’s why public pensions and income supports for seniors are a fundamental part of our social contract – they ensure that everyone has access to a dignified retirement. And that’s why we need to ensure that our public programs for seniors remain universal – because no one deserves to fall through the cracks.

Senior groups need to set aside the petty politics that separate them and focus on making sure that all seniors in Canada receive a pension that provides them with a living wage. This is, I realize, just a wish, and one that will not come true, in my lifetime.