What is the difference between Mentoring and Coaching?

Coaching and mentoring are similar words that confuse people. Coaching is a short-term relationship with a specific outcome in mind; sometimes, the relationship lasts longer while mentoring relationship tends to last long; it lasts for two or more years.

Coaches are more performance-driven while the mentoring is more development driven. Coaches are used to improving professionals on job performance, while mentoring is more driven for all-around development. Coaches are hired for their expertise in a specific area while mentoring have seniority and expertise in a specific area where the mentee learns from the experience of the mentor.

In coaching, the agenda is set by the coach, while in mentoring, the agenda is set by the mentee. Mentoring meetings are most times not scheduled and are done based on the need of the mentee, while coaching follows are structured and scheduled meetings.

Some people think that mentoring and coaching are the same thing. They usually interchange the use of these two terms because they seem similar. When you say mentoring, this means that you are going to provide help and encouragement for a long period of time.

Most of the time, people who have a mentor and mentee relationship will trust each other because they know that they can learn something from each other. Coaching is usually done for a short period of time.

There is also a more structured approach that would need to be followed because the time to teach a new skill is limited. The approach is going to be more formal, which means that a coach may not have a friendly relationship with the person that is being coached.