The Difference Between Coaches, Mentors, Advisors and Consultants

A Guide to Understanding & Selecting Your Trusted Advisors

We hear the terms mentor and coach used interchangeably. If you search for definitions, you'll easily find ones that support how you've been using those words.

But here’s the thing: if you don’t know exactly what you mean when you ask for a mentor or coach, and the person you’re asking doesn’t know exactly what they mean when they say they can be one, you probably won’t get what you need from that relationship. Clarity is important.

When we built Trajectify, we felt we needed to be clear about what we were doing—for our clients and for ourselves. In Spring 2013, we spoke with roughly 70 entrepreneurs, leaders, and service providers. From those conversations, we heard one universal challenge over and over: a lack of quality mentoring. We were confused at first. We knew so many “mentors” who were helping aspiring entrepreneurs and growth stage leaders.

How could mentoring be lacking? What was broken in the mentoring system?

We began thinking more specifically about the mentoring groups we’d participated in. One was a bunch of overly experienced guys (yes, mostly male) who tended to tell young entrepreneurs how to run a business as if it were theirs. Another was an unstructured group of peers providing camaraderie and support, but no personal or professional development. We also looked at the model of business accelerators that prolifically used (and continue to use) the term “mentor” and found those relationships to be, in fact, superficial and ephemeral, basically volunteer advice-givers. 

The lack of mentoring, we think, is a problem of semantics. When we create clarity around the definitions, we can better understand the problem and build our business to serve the greatest need. Ultimately, we looked at four roles and clarified the nature of each relationship. 

With a variety of ways to define the terms coach, mentor, consultant, and advisor, Trajectify offers these definitions to help others move forward with one of any company’s most valuable business development decisions—selecting trusted advisors. 

What is a Coach?

A coach works with a client to help improve their performance. In our case, the client is an entrepreneur or business leader. Not unlike the coaching of an athlete or entertainer, the coach’s focus is on unlocking the client’s potential.

The relationship built with a leadership or business coach is structured to help a client establish and meet goals, understand and resolve challenges, and focus on growth. The coach does not necessarily have all the answers a client might seek, and the coach doesn’t do the work on their behalf. An effective coach brings an outside-in and unemotional perspective, offering insight, accountability, and support.

Business coaches know how to take a client through a process of discovery and skill development, asking questions and offering reflections to lead the client to their desired achievements. The benefits of the coaching engagement can be measured through the performance of the entrepreneur and through results in their business. The client becomes more capable, and the company grows.

Tips for selecting a business coach

1. Know their experience. Business coaching is a skill that grows with education and practice. The more experience they have, the more confidence you can feel in your journey. 
2. Expect expertise. Is the coach a respected thought leader? It’s not enough to operate behind a coaching brand or credential. A coach should share their insights openly to inspire the communities they serve.
3. Get the right size. Find someone who has experience working with clients like you. Whether you’re a small business owner or an enterprise leadership team, there are coaches who focus on your situation.
4. Seek a business leader turned coach. Consider a business coach who has been in your shoes and can empathize. If you’re an entrepreneur or business owner, it could be someone who has experience in building or leading a business.
5. Consider their availability. Coaches work with many clients. Ensure they have availability for consultation between coaching sessions. Your need for a sounding board won’t stop after your coaching session.
6. Understand fees and program levels. Coaching is a valuable investment. Find a qualified coach who gives you confidence in a return on that investment.
7. Don’t skip the consultation. Good coaches offer a consultation at no charge to help assess whether a relationship seems like a good fit.
8. Align your values: Look for alignment in core values. Taking this step ensures that you’re able to develop a thriving business without abandoning your morals.

What is a Mentor?

A mentor creates a relationship with a mentee that provides a long-term benefit to both parties from knowing one another deeply. A mentor-mentee relationship a personal one—or becomes so because of the time spent together and mutual care for each other. It is safe to be vulnerable with a mentor, who looks to develop a mentee and has no agenda. They are passing along their knowledge and experience.

A good mentor-mentee relationship is unlike any other personal or work relationship. When the mentor and mentee grow to think about one another often, in between discussions and meetings, the relationship is not simply beneficial to both parties. It is meaningful.

There is no monetary payment between a mentor and mentee.

Relationships with mentors work best when they are formed organically. Forced relationships rarely create the same benefits as natural mentorships. Some organizations, including startup accelerators, use the term too loosely. If the mentor relationships in a program are specialized and for a limited period, the mentors are more like "advisors" (read further in that section).

Tips for selecting a mentor

1. Mentors can be found anywhere. Friends and family, a professional introduction, from having done business together, even on LinkedIn. Most successful mentor relationships develop organically. This relationship is most likely to develop when the mentor benefits as much as the mentee.
2. Know why you want a mentor. Decide what you are looking to gain so that you can view possible mentors as having the qualities or experiences you seek. Understand the kind of person and professional you want to be five or ten years from now.
3. It's okay to “date” first.  Mentorship is a relationship, so finding a mentor could feel somewhat like your search for your significant other. This person should both complement and challenge you.
4. Look for a great listener. Like a good coach or good partner, a mentor should be able to listen deeply and actively to what you say and think. They will be able to discover connections within their past experiences that offer insightful guidance.
5. Your views and values should align. You surround yourself with people who share similar core values. Your mentor should also share your worldview. Like-mindedness is helpful here. You have plenty of people in your life and business who think differently. Mentorship works best when they think similarly.
6. Find a good judge of strengths and weaknesses. Do they remain empathetic while encouraging your growth? Seek someone who “gets” you.

What is a Consultant?

A consultant is an individual or company you hire to do something specific for you or your business. Logistically, a consultant provides expert services professionally. They have resources, knowledge, or experience that can supplement your efforts.

Consultants typically don't look to develop your skills or performance, but instead use theirs to accomplish tasks or reach goals in your place. You get the work done without having to do it yourself.

Businesses generally pay consultants for their time 7and use them to reach goals or solve problems in any facet of their organization. Companies sometimes go so far as to hire consultants to supplement their staff (augmentation), thus saving the costs of hiring a full-time employee already capable of performing a job.

Tips for selecting a consultant

1. Don’t wait until it’s too late. We often wait too long to seek help. There are lots of good reasons to outsource to a consultant: more time to focus on your strengths, parallel efforts help to reach goals more quickly, and experience often costs less than making mistakes.
2. Experience is key. When you hire a consultant, you need their experience to accomplish something specific. Look for proven depth in what seems most important to your effort—similar past projects, knowledge of your industry, a curated network, or a team that brings a necessary talent.
3. Validate communications. Integrating an outside third party into your efforts can challenge your existing communication structure. Any consultant will be on their best “behavior” when they are selling you. During the sales process, ensure that they easily understand you and that you understand them, both verbal and written. How well do they listen?
4. Prioritize creativity. While we try to put a consultant in a “box,” it is their outside-the-box thinking that often delivers the greatest value. A consultant needs to be able to address issues and find opportunity in an environment that is new to them. Strong problem solving skills transcend every other value they bring.
5. Check alignment with your core values. Like any trusted advisor, the consultant should share your core values. Test for it as you interview them. Our values drive our behaviors. The consultant’s character builds trust (or not) and affects their ability to work with you and your team.

What is an Advisor?

An advisor has specific expertise, experience or connections that can help you in a very particular way—a “sharpshooter” of sorts. Unlike coaches, mentors and consultants, the advisor relationship can be structured in many different ways. It might be paid (fee-based), for equity (perhaps on an advisory board), for in-kind services (as in a barter), or simply collegial.

The advisor isn’t typically expected to do any work. They offer their insights, some of their time, and access to their network. An advisor listens, shares their knowledge and experience, provides guidance, and might facilitate introductions. Unlike a coach who asks questions and listens a lot, the advisor asks a few questions and talks a lot. The advisor relationship is often a more transitory arrangement than the other three types of trusted advisors.

Tips for selecting an advisor

1. Background and experience is crucial. Find an advisor that has experience with businesses in your market and of your size. While diverse perspectives are valuable, your advisor must be able to put their advice into your context. You want to be able to use what they provide without having to translate.
2. Know how they’ve previously advised. Don’t select an advisor solely based on name recognition or influence (social media or otherwise). Look for someone who has a reputation of having helped others. Speak with business owners and leaders who they’ve advised.
3. Commit the time. The main reason that most advisory relationships don’t succeed is that neither party invests adequate time. Make sure that your advisor can make a minimum time commitment, whether in person, remotely, or on an advisory board. Then your responsibility is to keep them updated and engaged. This is not a consulting engagement where they will do all the work.
4. Put it in writing. Compensation and time commitment should be agreed upon in advance and properly documented. The less formal an advisor chooses to operate, the less value you will get from the relationship. Even in a barter-style peer advisory relationship, make mutual commitments up front.
5. You probably already know them. Your second level (“weak”) connections likely make the best advisers. How do you find those? They know the people who you already know. They’re the first level connections to your first level connections.

Conclusion

It takes a village.

Your leadership and business growth accelerate when you surround yourself with trusted advisors. Carefully select those who share your values and are invested in your success. 

Everyone you need is like connected to someone in your network. We can’t emphasize enough how valuable your network will be to your success, both personal and professional. Online (LinkedIn, Facebook) and in your community, we encourage you to meet, connect, and invest in relationships.

 Coach

Works to help improve performance, unlock potential, establish and meet goals, understand and resolve challenges, focus on growth.

Mentor

Relationship through which long-term benefit is derived from knowing one another deeply, a personal relationship with mutual caring.

Consultant

Does the work, something clearly stated for you or your business, having resources and knowledge to supplement your efforts.

Advisor

Has specific expertise, experience or connections that can help you in a very particular way.