What is a mentor? What is a leadership coaching?
Are they the same? Do their roles intersect? As leadership coaching and mentorship roles and programs become increasingly necessary in business landscapes across all sectors, it may be useful to establish the key distinctions between the two roles.
Because yes, they are vastly different, even though you may also notice some similarities.
The Key Differences Between Leadership Coaching and Mentoring
1. Formality
Coaching is a bit more formal than mentoring (in most cases). Usually, a coach will work as a consultant with clear definitions of their role, company activity, and the methodology used to assist organizations or employees in meeting their goals.
Mentorship is often an informal agreement between two parties, such as a team leader providing a new employee with more support to help them navigate their tasks.
2. Training
Mentors don’t need official training to become mentors. They can simply be someone with enough hands-on experience in a certain role to help a coworker or employee improve their skills. The approach can be less structured and function on a need basis based on the challenges the mentees face.
Coaches, on the other hand, are specifically trained to assist individuals and companies in reaching their goals.
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3. Who Benefits
With mentorship, the major beneficiary is, of course, the mentee. They receive counseling from their mentor to better handle tasks and challenges, which can also benefit the company. Moreover, in a mentorship program, the mentor can benefit from the process, too.
With coaching, the line between the company and the employee becomes blurred. Coaches consider both parties’ needs and expectations of the coaching process.
4. Business Knowledge
Since mentors are usually from the business, they are the party with more knowledge about the organization and industry they activate. While coaches can develop their expertise in a niche industry as well, it’s very common for them to take on clients from multiple sectors and adapt their approach on a case-by-case basis.
5. Contractual Obligations
Mentors are usually part of the organization; they volunteer to take one member under their wing and provide counseling. Coaches, on the other hand, are hired by the company to provide these services and have clearer contractual obligations.
Leadership Coaching vs Mentorship: Which One Yields Better Results?
Leadership coaches and mentors provide different help and support for individuals and companies. Choosing one over the other isn’t always wise because working together can provide essential help for employees and the organization.
At the end of the day, it’s about the expected outcomes for each. With coaching, you expect clients to improve their skills and be better equipped to enter new positions. With mentoring, you expect the mentee to gain more confidence and learn the lay of the land from an insider.
Both are essential to the professional growth of an individual.
Creator of the KASHBOX: Knowledge, Attitude, Skills, Habits
Helping You Realize Your Potential
I help people discover their potential, expand and develop the skills and attitudes necessary to achieve a higher degree of personal and professional success and create a plan that enables them to balance the profit motives of their business with the personal motives of their lives.
