Comparing Mentoring and Coaching

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Comparing Mentoring and Coaching

There are some key differences between mentoring and coaching.

Mentoring- is known as the transfer of wisdom and has a protégé or

mentee that takes an interest in their career path. The protégé is

guided and advised by the mentor who has worn the same shoes and

traveled the same path, usually someone older and wiser. The mentor

guides, persuades, and encourages a person to reach their full

potential in life, in a position in an organization or in a career.

Mentors who may be immediate superiors are helpful in career

developments of the individual, and in some cases guidance is provided

by executives or managers higher up in the organization. The higher

level superiors guide, advise, and encourage employees of a lesser

rank in these situations.

On the other hand coaching is more specific for teaching of skills to

the coachee or trainee. It is a transfer of skills and a one on one

development of the trainee's own knowledge and thought process. It

also emphasizes the development of individual and team skills, and

creates a supportive environment which encourages and motivates the

coachee. Coaching is on a personal level and illustrates persistently

until success is achieved. The personal qualities of the coachee are

developed and facilitated.

GOOD MENTOR

1) A mentor needs a level of experience to reach or achieve the

individual/team’s goal and need to know what the mentee is

experiencing to have a level of mutual understanding between each

other. This allows a better level of measurement of the mentee as

they can comprehend the ‘experience’ of the mentor which will build

confidence performance levels for the mentee. For example, if a

mentee needs a mentor’s help in a crisis the mentee will know that

they have someone there to help and not feel uncomfortable or

intimidated to ask for guidance or advice.

2) Generally, a mentor is older and wiser than the mentee, and to be a

good mentor means that they have the experience and knowledge to help

develop the individual/team’s skills. This represents the mentor’s

status or position in the organization. If the mentor seems too

young, the mentee may feel intimidated and feel unsuited to the whole

mentoring situation.

3) A good mentor must be supportive to the individual/team through

‘thick and thin’ situations. A mentor that doesn’t...

... middle of paper ...

...o they can listen, understand and respond to

each other’s input.

- To be committed to the goal both the coach and coachee must remain

devoted to the goal so that success will be the result. Motivation is

needed in this situation to stay committed and focused on the task at

hand. The coach would stay committed to their teachings of the

individual or team, and the individual or team would stay committed to

learn from the coaches teachings.

- Mutual respect is integral to the success of a coach as both parties

need to respect each other to be successful in performance. If

there’s no respect, the coach will be negative towards the coachee,

and the coachee will not want to listen to the coach so both parties

will be worse off. This will create a negative organizational culture

and may even result in employee dissatisfaction.

- Empathy when working with groups or teams is important to ensure

success in coaching. People need to be able to relate to each other

and work closer together to build a strong and close relationship in

the organization. Knowing how the other person feels about an issue

will result in a positive outcome and can resolve issues effectively.

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