"Behind every successful person, there is one elementary truth. Somewhere, some way, someone cared about their growth and development."

Both coaching and mentoring are proving to be powerful aids to personal and organizational change and development.

If you were the King of Ithaca and had to leave your family to fight in a war that was going to last 10 years, who would you want to guide your children in your absence? More than 4,000 years ago, Odysseus faced this decision, and he asked his friend, Mentor, to guide his son Telemachus, while Odysseus led the Greeks to victory in the Trojan War.

Thinking of a mentor might conjure up visions of a white bearded wise man in flowing robes and sandals or Telemachus' adviser in Homer's Odyssey. Today the term mentor usually means a more-experienced person who acts as a guide or model for a less-experienced person. Mentors can often be found on the job, but they can also be relatives, older friends, teachers and others we encounter in our lives. Mentoring typically takes place in an informal way, and often neither the mentor nor the person being mentored (typically called the protege) is completely aware that a lasting inf

In an age where 'a job for life' is no longer an option for either company or employee, organisations need to ensure that they retain staff as long as practical and those they manage the transfer of skills and knowledge throughout the business. Evidently the objective should be for the mentee to become as knowledgeable as the mentor. Many technology-based companies recognise the importance of mentoring and particularly peer-based 'buddy' systems to share and develop technical expertise. Interestingly, in the case of global corporations, such approaches are driven by the demands of organisational structure, such as 'follow-the-sun' worldwide help desks that require that the same level of technical support be seamlessly delivered from a number of support centres across the globe.

Coaching and mentoring share many similarities so it makes sense to outline the common things coaches and mentors do whether the services are offered in a paid (professional) or unpaid (philanthropic) role.

Loeb (1995) goes further by suggesting that one-on-one mentoring is becoming less viable as competition increases and people change jobs frequently, becoming less identified with one organization. He recommends that individuals manage their own career development with the help of a "board of advisors"--multiple mentors within and outside of their organizations who can provide a wide range of expertise and advice about specific organizational politics and culture as well as broader trends in a profession or field.

2. Observe performance. Observe and determine the performer's needs in these areas: knowledge of what to do, skillfulness at execution, willingness and confidence level, and any barriers limiting performance.

Advice to further development: shares confidential and personal feedback but encourages learner to share development plans with others. Advice to broaden viewpoint: allowed to share information to which the learner is seldom privy. Advice on Performance Improvement: able to provide feedback on an ongoing basis so the learner knows how he or she is performing in relation to goals and objectives.

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Approximate Word count = 8030
Approximate Pages = 32 (250 words per page double spaced)