Two Important Reasons Why You Need a Coach and a Mentor

As testing professionals, there are many ways to learn our craft and improve our skills. One such technique is by working with a coach and a mentor. Read on to discover two important reasons why you need a coach and a mentor.

1. Get clarity on your career direction

A mentor has the experience and qualifications to offer you advice. They have been there and done that. And while every individual context is different — and we should celebrate this — the mentor is likely to have gone down paths and observed patterns in their career that will likely spark options for your career. A mentor can become the trusted advisor that you can go to to ask questions to draw on their experience. For example,? “What would you do in this situation?”.?

The coach role doesn’t have to know anything about testing. They aren’t biased by their experience like a mentor is. A coach asks you questions to help you work out your career goals. They will also help you explore your options, identify items that will support you and encourage you to agree on a way forward.

2. Share to learn and learn to share

As a mentor shares their knowledge and advice they consolidate their experiences. It’s a surprisingly powerful way for the mentor to learn with the mentoree. Coaching allows the coach to transfer what they discover about their coaching approach onto other coaching sessions. The ripple effect of coaching and mentoring leads to deeper employee relationships and greater employee engagement. It’s far-reaching beyond what might initially seem like a one-to-one activity.

Interested in becoming a coach? Laveena Ramchandani shares her thoughts on what it takes to become an effective coach in her article: Becoming An Effective Coach ??