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What are the Differences Between a Coach and a Mentor?
July 15, 2009
I was recently asked during a seminar to explain the difference between a coach and a mentor. I’d like to share an excerpt from my book (“Your Career, Your Way!”) that helps clarify the two.
From pages 80-82 in the book, “Your Career, Your Way!” (ISBN 978-1-59594-042-1):
“A mentor is generally someone farther up the career ladder than you, someone you admire for their professionalism, for their knowledge and for their ability to succeed in difficult situations. They are politically savvy in business and are admired for their fair treatment of others.
A mentor provides career guidance and can help with career opportunities because they are generally a senior-level manager from within the same company or industry. They act as your advisor and provide suggestions and guidance on development opportunities, career paths, and leadership strategies. A mentor relationship may be formal (arranged between the individuals or with the help of the HR department) or informal. A critical element within a mentoring relationship is mutual respect. A mentor is generally not paid for services.
A coach focuses specifically on your personal development and learning. Coaches observe your performance, analyze your skills, behavior and attitude and provide you with an unbiased, outside perspective to help you improve your efficiency and effectiveness. A coach may be a manager or colleague within your company or industry; however, a coach is most commonly someone who is hired by you or hired through your human resources department for a contracted length of time (usually six months to three years) for a specific fee. The coach works with you during the contracted time period on such areas as knowledge transfer/training, behavior modification, behavior modeling, and image enhancement. They may help you develop or enhance a skill set and improve leadership capabilities.
A coach is hired to help you become the best you can be both personally and professionally; in essence, a tutor. Hiring a coach is usually a formal process where the coach and “coachee” agree upon specific coaching goals, discuss and agree on expectations of the relationship (such as confidentiality and safety), agree on how they will communicate and schedule meetings (over the telephone, in person, via email, etc.), agree on how they will measure success and the specific metrics that will be used, agree on the time commitment for the coaching sessions, etc. In a coaching relationship, it is critical for you to be open to having your coach observe your work and for you to be open to feedback. You must also respect your coach. Keep in mind the fact that mentors and coaches do not provide consultative services as licensed mental health professionals and are not intended to replace counseling, therapy or mental health care.
Deciding if you need or want a mentor or a coach is really up to you. Mentors can be incredibly helpful because they can aid you in navigating the often-confusing maze of the business world in your company or industry. A coach will help you accelerate your efficiency and effectiveness; after all, there’s a reason why professional athletes use coaches.
Asking someone to be your mentor can be intimidating but is worth the effort. A formal mentoring relationship is usually the best approach, where the two of you agree on the scope of the relationship and the topics for discussion. In general, the mentor and person being mentored agree to a schedule of meetings on a periodic basis. At the beginning of these meetings you agree on the topics to be discussed. The mentor listens and provides guidance, helpful advice and suggestions. It has been my experience that formalized mentoring relationships usually work better because both parties take the relationship very seriously. That’s not to say you shouldn’t have friends or colleagues with whom you can obtain quick feedback and reality checks.
Your mentor is someone who takes your best interest to heart and is committed to helping you achieve your goals and aspirations. But remember, this is your plan. You are accountable for your goals, initiatives, dreams and aspirations, not your mentor. You are accountable for implementing your plan. You are responsible for your career, not your mentor.
Do not look to your mentor to provide solutions to your problems! It is your job to look at situations and analyze them, determine your objectives, understand and seek alternatives and decide on the best choice or direction. Your mentor is there as an objective and experienced observer to help you explore all your options, help you make the most informed decisions, and help you understand obstacles and the ways around them. Your mentor is not there to hand you solutions on a silver platter!”
~ Lisa Quast
Click here to be taken to Amazon.com to read about and order the book, “Your Career, Your Way!”
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