What is the
difference between
a mentor and a coach?
 

Paravelle Explainer Video 

Exploring the difference between a mentor and a coach
with Executive Coach David Bates

What is the difference between a mentor and a coach video transcript​

If you haven't watched the "what is an Executive Coach" video already, make sure you check that out so you have a baseline for the comparison with all the "difference between" videos in this series.

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So, what is a Mentor?

There are really two key parts:

1. First, it's a person who has been where you want to be, and

2. Second, they're willing to help you on your journey to get to where they are

It's a very prescriptive relationship. You, the mentee, describe where you are and where you want to be. 

And then the mentor decides the most valuable next step.

It may be an activity like "read this book"  or, a set of tasks like "go create something that uses a particular set of practices and principles". When you've done the work, you get back together and talk about what you learned They correct what you misunderstood, fill in what you missed, and help you make connections that aren't as obvious to someone with less experience.

Another core difference is that a mentor is also (usually) expected to open the doors within their network. These are doors you wouldn't otherwise have access to and your choice of a mentor is often heavily influenced by this factor. 

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These doors might be relationships with individuals or organizations like trade groups or other companies. If you're inside a company and have a mentor, that mentor might actually help you get a different work assignment or new job that is in the pathway they're helping you through. A good coach will probably make introductions or offer specific activities but that's not the coach's primary role like it is for a mentor.

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The coach is NOT prescribing specific steps to get you from point A to point B. 

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Both coaching and mentoring are gap and solution based. But a mentor is actually agreeing to take on specific work in order to help you get where you are trying to go. 

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In contrast, a coach will help you identify the most important work you need to do - but doing the work is fully your responsibility. That coach might agree to support you in between coaching sessions but they're generally not taking action items away from the coaching conversations.

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The final difference we'll talk about today between a coach and a mentor is that, if you don't do the work the mentor prescribes, your mentoring relationship will probably end prematurely. It's a different level of accountability than coaching.

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If you make an action-based commitment to a coach but decide not to take it, the coach will (generally) just ask what changed and reduced the value of doing the most important actions that came from your last session.

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So there you have it.

Four key differences between a coach and mentor:

1. Mentors have the exact experience you're looking for

2. Mentors are prescriptive around your specific goals

3. Mentors take action items from sessions - usually around making introductions or opening doors for you

4. Mentors assign homework do in order to keep the mentoring relationship going

    
Be sure and follow the link in the notes to download the table showing the similarities and differences between coaching and mentoring.
 

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