What sets successful people apart from the pack? Is it luck, money, good lucks, and/or talent?

No, it is one small simple fact — motivation.

People who are successful all share one trait — they are motivated.

Of course, motivation really isn’t simple at all. That is why there is multi-billion industry focused on self-help books, tapes, seminars, camps, and coaches.

There is just one problem with using these methods. When it comes to motivation one size does not fit all. One of the elements that makes human beings so endlessly fascinating is that we are all individuals.It is the primary reason our species has been so successful. It also means we each have different interests, goals, and motivation.

So before you can begin following any one of the thousands of motivational programs available you must first determine which motivational group you fall into.

After some thought, study, and research, I have come up with four basic motivational categories:

~ The Pessimist
~ The Competitor
~ The Minimalist
~ The Exhibitionist

The Pessimist

The Pessimist is personified by my husband. Whenever he gets the smallest bit of bad news he immediately leaps into the deep end of doom and gloom. It doesn’t matter if the problem is small or large, he often reacts as if it is the end of the world. If the satellite dish has a momentary hiccup in service then he immediately assumes the bill didn’t get paid and our account terminated and our credit score is now on the decline.

It took me a long time to learn how to deal with this. At first I thought it was real panic and I would try to shield him from the smaller hiccups, and even some big ones, of life. But now I know this is actually how he motivated himself.

When we face challenges, big or small, he works himself through a familiar cycle. First he outlines the worst-case scenario, then he outlines his options for action, and then he takes action. And when he takes action just get out of the way as he moves very quickly — and successfully. Challenge faced, problem solved. It makes me crazy but it works for him!

The Competitor

My brother thrives on competition. Whether he is playing sports or working in sales, he is always more successful if he has competition.If his motivation flags he can easily juice himself up with a quick comparison of his progress toward a particular goal in comparison to others. He likes to keep score and that keeps him motivated. He wants to win whatever competition is at hand.

Don’t knock this method. By almost any measure my brother is a huge success and has worked his way from a contract employee barely able to afford his two-bedroom apartment to a high-level sales executive with a six-figure salary plus bonuses to further incentivize him.

The Minimalist

Perhaps this person might best be described as having a short-attention span. They need short-term goals that are immediately visible and can be achieved within a short time span. They can go the distance as long as it is broken up into smaller projects. Each small victory will spur them on to the final goal but they need those little successes to keep them motivated. In many ways this label applies to me but I think down deep that I am really in the final category.

The Exhibitionist

I know I fall into this category because I have a very difficult time with goals that I cannot see. It is one of the reasons I hate cleaning — sure you can see the results but with a busy family you know how long those results stay visible!

Like the minimalist I enjoy breaking large projects up into small, bite-sized chunks so they are not so overwhelming. When I grade papers for my teaching gig I always divide the pile into several smaller piles so I can feel I am making progress. I do the same with cleaning — first straighten the room, then dust, then vacuum.

But it isn’t enough for me to accomplish the task — I need to have a to do list that I can check off as I go and then crumple up and throwin the trash at the end of the day. I need to be able to point to some visible success for the day whether it is a shining kitchen, a stack of graded papers, or a pile of completed manuscript pages.

Which category do you fall into? Once you know that much about yourself you will be better able to find the motivation technique that works best for you. Stop by the Words of Inspiration web site and vote in our motivation poll and then go get motivated!

Deanna Mascle is an inspirational freelance writer. You can find more inspiration at Inspiration by Dawggone and her inspirational ezines Words of Inspiration Online and Daily Quote Online.

The current trend is for an increase in coaching and mentoring in the workplace.

Coaching and mentoring, whether on an executive level or for overall staff, are increasingly being recognised as important in employee development. It is acknowledged by senior management in many organisations that their company will thrive if they offer some form of coaching and mentoring to their staff.

We are particularly aware at how much this trend for coaching and mentoring has grown in the UK, as this is where most of our clients are based.

We work with companies who automatically assign a mentor to new employees, some who leave it up to the employee to seek out a coach for themselves, some who don’t or won’t see the advantage of having coaches for their people and just about everything in between.

Fortunately, many more companies are giving their people an understanding of the benefits of coaching and mentoring, of which there are many, and more people are training and acquiring qualifications in coaching and mentoring than ever before.

What Coaching and Mentoring Training is available?

People can get a professional qualification in coaching and mentoring, a certificate in coaching and mentoring; there are many courses offering training in coaching development, creative mentoring, career coaching, face to face training, on-line training, workplace mentoring, becoming a coaching and mentoring consultant, building a coaching network, business approaches to coaching and mentoring, distance learning, management mentoring, staff coaching, in house training courses, ‘out’ house training courses. There are basic courses and advanced coaching and mentoring training and qualifications.

The list truly is endless!

It seems as though everyone from business schools to the corner shop is getting on the coaching and mentoring bandwagon.

This isn’t a bad thing.

How do I know what to do?

The only problem is that for someone who has never used a coach or mentor before, it can all be very confusing.

For those who want to train to become a coach or mentor, the choices can seem daunting: ‘Where do I begin?’

For companies who want to initiate a coaching and mentoring programme, they want reassurance of the tangible benefits and return on their investment.

What we aim to do here is to give you a brief overview, understanding and insight into just exactly what coaching and mentoring means, some coaching and mentoring theory and to give our view on what it takes to be a good coach or mentor.

Coaching and Mentoring overview

Is there a difference between Coaching and Mentoring?

We’re going to cop out here and say there probably can’t be a definitive answer to this. The two terms seem to be increasingly linked and are often used interchangeably.

These happen to be our definitions, but we’re sure you’ll find a bunch of others if you look around.

Coaching: we see a business, corporate or executive coach in much the way we see a sports coach. This person sets specific goals and objectives, sees what you need to do to achieve them and works with you on target setting, professional and personal development, expansion of your skills base and offers practical and relevant advice and guidance.

Mentoring: a mentor can almost be seen as a wise, experienced friend or favourite aunt or uncle type person. A mentor leads by example and is a role model. They might be very good at helping you see the big picture and understand the politics of the organisation you work for.

A coach can be a mentor and a mentor can be a coach, or the role can be rolled into one. The key is that whatever term you use, the person being coached or mentored gets unbiased support and guidance.

Benefits of Coaching and Mentoring

When you work with a coach or mentor you will benefit in many ways:

Have a safe place to offload

Develop skills you already have

Learn new skills

Gain insight into yourself and the people you work with

Get unbiased, confidential support

Gain fresh perspectives on your issues

Get advice, suggestions and options

Coaching and Mentoring Theory

We’re probably the wrong company to ask about coaching and mentoring theory. As a matter of fact, we’re not too hot on theory since we believe that you can’t pigeonhole people and impose a template of how coaching and mentoring should look.

On one level, we suppose that you could say that having a counselling skill is a good ‘theoretical’ place to start. The principles that a good counsellor needs to have are equally true for good coaches and mentors:

Maintains confidentiality

Excellent listening and responding skills

Non-judgemental

Objective outlook

Advises rather than tells

Has the ‘mentee’s’ best interests at heart

Coaching and Mentoring Development

Coaching and Mentoring Training

As we said earlier, the list is endless when it comes to ’stuff’ around coaching and mentoring. There are stacks of training courses, programmes, qualifications, certificates and workshops all claiming to provide you with the skills needed to become a coach and/or mentor.

We can’t say which of these is any good. There are some essentials to look for when finding the right training for you.

No promises about outcomes

It shouldn’t cost the earth

It needs to have a high degree of integrity

It should be practical and experiential

You should feel a compatibility with the people running it

You should be given lots of individual suggestions on how to develop yourself as a coach/mentor

Trust your tummy! Meet up before you sign up and ask lots of questions.

An example of someone who’s ‘doing it’

We can, however, give you an insight into one of the people within Impact Factory who is a coach and mentor and the range of skills she has which help her do the job.

Jo Ellen Grzyb, one of the founding partners, has an eclectic background, which we believe is a good place to start when thinking about training to become a coach and mentor.

We say this because the more experience you have, obviously, the more you bring to the job.

Jo Ellen has worked in the business and arts communities in one form or another, and on both sides of the Atlantic, for 30 years. She trained as a psychotherapist and ran career development courses for a number of years before founding Impact Factory with Robin Chandler 14 years ago.

She has had years of personal psychotherapy and has a monthly session with her own supervisor. She has also changed careers a number of times and has real insight into how to ‘take the plunge’ and move one when something isn’t working well.

She writes, appears on radio and telly.

She’s a brilliant networker and isn’t particularly self-deprecating about what she can offer people.

Through all her years of experience, one consistent theme has been her focus on enabling other people to do their work better.

Most importantly, she has never sat around waiting for someone else to make it happen for her - she’s just gone and done it, success or failure being far less important than the doing.

All of that makes her excellent in her role as a coach and mentor.

So what’s the point?

Why we’ve given you that thumbnail sketch is that we get lots of enquiries from people wanting to become coaches and mentors who are looking for someone else to make it happen for them.

That ain’t going to work.

If you want to train as a coach and mentor, you need to take a good, impartial look at yourself to see if you’ve got what it takes.

Remember earlier we said that everyone seems to getting on the coaching and mentoring bandwagon? Well, we feel pretty strongly that a lot of them should get off. Having said that, the profession is open for good, committed people.

You may be one of them.

Using a Coach or Mentor

How do I get one?

As we can see there’s no shortage of people wanting to become coaches and mentors. But what if you want to use one. Where do you begin?

Of course, the best place to look is your workplace. If they already have a corporate coaching and mentoring programme that you aren’t accessing, get yourself to HR ASAP and ask to be assigned one.

You could also look around your company and identify someone you think would make an excellent coach or mentor and ask them if they’d be willing.

Using either a formal or informal approach is equally effective. The key is working with someone you like, admire and with whom you feel comfortable.

Anything else I should be aware of?

There are a few important things that will help you make the most of your coach or mentor.

Meet with them on a regular basis - whether fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, etc

Set clear objectives

Rely on them for guidance, not answers

Be honest

A mentor isn’t a dumping ground

Using a coach or mentor is one of the best ways to develop yourself and is a great way not to have to go it alone.

Jo Ellen and Robin run Impact Factory a training company who provide Coaching and Mentoring, Public Speaking, Presentation Skills, Communications Training, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching for Individuals.