Julie Starr is a renowned coach and mentor, and author of several books on the topics. We had a deep and meaningful chat about the differences between coaching and mentoring, what it takes to be a good coach or mentor, and the impact of AI on coaching.

Episode highlights:

1. The expectations we have of leaders have changed

We're slowly moving away from Taylorist, resource-focused management to a less-directive style of leadership. Not all companies are there yet, but even laggards are seeing what other organisations are doing and the benefits it brings.

2. Coaching is a 1:1 relationship focused squarely on the person being coached

Coaches facilitate conversations of inquiry and aim to support their clients to take action, evolve and, ultimately, empower them to be the change they want to see in themselves.

3. Coaches do not need to be functional experts

At the heart of coaching is the art of coaching, not reflecting your own biases and life story onto people. A good coach can use fundamental coaching skills to coach anyone, whatever their life situation or career niche.

4. Mentoring is not the same as coaching, but it's also not binary

It's less useful to look at the specific behaviours and more at the dynamics of a mentoring relationship; that of benevolence from and respect for a more senior practitioner who has seen your situation before.

5. Not everything that counts can be measured

It's traditionally hard to attribute specific metrics to coaching or mentoring relationships, but that doesn't mean the effect isn't there. It's not always easy, but we can use qualitative data to show the impact of our efforts.

Buy Julie's Books

"Julie Starr’s books on coaching and mentoring are recommended reading on development programmes around the world."

Check out all three books at Starr Coaching, or wherever you get your books.

Check out Julie's free resources

Julie has a huge amount of free resources at LearnStarr (free registration required). Make sure to check it out.

Contact Julie

You can connect with Julie on LinkedIn. You can also check out the Starr Coaching website.

Episode 98 :: John Peacock :: Buddha the Radical to Creeping Brahmanism