The 10 Key Differences Between A Mentor And A Coach
We hear this so often:
“If someone said to me ‘Do you want to add coaching to your professional repertoire?’ I’d be like ugh, no!
But mentoring… mentoring feels and sounds so much more appealing. Mentoring is softer, warmer."
A lot of people who call themselves coaches are actually mentors. Mentoring comes more naturally and is specific to your field of interest and expertise. Mentoring is softer and warmer in its approach, focused on the client’s emotional inner world and how to navigate it for more joy, love and peace.
Coaching is almost a more CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) approach, bypassing the rapport building and going straight into goals and how to achieve them.
Here are the 10 key differences between a mentor and a coach.
Purpose:
Mentor: A mentor provides guidance, and support, and shares their knowledge and experience with the mentee. The focus is on long-term personal and professional development.
Coach: A coach primarily helps individuals improve specific skills, overcome challenges, and achieve short-term goals.
Experience:
Mentor: Mentors are more experienced and knowledgeable in the mentee's field of interest.
Coach: Coaches may have expertise in coaching methodologies but don't necessarily need to be experts in the mentee's field.
Scope:
Mentor: The relationship with a mentor is often broader and more holistic, covering various aspects of life, spirituality and career.
Coach: Coaching tends to have a narrower focus, concentrating on specific areas or skills.
Time Frame:
Mentor: Mentorship relationships can be long-term, spanning months or even years.
Coach: Coaching relationships are often shorter and goal-oriented, lasting weeks to a few months.
Directive vs. Non-Directive:
Mentor: Mentors offer guidance and advice, sharing their own experiences and wisdom.
Coach: Coaches typically use non-directive questioning and techniques to help individuals discover their own solutions and insights.
Goals:
Mentor: Mentoring often involves helping the mentee develop a vision for their future and offering guidance on achieving it.
Coach: Coaching is more about setting and achieving specific, measurable goals.
Feedback:
Mentor: Mentors provide feedback based on their own experiences and expertise.
Coach: Coaches give feedback based on the individual's self-assessment and progress toward their goals.
Relationship Nature:
Mentor: Mentorship relationships are often built on trust and a personal connection, with the mentor taking on a nurturing role.
Coach: Coaching relationships tend to be more structured and professional.
Skill Transfer:
Mentor: Mentors actively transfer their skills and knowledge to the mentee.
Coach: Coaches facilitate skill development in the individual rather than directly imparting their own skills.
Role Model:
Mentor: Mentors often serve as role models, demonstrating how to navigate challenges and succeed in specific life areas.
Coach: Coaches focus on the individual's self-discovery and growth, not on being role models.
With The Mentor Training mentoring becomes a professional paid service, that is IICT-accredited for holistic practitioners, alternative therapies and leaders with unique and non-conventional skill sets and values who want an intuitive and practical framework to hold space for, lead and guide others.
Our motto is:
Changing how we think about leadership and community 〰️ the world's most accessible, leading-edge training for people to help people.
A few important things:
ONE: If you’ve been thinking about doing the training, but are unsure which of the three options is right for you, or generally just want more clarification book in a chat with us HERE.
TWO: On the enrolment page, under each one of the three options, you will find the full training program PDF to review.
THREE: I strongly recommend reading both Mentoring Is A Long-Lost Art and Become A Leader With Integrity And Heart in NOTES.
FOUR: There are three tiers, scaled from low-touch to high-touch:
ESSENTIAL is the most basic. The TMT Training Modules include all handbooks and videos. This is best for independent learners who want the information without any additional support or certification.
COMMUNITY builds on that with access to a live community of people learning alongside you, a dedicated 1:1 listening partnership with another trainee, 2 live calls with our TMT teachers, and a certification of completion at the end. This is best for those who enjoy self-study but want to tap into a community and connect with and support one another.
LEADERSHIP is the most comprehensive option and the only one that offers you a TMT accreditation and automatic membership with IICT at the end. On top of the Training Modules, the online live community, and 1:1 listening partnerships you will have live calls every two weeks including further teachings and Q&As, plus will be required to complete 20 practice hours. This is best for leaders who want to feel supported confident in the offerings and secure in the accreditation and validity of what they are putting out and sharing with the world.
Enrolment for The Mentor Training closes in 9 days, on the 31st of October.
