Coaching and mentoring definitions that I have found online and among my course hand-outs seem to have no real difference between them. All of them seem to agree that coaching and mentoring relationships are about 2 people, one of which needs the support of the other and there are learnings that take place during their interactions.
The differences I am seeing are coming from the context in which coaching and mentoring are discussed. Coaching in an organisational context is a style e.g. coaching style that all managers should have and use every day. Mentoring is seen as the same behaviour but performed by someone more senior in the organisation, who also helps to open up doors and a network to support an individual’s career progression. A coach is being seen as someone who focuses on specific, short term goals (behaviourist approach), whereas a mentor has a long term relationship and interest in the person (humanistic approach) being mentored.
I think given that most large organisations use assessments based on performance looking at skills, competencies and behaviours (behaviourist approach), and they want quick results, which is the benefit of the cognitive techniques, it is therefore no surprise that they think coaching can only be used with short term behavioural objectives. On top of that, most large organisations invest considerable time and effort in developing only their executive leaders, on which level, of course, coaching is seen as more long term, all-round approach. This then becomes similar to the definition of mentoring (above) except these executives probably won’t have an “older”, “been there, done that” person who can support their development but a coach, who is independent and supports the executive’s development in and outside of work.
So, in summary, I think there is no difference between what coaching and mentoring really is. The difference comes from what psychological approach is being required by the circumstances, and the needs of the individual and the organisation.
Mentor is somehow a leader and an apprentice follows his/her mentor. Coach is an opposite. However coach is a new and fancy stuff (not like mentor, which is an old and boring term), for executives, who are not good enough to be a leader, but they are do so. IMho:)
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