Mastering Complexity: When to Coach & When to Mentor?

As an Erickson Coaching International trainer for "The Art and Science of Coaching" program, my job is to help coaches develop necessary skills to help clients become their own problem solvers and goal getters. During module 1 of the program, there are lots of questions on how to stay neutral and how to avoid advice giving (especially if we know that they are good)?

Before developing skills necessary to stay in a coach position it is important to understand what are the situations for coaching and in what situations coaching is not the best approach?

Cynefin Framework & Coaching

My strong recommendation, for professional coaches, is to explore David Snowden Cynefin Framework. Although basic application of the model is decision making, Cynefin Framework can help us choose right approach for the situation our client is dealing with, based on cause-and-effect relationships.

The framework outlines five situational domains that might help us to easier understand and decide when knowing best practice and sharing it with client is better approach than coaching, and vice versa.

When to Train & Mentor?

Simple domain refers to situations that are straightforward and have clear cause-and-effect relationships. These situations are often characterized by stability, predictability, and established best practices. In the Simple domain, solutions are well-known, and it is easy to identify and apply the correct approach.

Complicated domain refers to situations that are not as straightforward as those in the Simple domain. These situations require more analysis, expertise, and data to find the appropriate solution. The Complicated domain is characterized by multiple potential causes and multiple possible solutions.

In those two domains the focus is more on providing individuals with the knowledge and skills to perform their tasks effectively and efficiently, so these are domains where mentoring and training might be more efficient than coaching.

Coaching is the Key

Coaching is the best approach for Complex domain, situations where the relationship between cause and effect is not clear, and there are no visible solutions or best practices. For example:

• Navigating an uncertain market where customer preferences and behaviors are constantly changing.
• Building a startup team with complementary skills, personalities, and work styles.
• Adapting to unexpected market changes, such as the emergence of new competitors, regulatory changes, or unpredictable global economy.
• Managing the growth of the company, including scaling operations, expanding into new markets, and hiring and training new employees.
• Developing a long-term strategic plan for the company that takes into account multiple factors such as economic trends, customer demands, and industry regulations.
• Managing a crisis that has the potential to cause significant damage to the business's reputation and financial performance.
• Dealing with conflicts between different departments or teams within the organization, where the root cause of the conflict is not immediately apparent.

Coaching can also be valuable in the Chaotic domain, where quick decisions are necessary, but where there may be little time or information to make an informed decision. In Chaotic domain coaching can help individuals develop their ability to remain calm and focused under pressure, make decisions quickly, and adapt to changing circumstances.

Need for Advices

Although most of the operational situations we face on daily basis, fit in Simple and Complicated domains, life and business (as whole) actually fit more in Complex and sometimes even in Chaotic domain. At the same time most of us crave for control and predictability in our business, for our family or our lives in general. We want to believe that is possible to have control over important areas, but in Complex and Chaotic domains having control is a pure illusion.

One of the ways to explain need for advices is a try of human being to maintain the illusion of control by heavily relaying on external authorities or experts. This prevents us from developing our own problem-solving skills and goal achieving strategies. That's where coaching comes in.

Philip Tetlock is a political scientist and psychologist who has conducted extensive research on decision-making and expert judgment. In his book "Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know?", Tetlock argues that although experts are often not as accurate in their predictions as they believe themselves to be we tend to turn to them instead of looking for our own solutions.

"We need to believe we live in predictable controllable world, so we turn to authoritative-sounding people who promise to satisfy that need."

As advices from authoritative professional can be good for Simple and Complicated domains, in Complex and Chaotic domains, not that they might not be right but they might put us in even deeper confusion.

Being exposed to coaching or applying coaching as leadership style in Complex and Chaotic domains develops leadership potential of a client / team member. There are 3 reasons for this claim:

1. Through coaching client (team member) takes full personal responsibility
2. Action is a critical component of both coaching and leadership, because it is through action that:

• clients are moving forward and transforming their limiting beliefs in a given context and
• leaders are able to bring their vision and strategy to life

1. Coaching is particularly effective in developing the ability to make decisions and take calculated risks (this aligns with the Complex domain, which emphasizes the importance of experimentation, learning, and adaptation in addressing complex challenges)