In this article, I want to clarify my view on mentoring and coaching. While mentoring and coaching have unique characteristics, they share a fundamental objective: developing and guiding an individual’s skills, knowledge, and performance.
Mentoring
Mentoring is when an experienced person (mentor) in a specific field, shares their personal experience and knowledge to give advice and guide a mentee (the person who receives mentorship). A mentorship tends to be long-term and relationship based on trust, respect and open communication.
Coaching
Coaching is a development practice where an individual (coach) supports and trains a learner on improving a specific goal or skill. Coaching is typically goal-oriented, is well structured and tends to have a specific timeline.
Summary
| Mentoring | Coaching | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | Long Term Relationship | Timeline to achieve a goal |
| Structure | Personal experience and knowledge | Specific well-structured program |
| Drive | Mentee drives the relationship | The coach drives the program |