Companies today operate in a period of unprecedented environmental and global market change. How to survive and maintain a competitive edge in this volatile, but also exciting, world is a challenge many company Executives are still grappling to address.

A common response is to try and attract leaders, as good leaders are able to identify and seize opportunities for an organisation. It is a given that conventional management practices can only lead to ordinary solutions in what are extraordinary times.

However, Kelly’s Chief Operating Officer Gayleen Baxter warns that good managers are equally as important as good leaders.

“The adage that a leader does the right things and a good manager does things right is absolutely true,” explains Baxter. “There is a profound difference between leaders and managers, and both are essential for effective corporate growth.

“Leaders may be visionary with new opportunities, but it is the manager who can turn these opportunities into tangible results. Leaders inspire, but the manager does the groundwork. Good managers are essential to help reinforce the new culture and vision throughout the organisation, and to get the work done.”

Baxter adds that, in order for a company to secure its short and long term health, it needs to ensure it has both a good leader, and a strong management team. Equally important to remember is that organisations don’t necessarily have to look outside for their future leaders.

“Few companies leverage mentoring as part of their HR strategy. Mentoring is one of the most powerful tools a company has at its disposal to groom leaders, and in the process, to create a competitive advantage.”

Mentoring is a time-honored method of conveying skills, culture and values between two individuals, but it is an art that has lost favour over the centuries to coaching. Mentoring and coaching are not synonymous.

Just as there is a clear distinction between leadership and management, so to does mentoring and coaching each have a role within an organisation. Whereas a coach’s role is to provide structure, foundation and support to encourage people to self-generate results – ideal for grooming managers – a mentor is generally an expert in a field or industry who provides a power free, two-way mutually beneficial learning situation, ideal for nurturing a potential leader.

“From a strategic perspective, it makes sense to nurture leaders from within. Whereas coaching tends to be impartial and focused on improvement in behaviour, mentoring does tend to be biased in your favour.

“For an organisation to become more productive, and to be able to differentiate itself through innovation, it needs to not only have the right training tools in place (i.e. mentoring and coaching), but it also needs to have the right people in place within both its leadership and management structure to facilitate this training and to embrace – and survive – the challenges of operating in a volatile business environment” concludes Baxter.