Does coaching work without mentorship in management development?

Abstract

It has been a decade since Karpin highlighted areas that Australian managers needed to improve and identified that they lacked the softer human skills and this needed to be addressed. The terms coaching and mentoring are often synonymous with each other when referring to development programs within organisations. However, the established distinction recognises mentoring as a longer-term guidance and development strategy whereas coaching aims to achieve increased performance in the short-term. Mentoring may occur in a formalised, structured setting or as an informal, unstructured career and personal development arrangement. However, the lack of interventions, based on peer mentoring, may be a contributing factor that restricts the improvement in Australia’s managers. One conclusion is that coaching does not work without mentorship in management development.