As I write the title for this post I can anticipate the comments from ‘purists’ on both sides of the table. Yes. Of course there are differences between coaching and mentoring and yes, of course it’s worth drawing the distinction.
For me … the words (and roles of coach and mentor) are interchangeable … and I’m not sure you can have one without the other. But first, let’s address some definitions. Zeuss & Skiffington (2000) define coaching as:
- essentially a conversation – a dialogue between coach and a coachee – within a productive, results-orientated context
- about learning – yet a coach is not a teacher and does not necessarily know how to do things better than the coachee
- more about asking the right questions than providing the right answers
(from The Complete Guide to Coaching at Work, p. 3) In the same book, they draw a number of distinctions between coaching and mentoring, particularly in the way that mentoring, traditionally was
“a heirachical relationship involving a wise senior who dispensed wisdom, knowledge and advice to a grateful but essentially powerless junior.“
They also however acknowledge that modern-day mentoring relationships aren’t so ‘parental’ in style and acknowledge a wide number of similarities between mentoring and coaching, including;
- both shorten the learning curve
- both aim for the individual to improve their performance
- both provide support without taking away personal resonsibility
- both can act as role models
- both encourage the individual to stretch and grow
For me, I use the words interchangably. I see the role of coaches and mentors in Small Business environment to provide:
- information
- guidance and direction
- introductions to resources and networks
- opportunities to grow
- opportunities to learn from other’s experiences (be it the coach/mentor themselves or the ‘collective’ experience of Small Business Owners)
As ‘methodologies’, coaching and mentoring work synergistically … to ‘only’ coach or to ‘only’ mentor someone, in my mind, is like only bringing half of myself to the conversation. When I am in fluid, engaging conversations with colleagues, clients or friends, I move in and out of asking ‘coaching questions’ and providing ‘mentoring experience’ … ‘what do you think you could do?’ to ‘here’s how I see other people handle similar situations’. Perhaps there is the kicker for me – I see coaching and mentoring as methodologies to facilitate certain outcomes … not as titles to separate professions. So, are there differences between coaching and mentoring? Sure. Are those differences important? I guess it really depends on your outcomes. But this is just my opinion … what do you think? Do you see value in drawing the distinction and if so, what are the distinctions for you?
