Continuous learning has been connected to all kinds of success and can lead to everything from increased income to even increased lifespan. But continuous learning doesn’t only have to happen in classes and from textbooks. Coaching and mentoring are both recognized as incredibly beneficial ways to learn, grow, and connect. This applies to both those doing the coaching and mentoring and the people under their wing.
Why are coaching and mentoring so beneficial? When someone is an expert in something, they have a wealth of knowledge that others don’t have. Even someone who is simply a little bit more advanced in a topic than someone else might have an abundance of knowledge and guidance that can be useful to someone just starting out.
Coaching and mentoring can be extremely valuable in Customer Success for several key reasons, which we’ll dive into. When Customer Success Managers tap into their coaching and mentoring skills, they can share incredibly valuable information with others on their team, help their coworkers achieve their goals, and contribute to an overall stronger Customer Success department.
This article will discuss:
- How coaching and mentoring relates to Customer Success
- The benefits of coaching and mentoring in Customer Success
- How to develop your coaching and mentoring skills
How Coaching And Mentoring Relates To Customer Success
Let’s break down exactly what coaching and mentoring are and why they’re so critical to Customer Success. Some people use the terms coaching and mentoring interchangeably, but in many instances, coaching and mentoring are distinct.
Both coaching and mentoring refer to relationships where one person helps another learn and achieve their goals through guidance and instruction. Other than that, the two have some differences:
- Coaching: Typically, the coach takes a leadership role in this dynamic. Coaching tends to be short term and geared towards specific skills or training. The coach may not necessarily share their first-hand experiences, and they might even have formal training in coaching.
- Mentoring:On the other hand, mentoring is typically shaped by the mentee, who will come to their mentor with dilemmas and questions. Mentoring might be a less formal arrangement than coaching. Mentor/mentee relationships can happen organically, can be long term, and mentors typically weigh in with their personal experiences and stories.
We often talk about how Customer Success is still an emerging and rapidly changing field.
This is notable when it comes to coaching and mentoring because many new people are entering the field from various backgrounds who are starting from the beginning. This means that more seasoned Customer Success Managers and leaders are poised to tap into their coaching and mentoring skills in order to help others in the same position they once were in, all while fine-tuning their own skills and showcasing their leadership abilities.
Coaching and mentoring gives Customer Success Managers the opportunity to learn from and support one another, leading to a department that is overall stronger. It can be lonely trying to figure things out on your own. But when you have a more experienced CSM to lean on for guidance, you have access to invaluable insight and support.
Coaching and mentoring also carries many other benefits for the workplace. For example, professional mentoring has been connected to increased employee retention, and has also shown to help facilitate camaraderie and relationships among team members.
How To Develop Your Coaching And Mentoring Skills
Customer Success Managers at any skill level can benefit from developing coaching and mentoring skills. Coaching and mentoring skills not only allow you to aid others but also allow you to tap into your own skills and showcase your abilities to lead. Here are some ways to develop your coaching and mentorship skills.
- Look for gaps:Skills gaps can be what hold Customer Success departments back from achieving their major overarching goals, and an excellent remedy to skills gaps is coaching and mentoring. For example, if you notice that many people on your team struggle with time management, but it’s a skill that you’ve figured out, seek to mentor others on how they can work on this competency.
- Seek out opportunities:Coaching and mentoring can happen organically in the workplace, and there are definitely people around you right now who would love to enter this dynamic with you. You can ask your leadership to set up a mentorship program, especially when there are new employees. Or you can reach out to someone and see if they’re interested in coaching and mentoring. Coaching and mentoring helps everyone on the team, because as a coach or mentor, you’ll also be working on your own skills.
- Play your strengths:To be an excellent coach or mentor, it is essential to know you strengths. In what areas or competencies do you excel? And even better: which ones are you excited to talk about and share? These skills and competencies are ones that you should absolutely share as a coach or mentor.
- Seek your own coaches and mentors: Everyone should have a coach or mentor at some point in their life, even those who want to do coaching and mentoring. Seek out coaches and mentors as you go through your career. These people will be excellent resources for learning, you’ll be able to turn to them when you’re in need, and you’ll ultimately become a stronger Customer Success professional.
Benji Roberts
Love the article Jon!