Understanding the roles leaders play from coach, trainer, mentor, and more
As a people leader, you have a lot of layers of responsibilities for each of your employees. Unfortunately, we don't always take the time to fully understand the differences between each role and we don't think proactively about them.
We also have so many daily responsibilities, emails, meetings, and fires to put out that it can be hard to take the time to think proactively about our approach to leadership - we typically just have to jump right in.
So today, I want to challenge you to think about how you approach each of these areas, which you're best at, and which needs more attention and intention. Then, take a few moments to decide on three next steps you want to implement based on what you learned here. The roles we’ll cover include:
Manager
Trainer
Mentor
Coach
Advocate
Manager
What it is: Managing is the administrative side of being a people leader that helps provide structure to the team and individuals. Here, you're setting and maintaining clear expectations for each individual's roles and responsibilities, providing feedback along the way, and more.
Some examples:
Hiring and firing
Onboarding
Approving time off
Prioritizing and delegating workload
How to be intentional here: Consider where you can be more proactive here. Are there certain administrative events that happen regularly (monthly, quarterly) that you can add to your calendar to have dedicated time to focus on them and not wait until the last minute? Are there better systems you can create on your end to keep track of the needs of the individuals on your team?
Trainer
What it is: Training is when you are teaching someone a specific skill that they need for their job or will make their work easier. Sometimes as a leader you can delegate the training to other team members who are more experienced or professional trainers, however, you still need to be involved to coordinate, emphasize the importance of the skill, and ensure it is completed successfully.
Some examples:
Software programs
Internal processes, SOPs, forms
Effective communication (internal and external)
Safety, compliance, or regulatory requirements
Quality standards and best practices
How to be intentional here:
It's important to recognize that there are many different learning styles so just because this is how you learned does not mean it's going to be the best or effective for everyone else. Instead, first check in with the individuals involved to see their preferred learning style (visual, auditory, reading, kinesthetic) and create a training plan around that.
Mentor
What it is: Mentoring is about sharing your own personal and professional learnings with someone to support them along their journey, encourage growth, and maybe even help them not make the same mistakes that you've made. This can also cover the nuances of your specific industry, company, or team that are unwritten rules or politics that can be difficult to navigate as an individual.
Some examples:
Your career path and learnings along the way
Building a personal brand and professional reputation
Networking inside and outside the company
Understanding company culture and politics
How to be intentional here:
This may not necessarily come up for every employee on your team. It needs to be prompted and led by the mentee, typically by someone growth-oriented who asks for your personal advice. Remember that just because this is how it was for you growing and developing in this industry, doesn't mean that's necessarily how it will go for them. It's more about offering advice or new perspectives that they can choose to implement or not.
Coach
What it is: Coaching is about creating a space for you to work together to creatively come up with new ideas, new plans, and new next steps related to specific goals that they’re working on. Here, you're asking open-ended questions so that they can come up with new ideas as well as being there to support them but without giving your direct opinion or telling them exactly what to do next. It’s more of a creative brainstorm with structure to create next steps.
Some examples:
Project mapping or creating a workplan
Time management
Procrastination
Accepting feedback and criticism
How to be intentional here:
Coaching also needs to be led by the individual so that they are coachable, ready to have the conversation, open to new ideas and not everyone is always in that place. When a topic comes up, you can simply ask 'is that something you want coaching on to come up with next steps together?' to see if they're willing and open.
Advocate
What it is: Advocating is about helping the individual grow in their long-term career journey Here, you're taking the time to talk through their personal and professional goals with them and creating opportunities to help them get there faster.
Some examples:
Helping them plan their long-term career goals
Creating opportunities that support their professional development (conferences, courses, trainings, books, etc.)
Sharing their strengths or wins when they're not in the room
Standing up for them or intervening to prevent conflict or roadblocks
How to be intentional here: This should be co-created between the two of you. As a manager, maybe you have some prompts to get them started because it can be daunting on the individual standpoint to know where to start or what to look for. But then they should be the ones running with their plan and executing it and you can be there as an accountability buddy and a support system for them along the way.
At times, this can be hard for managers because it could mean that what's best for the individual is an opportunity to change teams, departments, or even organizations and you could lose them from your team. But as a good manager, you want the best for your employees so you want to encourage them and help them grow.
Not sure which of these roles needs the most work right now? The free Leadership Blind Spot Audit can help you find out. Take the audit here.
Ready to stop putting off your growth and finally lead with confidence? Hello Velocity's Growth Coaching Package will help you uncover your authentic leadership style, sharpen your skills, and clarify the career goals that matter most.
Brittany Canaski is a highly-rated Leadership Coach, Trainer, and Founder of Hello Velocity where she builds confident leaders and high-performing teams. When she's not building her business, you can find her planning her next travel adventure with her husband, watching Formula 1 racing, or volunteering in her local community of Charlotte, NC.
