Coaching & Mentoring: The Strategic Backbone of Leadership Growth
When people think of great leadership, they often picture someone standing at the front of the room, giving orders with confidence, holding the weight of decision-making on their shoulders. But anyone who has truly led others knows that the real work of leadership doesn’t happen in front of the formation. It happens in conversations behind closed doors, in quiet moments of reflection, and in the steady, deliberate act of building people—not just systems.
This week, as I reflect on my own journey through 21 years in the United States Marine Corps, I’ve been thinking deeply about the role coaching and mentoring played—not only in the development of those I was entrusted to lead, but in shaping the kind of leader I ultimately became.
More Than a Duty—A Defining Characteristic
When I began my leadership journey, coaching and mentoring were conscious choices. I’d schedule time to check in with Marines, plan developmental sessions, and seek out opportunities to help others grow. These moments were treated as tasks—as important responsibilities, but nonetheless something I needed to make time for.
That mindset shifted over time.
What began as deliberate efforts eventually became deeply ingrained habits. Coaching and mentoring stopped being “extra.” They became the foundation. And more than that, they became part of my identity—not just as a Marine, but as a person. By the time I reached the senior ranks, I no longer had to remind myself to mentor others. I sought it out naturally. I looked for potential in people the way some leaders look for efficiencies in processes. I didn’t have to think about it—it was just how I led.
This wasn’t because I had all the answers, but because I’d seen firsthand the difference it made when someone invests in your growth. I had experienced both the absence and the presence of quality mentors in my early years, and I knew which side I wanted to be on for those coming up behind me.
The Power of One Good Mentor
That journey truly began with a mentor who changed everything for me. In my book, The Everyday Diplomat: How to Lead With Influence and Achieve Real-World Success, I talk about Staff Sergeant Ivan Valdez—a Marine who came into my life at just the right moment, when I was veering dangerously off course. At the time, I was disillusioned with the Corps, unmotivated in my occupational specialty, and making reckless decisions that could have easily derailed my career.
Valdez didn’t just give me guidance. He gave me purpose. He reminded me of the weight I carried—literally—on the uniform I wore, with “U.S. Marines” on one side and “Forras” on the other. He helped me reconnect with the legacy I had once been proud of, and more importantly, helped me see that I still had something meaningful to contribute.
Years later, I would learn that Valdez himself had been mentored by one of my future Detachment Commanders—Master Sergeant Andy Anderson—making me, unknowingly, part of a generational chain of mentorship.
And the full-circle moments didn’t stop there.
Another one of my mentors during that same period was Master Sergeant Charles Rudisel—a stern, serious, and deeply committed leader who challenged me in ways I didn’t fully appreciate at the time. Over a decade later, I found myself serving as a First Sergeant at a new unit when a young Marine walked into my office and introduced herself as Dominique Rudisel—Master Sergeant Rudisel’s daughter.
It was a surreal moment. The man who had once mentored me as a young Sergeant had now entrusted me—without ever knowing it—to mentor his daughter. That moment reminded me that leadership is never just about the here and now. It’s about what your influence will mean in five years… ten years… even generations down the road.
These moments aren’t coincidences. They’re reminders that when you invest in people, your impact continues to ripple outward in ways you’ll never fully see.
Coaching as a Leadership Mindset
It’s important to draw a distinction between coaching and mentoring—two terms that are often used interchangeably but serve different purposes.
Coaching is performance-focused. It’s short-term, structured, and centered around improving a specific skill or behavior. A coach helps you solve the challenge in front of you.
Mentoring, on the other hand, is about growth. It’s long-term, relationship-based, and focused on who someone is becoming, not just what they’re doing. A mentor helps guide you through your career, your development, and your evolution as a leader.
In a healthy leadership culture, both are essential.
I saw this play out most clearly during my time as a Command Senior Enlisted Leader. In my last billet, I inherited a unit in disarray. The Sergeant Major before me had been relieved due to misconduct that destroyed intra-unit trust, especially among section leaders. It would’ve been easy to come in and just “be better”—to avoid the mistakes of my predecessor and restore a baseline of order. But that wasn’t enough.
Rebuilding trust took time. I committed myself to empowering our section leaders—to giving them ownership again and creating a culture where their input wasn’t just heard but valued. They didn’t always get everything they wanted, but they always had a seat at the table. That mattered.
And I made myself available. My open-door policy wasn’t a slogan—it was a steady stream of Marines walking into my office throughout the day for guidance, decisions, and sometimes just to check in and see how I was doing. That kind of reversal—junior leaders looking out for their senior leader—is rare in a hierarchical structure like the military, but it was one of the clearest signs that trust had returned.
The commander and I also made it a point to visit each section on their own turf—not just to observe, but to engage, to coach, to listen. That wasn’t a ceremonial gesture. It was a leadership strategy.
We didn’t get lucky. We got deliberate. The climate survey that had been “below average” became “significantly above average.” Our CGIP inspection results were the highest ever awarded to a unit like ours. That wasn’t because we improved our processes. It was because we invested in our people.
The Ripple Effect Is Real
One of the most gratifying moments of my career came when I received a message from a Marine I had mentored years ago while serving with VMGR-152 in Okinawa and Iwakuni, Japan. I had served as Powerline Division Chief, Squadron Gunnery Sergeant, and at times as acting Sergeant Major. The days were long and the expectations high. But I invested in those young Marines because I believed in them.
Years later, that same Marine reached out to tell me he was now the Squadron Gunnery Sergeant for VMGR-152—the very same role I once held. And more than that, he was considering stepping into the First Sergeant track to become a Command Senior Enlisted Advisor himself.
That’s the kind of leadership outcome no award or accolade can match.
Even more humbling, several of those Marines I once led—many of whom are now serving their second tour with the unit—invited me to return to Japan this year to be the guest speaker at their Marine Corps Birthday Ball.
That’s not just a professional milestone. That’s a deeply personal moment—one that reflects years of trust, development, and shared purpose.
From Leadership Practice to Leadership Strategy
All of this points to one key realization: coaching and mentoring are not just leadership techniques. They are strategic tools.
That’s why, when I launched my leadership development and consulting company, The Everyday Diplomat LLC, I made the decision to adopt the slogan:
“Every business is a people business.”
Not because it sounds good, but because I believe it down to my core. If your strategy doesn’t include the development of your people, then you don’t have a sustainable strategy at all. You might have performance. You might even have success. But you won’t have longevity.
Great organizations—whether military units, companies, nonprofits, or government agencies—are all built on the same foundation: people. And when those people are coached, mentored, and empowered to grow, they do more than succeed. They thrive. They lead. And they carry the culture forward.
Final Thoughts
If you’re in a position of leadership, I challenge you to ask yourself two things:
Are you coaching your team to succeed today?
Are you mentoring them to lead tomorrow?
If the answer to either is no, now is the time to start.
Leadership isn’t just about what happens while you’re in the seat. It’s about what remains long after you’re gone. The standard you set, the people you influence, the values you instill—they become your legacy.
Coaching and mentoring are not just tools. They are the strategy. And if done well, they are the most impactful work you’ll ever do.
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