Coaching vs Mentoring: Rethinking Leadership
- Feb
- 20
A recent Linkedin post I read compared coaching vs mentoring. It was based on the idea that mentors bring “real-world” experience while coaches often lack this, and raises a broader question about how we value knowledge, creativity, and progress in leadership and organisational development. The argument for relying on “tried and tested” experience may seem reasonable at first glance, but it reflects a deeper issue in how we approach growth, innovation, and wellbeing in the workplace.
The Strength of Diverse Approaches
In today’s complex world, a diversity of perspectives is essential. We need thinkers, doers, dreamers, pessimists, optimists, and everything in between. Each approach offers unique value depending on the situation. Coaching and mentoring are not mutually exclusive but complementary tools. Mentors bring wisdom from lived experiences, while coaches foster development and help individuals, teams and organisations explore new possibilities through structured guidance.
The real question is not which approach is better but what outcomes these approaches deliver. Are they fostering creativity, innovation, and adaptability? Or are they reinforcing old patterns that no longer serve us? Leaders must cultivate an openness to diverse methods and apply the right balance for the challenges at hand.
The Slow Pace of Change: A Case for Rethinking Workplace Wellbeing
One area where reliance on “tried and tested” methods has limited progress is employee engagement and the more recent concept of workplace wellbeing. For decades, employee engagement has been a priority in corporate strategies and increasingly, over the last few years, so too has been workplace wellbeing. Yet, despite significant investments in programs and initiatives, the results have been underwhelming.
Research shows that while employee wellbeing programs can yield returns (e.g., Johnson & Johnson saved $250 million on healthcare costs over a decade), these gains are often incremental rather than transformative1. Similarly, Gallup data highlights that only 36% of employees feel their overall wellbeing is prioritised by their employer2. This stagnation suggests that traditional approaches have reached their limits.
High-level goals such as fostering mentally and physically vital employees or creating harmonious workplaces remain largely aspirational. Economic outcomes like increased productivity and shared prosperity also fall short when organisations fail to address systemic issues like burnout or disengagement. This demonstrates the need for fresh thinking—beyond simply tweaking existing frameworks.
The Need for Transformational Thinking
We are at a pivotal moment in history. Challenges like climate change, resource scarcity, technological disruption, and social inequality demand bold leadership. Incremental improvements will not suffice; we need transformational thinking.
As IDEO CEO Tim Brown emphasises, leadership today is less about having all the answers and more about asking better questions3. By fostering curiosity and creativity within teams, leaders can unlock innovative solutions to complex problems. However, this requires moving away from over-reliance on past experiences and embracing exploration, experimentation, and creativity.
Organisations must create cultures where innovation thrives. This involves setting aspirational goals aligned with strategic priorities while avoiding prescriptive methods that stifle creativity. Leaders should encourage diverse perspectives and empower their teams to challenge assumptions—because the solutions we need may not yet exist.
Linking Leadership to Wellbeing Progress
The connection between leadership approaches and workplace wellbeing cannot be overstated. Leaders who prioritise asking new questions rather than relying solely on experience are better positioned to drive meaningful change. For example:
Sociocultural: How can we create an environment where every employee feels a deep sense of purpose, belonging, and contribution to the greater good?
This question encourages leaders to think beyond traditional employee engagement metrics and focus on fostering a workplace culture that supports individual and collective wellbeing. It challenges organisations to explore:
- How purpose is embedded in employees’ day-to-day work.
- Ways to build an inclusive culture where diverse voices are heard and valued.
- Opportunities to connect employees’ contributions to broader societal impact.
By addressing this question, organisations can align their internal culture with external societal needs, ensuring that employees thrive while contributing meaningfully to the world.
Environmental: What bold steps can we take today to ensure our organisation becomes a regenerative force for the planet within the next decade?
This question shifts the focus from sustainability (minimising harm) to regeneration (actively restoring and improving ecosystems). It inspires organisations to:
- Reimagine their operations, supply chains, and products in ways that give back more than they take.
- Collaborate with stakeholders to address pressing environmental challenges like biodiversity loss, water scarcity, and climate change.
- Set ambitious goals that align with planetary boundaries while fostering innovation.
By asking this question, leaders move beyond incremental improvements and challenge their teams to think creatively about how their organisation can be a net-positive contributor to environmental health.
Economic: How can we redefine success so that it balances profitability with shared prosperity for all stakeholders?
This question prompts leaders to rethink traditional economic measures of success, such as short-term profit maximisation, in favor of long-term value creation for employees, customers, communities, and investors. It encourages exploration of:
- How business models can be adapted to prioritise equitable wealth distribution and shared prosperity.
- Metrics beyond financial performance, such as social impact or stakeholder satisfaction.
- Ways to foster innovation that drives both economic growth and societal benefit.
By addressing this question, organisations can position themselves as leaders in creating a fairer, more inclusive economy while still achieving financial success.
Conclusion: A Call for Bold Leadership
This debate about coaching versus mentoring is emblematic of a larger issue: our tendency to cling to familiar methods even when they no longer serve us. As leaders, we must challenge this inertia by embracing new ideas and fostering environments where creativity flourishes.
By asking different questions, exploring uncharted paths, and prioritising transformational thinking over “tried and tested” experience, we can create workplaces—and a world—where people thrive together with the planet. Let this be our guiding principle as we navigate the complexities of the 21st century.
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Sources:
3 IDEOU Blog: Why Leadership is Not About Having All the Answers, IDEO CEO Tim Brown