Comparing Facilitation, Coaching, Mentoring and Teaching
When to use Facilitation, Coaching, Mentoring or Teaching
We often use the words “coaching,” “mentoring,” “teaching,” and “facilitating” informally. We may say that we're being coached on how to become a better golfer, or that the person managing the agenda in a meeting is the meeting's facilitator. But once we investigate these practices, we discover that each has characteristics that are formally defined by professional organizations related to them, and that our casual uses of those words were probably incorrect in their eyes.
However, it’s not necessary for every Scrum Team member to become a certified facilitator, for example, in order to adopt a facilitator’s stance during Scrum Events. They should introduce themselves to each of these practices, understand the differences among them and learn a few of their techniques. With sufficient proficiency, Scrum Team members will find themselves identifying situations where they can utilize these techniques and fluidly adopt the appropriate stance*.
When should you either provide or seek out Facilitation, Coaching, Mentoring or Teaching?
When there is one or more of the following:
- a challenge, goal or opportunity
- a gap in knowledge, skills or confidence in a particular area
- a lack of clarity when a decision must be made
- an unhealthy conflict among team members
There are countless other situations in which one team member can help others. Deciding which of these skills to use depends on:
- the situation and the needs of the person or team needing help
- the expertise and knowledge of the person providing the help.
The Situation and Needs of the People Needing Help
Facilitation and coaching differ from teaching and mentoring in the neutrality of the provider. A teacher or mentor provides their expertise and advice to their student or mentee. In contrast, coaches and facilitators should remain neutral. That is, they hold an impartial stance and do not take a position on the subject matter. Their job is to be a process expert, enabling those they are coaching or facilitating to achieve their goals.
Facilitation
When is it best used:
Team needs an environment for collaboration to:
- Build consensus
- Diffuse conflict
- Uncover an innovative solution
Examples:
- “We need help creating a team agreement”
- “The problem we are trying to solve is difficult and it’s not clear what we should do next. Let’s get together and see if we can figure out what to do next.”
The facilitator creates a safe environment for the team to flourish. They hold an impartial stance and do not take a position on the subject matter. Their job is to be a process expert, enabling those they are facilitating to achieve their goals.
Facilitation is generally a short-term engagement in that it occurs during the course of a meeting or series of meetings.
Coaching
When is it best used:
The person being coached (the coachee) would like to:
- Draw upon their own experiences and capabilities to enable them to set and reach their objectives
Example: “I’d like to get better at figuring out what’s most important”
The coach unlocks a thought-provoking process that helps individuals and groups draw on their own experiences to reach their objectives. The coach holds an impartial stance and does not take a position on the subject matter. Their job is to be a process expert, enabling those they are coaching to achieve their goals.
Coaching relationships are generally long-term and one-to-one. However, there are specific situations that arise that are suitable for coaching and situations where a team is coached.
Teaching
When is it best used:
Learners need:
- Knowledge or skills that must be learned or practiced
Example: “I’d like to learn about the Definition of Done in Professional Scrum”
The teacher imparts knowledge, provides information and helps learners develop new skills. A teacher does not remain neutral, they provide their expertise and advice to the learner.
A teaching relationship is generally short term in that it’s for a specific topic or class.
Mentoring
When is it best used:
The person being mentored would like to:
- Get guidance and advice to enable them to set and reach their objectives
Example: “I’d like to learn from your experience as a Scrum Master”
The mentor shares their expertise, skills and knowledge with the person being mentored, through developmental conversations, sharing of experiences and by role modeling.
Mentoring relationships, much like coaching, are generally long-term and one-to-one.
The Expertise and Knowledge of the Person Providing the Help
While it’s useful for Agile practitioners to learn about each of these skill sets, it’s possible that they are not well-suited for all of them. For example, if someone cannot prevent themselves from injecting their points of view in the discussion, it may be that they are not well-suited to be facilitators or coaches. Similarly, individuals that are eager to impart their knowledge in a structured setting, may be more suited to teaching, rather than mentoring.
* A note about switching stances: It is important that the individual discusses and is explicit about the stance that they are taking with the recipient(s) so that they know they are being coached, for example. If the situation requires a change in stances, such as the person coaching switches to mentoring, they must make that change clear as it occurs so as not to confuse the recipient(s).