Coaching and mentoring are more similar than they are different.

They are both developmental dialogues and use the same skills of listening, questioning, giving feedback etc., therefore they are often used interchangeably. Coaching is normally an assignment focused on behaviour and performance in a current role, with a shorter-term focus. The coach, mostly an external professional, helps the coachee achieve their goals and realize their potential, mostly in a period of change. Mentoring is a relationship with a focus on career self-management and longer-term development (6 to 12 months). Mentors are mostly internal experts.

• A coach is a qualified professional who helps a coachee find her/his own solutions.
• A mentor is an expert in a certain field who shares his/her know-how with a mentee in a supportive and non-hierarchical manner.
• Both are good listeners and primarily ask questions, in a trustful, 1-to-1 setting. While the coach does not need to understand the content of the coachee’s work, the mentor does.
• Coaching and mentoring are more similar than they are different. They are both developmental dialogues and use the same skills of listening, questioning, giving feedback etc., therefore they are often used interchangeably. Differences between the two forms of learning intervention tend to be defined by relationship and organization.

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“Mentoring is an important approach for talent development professionals. Because it provides an enormous positive impact. In a competency-driven organisation, effective knowledge transfer and knowledge management cannot just be a bullet point on a strategic plan. Organisations that will excel will be those that are best able to create cultures that truly value knowledge capture and sharing in which mentoring is one of the most effective way to achieve both the transfer of knowledge and skills“.
[Marina Oro, senior L&D strategist]

In brief, it is one of the most effective staff development method, and it is cheap because mostly embedded in the organisation.  It’s a triple-win situation, i.e. the benefits are on all sides — as research shows:

1. Benefits for the mentee: Improved performance and productivity // Career opportunity and advancement // Improved knowledge and skills // Greater confidence and well-being (see more here on the video: Why become a mentee on a mentoring programme).
2. Benefits for the mentor: Improved performance // Greater satisfaction, loyalty and self-awareness // New knowledge and skills // Leadership development
3. And for organisations: Staff retention and improved communication // Improved morale, motivation and relationships // Part of the Learning Organisation

Here what others say, e.g. Art of Mentoring, Eco Canada or from a business perspective.

(discussing traditional mentoring)

First, it is a voluntary investment of both sides, however it is low: In average it is a one hour talk per month. Plus

• for the mentee half an hour to prepare the meeting and half an hour to reflect afterwards (process learnings), plus about one hour for the induction briefing and some readings.
• for the mentor one to two hours induction

And what about the return of investment?

• Mentee: “You invest one hour and get four back J». Of course, mentoring is done that the mentee improves, so the invested time should be more then saved through improvement and less mistakes. There’s no guarantee, but stop a mentoring when you think you have no return on investment. Further see the benefits for mentees: “Why should I became a mentee”
• Mentor: Evaluations show that beside the “obvious benefits” such as gain recognition and a sense of fulfilment as well as to develop skills in listening, questioning and giving feedback, that mentors state that they enjoy to have some quiet reflection time in busy times and that they learn as well.
• Organization: Mentoring is one of the most effective (and cheap) staff development methods.

Coaching and mentoring are more similar than they are different. They are both developmental dialogues and use the same skills of listening, questioning, giving feedback etc., therefore they are often used interchangeably. Coaching is normally an assignment focused on behaviour and performance in a current role, with a shorter-term focus. The coach, mostly an external professional, helps the coachee achieve their goals and realize their potential, mostly in a period of change. Mentoring is a relationship with a focus on career self-management and longer-term development (6 to 12 months). Mentors are mostly internal experts.

For more see “Differences and Overlaps of Mentoring and Coaching”.

For example, mentors who have not been induced often tend to spend far too much time talking and not enough time listening. Broadly speaking, where neither mentor nor mentee is briefed in their roles, only about 30% of relationships deliver significant learning. Where mentors are trained, the proportion rises to about 60%. Where both mentors and mentees are briefed and supported afterwards, the proportion rises to around 90%.

How does mentoring work when mentee and mentor have (very) different cultural backgrounds? And what about gender aspects in mentoring relationships?

Sometimes one could have the impression that cultural differences are reduced to different times zones, different public holidays and differences in the reliability of computer and internet. Mainly under time pressure awareness may fade away: Read Lis Merrick’s columns about cultural and gender diversity and how to include it (and how to avoid exclusion, with a special emphasis on “women mentoring”, a field where she has rich and long-term experience).