We want Cocora to be the place where leaders come to achieve their potential. We don’t want leaders to aspire to be the best in Colombia, Mexico, or Latin America. We want them to aspire to be the best in the world because it is what they are capable of.
Mentors support you professionally by leveraging their experience. Mentors can guide you (ask questions to help you find your own answers) or they might tell you what to do. In order to be effective, a mentor must have deep expertise in the area you work in. Examples of mentors include more senior executives or people who have already accomplished the things you seek to accomplish.
Mentors support you professionally by leveraging their experience. Mentors can guide you (ask questions to help you find your own answers) or they might tell you what to do. In order to be effective, a mentor must have deep expertise in the area you work in. Examples of mentors include more senior executives or people who have already accomplished the things you seek to accomplish.
A mentor will help you understand the situation better. They will be a thought partner and will share their ample experience. In many cases they can help you think strategically about how you should address the situation based on their own knowledge and experience. They can also dive into the tactical aspects of how to provide the feedback and what to do depending on how your direct report responds.
Therapists are trained mental health professionals whose goal is to help treat mental illnesses. Therapists will help you diagnose and treat mental health conditions. They will often spend most of their time working on the unconscious mind and digging deep into personal and professional experiences you had in the past. Therapists will always guide you and very rarely intervene in your decisions. Most therapists will focus primarily on the personal aspects of your life. When you discuss professional items with them, the focus will be on your emotions and thought patterns.
A therapist will dive deep to understand what is it about the situation that makes it difficult for you to act. As part of that discovery process, the therapist may realize that unconsciously, you view yourself as a “good person”. Your definition of a “good person” may not fit in well with giving harsh feedback. Your unconscious mind might feel that you are making somebody uncomfortable and causing them stress and anxiety which feels out of character for a “good person”. This in turn creates a lot of noise inside your unconscious mind which is what makes it difficult for you to act.
Once they understand this, a therapist will dive deeper into the causes of this. They will relive past experiences and spend several sessions helping you heal the wounds or memories that trigger that negative reaction.
Coaches support you professionally by leveraging a deep understanding of who you are as a person. They also focus on your mental fitness. Similar to therapists, coaches will guide you but refrain from sharing their opinions or telling you what to do. Coaches will focus on the professional realm and may or may not be subject matter experts in your fields.
Similar to a therapist, a coach will dive deep to understand the root cause of the situation. In contrast with what a therapist would do, a coach will come back to the present moment to help you address the current situation. Your coach will help you disentangle your definition of a “good person” from the act of giving direct and caring feedback (which is actually a kind thing to do).
Similar to a mentor, your coach will also help you by providing tools and frameworks you can use to have the feedback conversation effectively. A coach will also provide you with tools and frameworks to help you disentangle your definition of a “good person” from difficult conversations that are necessary but may make others uncomfortable. By doing this, they will help you resolve the issue at hand as well as make you a more effective leader and other difficult conversations as well.
