Do I need a coach? Or do I need a mentor?
“ – Do I need a coach? Do I need a mentor instead? I am not sure… after all, what is the difference between the 2 of them?” As a coach, and at the beginning of a chemistry session with my clients, those would be typical questions and rightfully asked of course. So, what coaching and mentoring differ in?
First, what they have in common:
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They both aim at supporting their client in achieving their specific goal or objective.
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A coach and a mentor also use similar tools such as empathy, active listening, being non-judgmental, etc.
Now, the main difference between the two of them resides in the HOW. How a coach or a mentor during a session will help you reach your goals.
Let me explain further:
▶ Neutral Role and Non-Neutral Role
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A coach will actively help you do a deep dive into yourself in order to bring to light or create a new awareness about yourself and upon which you can take a new course of action. In this case, the coach has an active but NEUTRAL role: a coach firmly believes in their client’s own resources: “you have it all in yourself”.
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A mentor on the other hand will contribute actively to the session by sharing his expertise, experience, tools, techniques. In this case, the mentor plays also an active but NON-NEUTRAL role.
▶ An Example
So, for example, let’s say that I am struggling with my presentation skills in front of an audience and I want to improve them. A coach will guide me through the process of creating new awareness about myself - How do I function? - What are my internal processes?, etc. and based on this insight, on these new things that I realize about myself, what actions I can then take and commit to, that will eventually help fulfill my objective.
A mentor will actively contribute to the session by sharing what worked for him, for example, the do’s and don’ts that made him a successful speaker. As a mentee I might consider start and apply them in my future presentations.
▶ An Example
Using a metaphor from my friend and coach Fabrizio di Paoli that illustrates the difference between coaching and mentoring: “The coach is a travel companion expert in hiking who accompanies the client along the path he has chosen to tackle. The mentor is an expert guide of a specific path who through his own experience, suggests to the client the best way to follow it."
So, do I need a coach, or do I need a mentor? That all comes down to ask yourself the question: what is your objective?
About Florence
The life and business we make for ourselves are created through our actions or our excuses. We’re either going in the right direction, or we're not and that takes us farther away from success.
It was a time when coaching helped me go to the right direction and manage the challenges I faced with self-awareness and focus.
"I strongly believe that we have it all inside ourselves and today, I want to help people grasp with full hands their true potential to reach their goals."
As a Lean consultancy, we are passionate about simplicity and Lean is a mindset that we apply in all our areas of activity. Our reward is when we know that we helped you meeting your business objectives, where both management skills and tools play a key role.