What is the difference between Mentoring and Coaching?

On Monday we ran a poll on our LinkedIn page asking if there was a difference between mentoring and coaching.

Everyone had the same reply implying that Mentoring and Coaching are two distinct ways of helping people learn, grow and succeed. To further expand on these concepts…

Mentoring is a very specific, focused way of helping, and it requires an experienced senior in a specific domain to pass on knowledge to a junior within that domain. The mentor is like a knowledge hub.

The way the mentor would communicate is “When I was in that situation, this is what I did.” Then they leave the mentees to make sense of that for themselves. Not instructing or advising the mentee.

The concept of ‘Coach’ or ‘Executive Coach’ in business emerged a few decades ago, and it has become a fast-growing profession since. Coaching simply helps in finding the best answer for yourself.

Coaches need to understand that they are there as coaches for only a short period of the individual’s journey, to help the individual learn, grow and ultimately become their own best coach.

The coach is not there to tell- they are there to help.

Essentially through coaching, we help you become an expert in your own life.