What are the similarities and differences between Coaching and Mentoring?

As a Coach and a Mentor, I am often asked this question.

Coaching and mentoring are development techniques based on the use of one-to-one discussions to enhance an individual’s skills, knowledge or work performance. Development activities are designed to suit client’s personal needs (whether aspiration or performance related) and learning styles.

Both are highly effective when used as a means of supporting training and other initiatives to ensure that key skills, knowledge, behaviours are transferred to the ‘live’ environment.

The skills required of both a Mentor and Coach are similar, in both mentoring and coaching, there is:

• Trust between both parties
• A desire to develop
• Knowledge sharing
• Discussion of goals
• Exposure to new ways of thinking
• Skill development
• Focus on career progression
• The unlocking of someone’s potential

The Coaching/Mentoring spectrum

Traditionally, coaching will tend to be at the non-directive or ‘pulling’ end of the spectrum, focus is on asking open-ended questions, actively listening, providing behavioural feedback and reflecting back.

Traditionally, mentoring is more often seen at the directive or ‘pushing’ end of the spectrum, telling, giving advice, making suggestions. Over the years I have seen this distinction between mentors and coaches become less clear, mentors use techniques across the spectrum, adapting to meet the needs of the client and the organisation. Mentoring relationships work best when they move beyond the directive approach of a senior colleague ‘telling it how it is’, to one where both learn from each other. An effective mentoring relationship is a learning opportunity for both parties.

What is the difference between Coaching & Mentoring?

How I explain the difference is that coaching is focused on the current needs of the individual being coached and is usually concerned with changes to the person’s performance. Whereas with mentoring, especially formal mentoring, the focus is on the future, with a more senior, experienced employee being the mentor to ‘teach’ the individual about the organisation and finding their future path in it.

For example, an organisation delivering leadership development programmes may ask for a coach to work with an individual who needs to become more proficient in their leadership role. A coach would help them identify where they are now, what they want to change, the barriers and challenges to making the changes. They would ask questions to assist with their thinking and facilitate the exploration of options, what they do well, what they could do differently.

‘Coaching is unlocking people’s potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.’

J. Whitmore

In this example, the organisation may look at mentoring to provide those on a leadership development programme with someone who can advise and support them in a leadership role, to guide them on their career path over a longer period of time. To provide accountability and feedback on their progress. To help them fulfil their potential and grow into the role.

As a coach I have a strong belief in individuals learning things for themselves, in their own way, and that it is my role to facilitate their potential to do so. As a coach I am there to support the employee, and be led by them, I don’t have the answers, my role is to encourage the employee to find the solutions to their own problems.

As a mentor I also hold the belief that individuals learn things for themselves, to take responsibility for their development, but the main difference is that in my role as a mentor, I am more open to sharing my expertise and knowledge, to help the individual think about what they could do. To provide advice along the way and provide answers to their questions. With coaching I strive to remain in a state of ‘not knowing’, to not provide the answers or influence the employee, with mentoring the expectation is that I will share information, knowledge and my experiences.

It is important to know the difference because individuals respond differently to different learning interventions.  Some people respond well to mentoring and others respond better to coaching. Some people like to hear your expertise, while others do not. If the wrong technique is applied, you will probably fail to achieve the performance or development results you are striving for.

“A coach has some great questions for your answers; a mentor has some great answers for your questions”

Within the mentoring relationship, there is the implicit understanding that there will be a passing on of knowledge, and in that this may well be because there is a need to ‘fill a gap’ in the mentee’s knowledge or understanding.  The mentor will be perceived as ‘adding’ something explicitly to the mentee’s knowledge in a way that a coach is not. In coaching, the elements of ‘advice’ inherent in a mentoring conversation are not present, and if they do occur, a coach will always seek permission and present suggestions as potential alternatives, rather than as a specific guide to action.

When to Use a Coach

1. Helping competent technical experts develop better interpersonal skills
2. Supporting an individual’s potential and providing career support
3. Developing a more strategic perspective after a promotion to a more senior role
4. Handling conflict situations so that they are resolved effectively
5. Dealing with the impact of change on an individual’s role
6. When talented employees are not meeting expectations
7. When staff members must acquire or master specific skills or competencies
8. When the company needs to improve performance in a short period of time

When to Use a Mentor

1. When the company wants to develop promising internal talent
2. Inspire individuals to see what is possible in their career
3. Enhance the employee’s leadership development
4. Broaden intercultural or cross-cultural ties within the organisation
5. Use the mentoring process as an entrée to succession planning
6. When there is a shortage of potential leaders in the corporate pipeline
7. When the organisation wants to remove barriers that inhibit the advancement of certain groups, such as women and underrepresented groups
8. When it becomes important to preserve internal expertise and knowledge as part of succession planning
9. When established senior leaders are altruistically motivated to give back

Summary of differences

	Coaching	Mentoring
Purpose	Enable employee to gain better self-awareness, build skills, adjust behaviour or management style and ultimately achieve business objectives	Help employee understand cultural nuances in an organisation, explain politics of an organisation or profession; help gain expertise in a specific discipline, provide ideas and inspiration about career paths or expose employee to different parts of the business and different management levels
Focus	Coaching is more performance driven, designed to improve the employee’s on-the-job performance.	Mentoring is more development driven, looking not just at the employee’s current job function but beyond, taking a more holistic approach to career development. More likely to make introductions, help develop networks
Time frame	Defined period such as six or nine months with regular scheduled meetings	Typically, six months to a year, with monthly meetings. Informal mentoring relationships may last for many years.
Appropriate job levels	Executives and high-potential managers	New hires at any level, high potential, under-represented groups, graduates, first level and mid-level managers
Types of situations	With existing managers who, it is believed, can perform even better and achieve more professionally, it shouldn’t be for remedial or personal situations	New managers who need to learn about the culture and organisational systems, individuals who have been promoted (or soon will be), and need to increase leadership skills, individuals who must get up to speed on new skills.
Agenda	The coaching agenda is co-created by the coach and the coachee in order to meet the specific needs of the coachee.	The mentoring agenda is set by the mentee. The mentor supports that agenda.
Outcome	Outcome from a coaching agreement is specific and measurable, showing signs of improvement or positive change in the desired performance area.	Outcome from a mentoring relationship can shift and change over time. There is less interest in specific, measurable results or changed behaviour and more interest in the overall development of the mentee.
Advantages	No shortage of external coaches, Professional training and/or certifications might increase credibility, perceived objectivity and confidentiality	Uses company’s own intellectual capital and resources, more visibility and opportunities for career advancement, increase retention, mentors benefit from being seen as experts and role models and gain satisfaction from developing others.
Disadvantages	Quality control and consistency in what/how coaching is done, especially if no central oversight; cost	Time commitment required of mentors, requires structure and oversight to achieve best outcomes
Cost (time/money)	Direct cost: cost of procuring external coaches	Direct cost: training mentors Indirect cost: time commitment from mentor

Summary

Coaching and mentoring can be effective approaches to developing employees. Both have grown in popularity, with many employers using them to enhance the skills, knowledge and performance of their people around specific skills and goals.

Coaching and mentoring both exist for the same purpose: helping others grow, develop and reach their full potential. Crucially, both methods give the opportunity for individuals to take responsibility for their own development.

As an organisation, you may want to foster a culture of people-focused personal development and implement a company-wide mentoring program. Yet you also want to provide a more specific leadership development option to your managers, and so provide them with coaching sessions. The effect of this two-pronged approach to coaching and mentoring is highly valuable.

How I can help…

If you would like to explore mentoring in your organisation and how it can work for you and your staff, then please get in touch. Together we can identify what you want to achieve from a mentoring programme and how to go about achieving it.

I have put together an e-guide on Introducing a Mentoring Programme in your organisation, if you would like a copy, you can download it HERE

More information is available at: www.fptrainingltd.co.uk or email me at: enquiries@fptrainingltd.co.uk or call me on: (+44) 01332 527144