Articles

by Rik Nemanick, Ph.D. I am often asked what the difference is between “mentoring” and “coaching”. While many people use the terms interchangeably, I think of them as being related but different. Part of the distinction can be seen in their respective definitions:  Coach: a tutor who gives private or specialized teaching.  Mentor: an experienced and trusted adviser. As an activity, coaching tends to be focused teaching that usually has a brief timeframe for the purpose of improving the learner’s skills. Mentoring, on the other hand, builds more on the experience of the mentor than specific teaching, and is more... Read More

Mentoring in Practice A Conversation with Maxine Clark, CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop Q. Tell me a little about how you started Build-A-Bear workshop. A. I have been in the retail business for over 25 years starting as an executive trainee at the May department Stores in 1972 and rising to be the President of Payless ShoeSource in 1992. Payless was then the largest division of May but has since been spun off as a separate public company. Early in my career I heard the then CEO of May, Stanley Goodman, say, “Retailing is entertainment and the store is a stage... Read More

In general, I recommend against a boss trying to mentor her or his own direct reports. While providing coaching to all of one’s subordinates is encouraged, being a mentor to those who report to you can be fraught with challenges: 1. The present intrudes. When bosses try to mentor their own subordinates, their conversations tend to focus on the present, while mentor-protégé dialogs generally are more future-looking. Current work is a powerful connection between a boss and subordinate and is hard to set aside. Even when you have “big picture” discussions, they tend to be approached from the vantage of... Read More

Mentoring in Practice: A Conversation with Jeff Cook, Co-Founder and CEO of ARCO Construction Co. Q. Tell me a little about your history as an entrepreneur. A. During high school and college, I worked with friends as partners painting houses, cutting lawns, sealing driveways to pay expenses and have spending money. After college, it was a tough job market. I went to work for the State Highway Department as a project engineer on the Innerbelt (I-170) for two years. I went back to school to get a masters in Engineering Management; I always believed education was very important. After that, I... Read More