Coaching vs. Mentoring

By Natalie Wittmann, Coach

I begin a prospective coaching partnership by defining the differences and similarities between coaching and mentoring - and I also define consulting and counseling. These relationships can be valuable. Having clarity about the role of each is useful for tapping each resource wisely. I will explore further coaching and mentoring here. 

Very simply:

• Coaching is about creating a safe, creative, and thought-provoking space for another to access their own wisdom.
• Mentoring is about sharing one’s expertise with another who has less experience and skill on a particular topic.

Coaching and mentoring are alike in that they have the client/mentee's best interest forefront. Both types of relationships also thrive on good connections and chemistry between the coach/client and the mentor/mentee. They are very compatible support roles. In my role as an executive coach and as part of our coaching work I often recommend that clients seek out mentors when they need the wisdom of someone who has more skill and experience in a particular area. 

Example: Recently coached a physician in her residency program whose goal was to gain more confidence. She wanted to feel more steadily confident and express that confidence more convincingly with her colleagues and patients. As part of our coaching work:

• We identified her core values through a series of questions, and her strengths using the Gallups StrengthsFinder tool. Once she discovered and named her values, they became a steady rudder for her decision-making.
• We discussed her knowledge and her strengths which gave her insight into her own unique talents and how she might more intentionally leverage those, which in turn increased her confidence.
• She explored which situations provoked feelings of less confidence and why she thought that was so.
• In coaching conversations, she thought about the times in her life when she did feel especially confident, and what the ingredients were for that confidence in those times and circumstances that might be applied in her present situation.
• One of her insights was the impact of a particularly critical attending physician on her confidence - situations when that attending physician’s accusatory style had unnerved her and rocked her confidence.
• She recalled what her reactions were—those feelings she kept inside as well as what she outwardly expressed.
• She took time to think about how she would like to respond differently in the future and what supports might help her with these new chosen behaviors.
• She remembered a more seasoned physician whose assertive and diplomatic behavior she admired. AND the client decided to contact that physician and ask for mentorship on the topic of handling critical communication behaviors -- especially from those in more senior positions. The physician was honored to be asked to mentor and gave my client several specific suggestions, and shared personal stories of progress as well as setbacks on that topic.

My coaching client gained useful wisdom from both the coaching partnership and the mentoring relationship. Having the benefit of both approaches accelerated her growth and progress. Knowing how to benefit from each relationship was part of the key to her success. 
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Crothers Consulting offers coaching to individuals and leaders. We also offer specific mentoring for HR (Human Resources) managers/professionals who would benefit from a relationship with seasoned HR leaders when they may not have access to anyone like that in their organization. Crothers mentors help increase their tool kit and act as a sounding board – just as this seasoned physician did for the physician in residency