Mentoring and Coaching
Mentoring and Coaching differences and similarities.
What are the similarities and differences between mentoring and coaching and why you should consider getting a mentor first, then a coach.
One of the most frequent questions we get asked is what are the difference between mentoring and coaching? It is pitched as?mentoring vs coaching and only one can exist.
We?decided to make a short 2 minute video?for explaining both the similarities and the subtle differences between mentoring and coaching. The link to the video can be found at the bottom of the article?
Mentoring and coaching similarities
Mentoring and coaching do share a lot of similarities, so it is easy to understand why the two get used interchangeably.
These are some of the similarities?of mentoring and coaching.
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Mentoring and coaching differences
Here are some of the main differences between mentoring and coaching. We will focus on these 6 areas.
Development focus
Coaching?is focused on developing a certain skillset and on accomplishing?short-term performance goals?(3 to 6 months).?
Mentoring?is focused with advancing personal growth and facilitating the continuous improvement of a person’s capability and potential. It is focused more on the?long term performance goals?(6 months+)?
Purpose
The purpose of?coaching?is to assist an individual in achieving a particular set of objectives. It therefore has a?narrow focus.
The purpose of?mentoring?is to have a broader develop of the mentees skills such that they can make wise and smart decisions themselves.?It therefore has a?broad focus.
Who choses who
In coaching, the coach is normally assigned to a person. The relationship often?remains transactional.
In mentoring, often the mentee chooses their mentor. This relationship often becomes a?mentor-mentor relationship that is more akin to a friendship. I would like to think I am friends with all my mentees and mentors.
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Participant's development
During coaching the coach does not expect to learn from their students.?This learning is often describe as?one-way because the flow of guidance, help and advice is only going in one direction.
In mentoring, the mentor and a mentee relationship is reciprocal in which both parties normally learn from each other.?This is often described as?two-way. I get just as much learning from my mentees as they get from me.
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When they are used
Coaching is used when people need guidance to achieve certain objectives or execute assigned tasks. Companies employ coaches when they have identified a specific area of business improvement for their people.
Mentoring is used by individuals when they want to improve themselves more broadly. Companies use mentoring for greater objectives around making their company a great place to work and for developing general business and leadership skills for their people.
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Who can do it
A coach normally needs?accreditation which limits the number of people that can coach and therefore who can be coached. This makes it a more exclusive means of development.
As the learning is broader, mentors only need their skills and experiences. This increases the number of people that can mentor and be mentored. A company can utilise the power of its own people more effectively through a mentoring program and can reach more people.
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Should I get a mentor or a coach
You can have both and, perhaps, you should have both. A mentor will help you cover a broader?self development and a coach will help you in specific, targeting areas
If you do not have a mentor or a coach, we would recommend you first start with getting yourself a mentor because its?good to start broad first and then narrow down as needed.?A mentor will help you define your goals and help you on the path to fully achieving your full potential. The conversations and challenges will start to give you more clarity on who you are, what you want to achieve and how you can achieve it.
It is also cheaper and comes at a fraction of the cost of a coach.
Once you have a broader understanding of your goals and what you need to do to reach it you may want to complement?your mentoring relationship by hiring a coach. An example could be where you have identified a specific skill set you need to learn. This is where a coach could help?whether its a?life coach, business coach, sales coach, career coach, leadership coach... there are a lot of different coaches out there. As a coach is more specific in the skills they are teaching, and they also come with coaching accreditations, they?do cost more?than a mentor. But there is a lot more accountability on you succeeding in that specific area so it is worth it.
Both a mentor and a coach are there to help you become the best you can be, they just?approach the learning differently.?
The mentoring and coaching video
You can access the video by clicking on the image. It will take you to our website.
If you are interested in finding a mentor?and want to know more about our process then please check out our specific page around finding a mentor.
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Don’t give up your mentoring.
This one goes out to both the mentors and the mentees. Probably the biggest killer of a mentoring relationship is that one or both of the parties let it lapse because they were too busy and then never come back to it because they feel regret / guilt / shame.
To all the mentees out there.
Honour your mentor’s time! Please know that you will go on an amazing journey of discovery with your mentor which will get stronger and stronger after each session.
You don’t get these opportunities all the time so treat mentoring as personal time rather than work time. Prioritise this time because you need to prioritise your self development. ?
Don’t cancel the meeting because you are “too busy” or that “something more important came up”. I am going to be really blunt and tell you these are lame excuses and you will regret doing it the moment you hit cancel.
To all the mentors out there.
Be proactive in setting up the meetings rather than waiting for the mentee.
If you are approaching mentoring from the angle that you will get just as much value from it as the mentee then all the points I raise above for the mentee also apply to you.
Don’t fall into the trap of “I am offering my time to them, so why should I do the chasing”.
I promise you that after every meeting you will feel great about yourself because you are positively impacting the lives of others, so why give that up?
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Next Level Mentoring
We hope that these newsletters are bringing you value and helps you get the most from mentoring.
If you want to know more on how NLM can help you find a mentor or if you want help to set up your own mentoring program then please check out our website.
Or please get in contact with me directly at [email protected] or?(+61) 417 748 883.