Coaching and Mentoring
Let’s start with the most fundamental fact: People have been practicing coaching and mentoring for thousands of years.
It may have started with the first man or woman showing others how to use fire to cook food instead of eating raw, demonstrating the benefits of cooked food over raw, such as taste or storability.
In fact, we first encounter the word “mentor” in Homer’s Odyssey. When Odysseus departs for the Trojan Wars, he assigns Mentor, his best friend, in charge of his son Telemachus. Mentor builds a special relationship with Telemachus and helps him deal with his personal dilemmas, e.g. on whether he should fight or live in peace. The name Mentor was subsequently adopted in Latin and other languages, including English, as a term meaning someone who imparts wisdom to and shares knowledge with a less-experienced counterpart.
Then came Plato, who wrote about physics, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theatre, music, psychology, economics and politics. But most importantly, he taught and provided advice on these topics to his mentees. He was a mentor, and his most famous mentee was Aristotle, whose ideas eventually became the intellectual pillars of Western Europe.
Gandhi learned from Dadabhai Naoroji, an Indian leader who helped start the Indian Independence Movement in 1857. In 1888, he wrote Naoroji a letter that read, “…you will therefore oblige me greatly if you will kindly direct and guide me and make necessary suggestions that shall be received as from a father to his child.”
Bob Marley chose his first guitar with Joe Higgs, who was his teacher and mentor. He mentions his name, with a great respect, in his first album.
Literary legends Truman Capote and Harper Lee were colleagues and best friends. Lee accompanied Capote as his research partner and mentor.
What are the common characteristics of these relationships? Why have we defined these people as mentors or coaches instead of teachers or advisers?
These people in history were mentors and coaches because they shared their own experiences and gave encouragement to other people who wanted to follow the same path with them. They showed them their methodology, cheered on and helped them at every stage of their journey.
