What is the difference between mentoring and coaching?

Coaching and mentoring are two tools that are being used more and more frequently in the world of work. Companies in particular use these methods to train university graduates, young professionals and prospective managers. What exactly are coaching and mentoring and what is the difference? JobTeaser explains.

What exactly does mentoring mean?

The basic idea behind mentoring is that an experienced person passes on their expertise and knowledge to a person who is still at the beginning of their professional career or a certain stage of development. Mentoring describes the relationship between two people, the mentee, who wants to achieve goals, and the mentor, who accompanies and supports the mentee along the way. Mentors take on the role of counsellor and experienced advisor. In this position, mentors naturally also have a professional and personal role model function.

Mentoring: give and take?

Mentoring is particularly efficient when both sides benefit from each other. Of course, it is primarily the mentee who learns from the input of the mentor, but mentors also benefit to a certain extent from the relationship. The following list makes the advantages for mentee and mentor clear.

"A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you." (Bob Proctor)

Mentoring relationships – formal or informal

Mentoring is used by companies in particular as a HR development tool, but you can also find mentoring in other areas such as training, careers or leisure time. In principle, a distinction can be made between formal mentoring and informal mentoring: Informal mentoring discussions take place in the private sphere without organization and structuring from outside. This can happen quite accidentally - kind of like a friendship. Formal mentoring relationships, on the other hand, usually arise through mediation within the framework of a mentoring program. Mentor and mentee come together here and the subsequent consultations are documented and evaluated.

Nowadays you will find a large number of mentoring programs from which students, university graduates and young professionals in particular can benefit greatly in their development. Among others, there are

• Mentoring programs during studies,
• Mentoring programs for starting a career or for professional orientation,
• Internal mentoring programs of companies.

Organized mentoring has its price. In general, a participation fee is required, which covers the costs of placement, support, meetings and seminars. If the mentoring takes place via the employing company, the companies usually bear the costs of the mentees. External mentoring programs are often subsidized by the state, so that you as a mentee do not necessarily have to pay the full fee. In most cases, mentors work on a voluntary basis.

What is coaching?

In order to clarify the difference between mentoring and coaching, let's first look at what is generally understood by coaching. The term coaching covers different consulting methods with a professional context. Coaching is limited in time, thematically defined and oriented towards a goal. Individual advice for individuals, groups or teams is aimed at technical-factual or also psychological-sociodynamic questions or problems that relate to the world of work.

What goals might coaching have? A selection

• Assessment and development of personal skills
• Improving leadership skills
• Conflict management
• Coping with stress
• Time management
• Employee motivation
• Personal development
• Improve communication skills
• Integration of new employees
• Team building
• Professional self-realization
• Promotion of project work
• Increase relationship skills

During the coaching, structured discussions take place between the coach and the coachees, which serve to develop their own solution approaches, depending on the goal. The coach acts as a neutral, critical partner. In coaching, methods from the entire spectrum of HR and managerial development are used.

Coaching vs. mentoring: the differences

You now have an idea of the clear differences between coaching and mentoring. If mentoring is more of a long-term relationship and an exchange of experience and knowledge between two people, coaching is more thematically defined, limited in time and strongly goal-oriented. In addition, there is not only individual coaching, but discussions can also take place in a team or group. The table below shows the main differences at a glance.

Coaching vs. mentoring: how they differ

Coaching vs. mentoring: similarities

You've probably noticed that coaching and mentoring have a lot in common. This is because both want to prepare you for professional tasks in the best possible way and work in their own way to ensure that you achieve the goals you have set for yourself. The personal contact between coach and coachee as well as between mentor and mentee is another thing they have in common. In addition, mentors can, of course, also use techniques from coaching when conducting discussions. A good coach can also become your mentor.

Both coaching and mentoring represent a useful and important support option when it comes to your personal development. While mentoring in companies is primarily aimed at young professionals, coaching is primarily a development tool for prospective and new managers.

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