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Do I Coach or Do I Mentor?
Harsh Verma, Instructional Designer, The Business Workshop

This is a question that many managers ask themselves. The difference between the two interventions is so thin that when people start out to mentor they end up coaching and vice versa. It is essential therefore that managers not only understand the differences between coaching and mentoring, but also their different purposes in order to apply them for the maximum advantage.

Mentoring, is the process by which individuals share their experience, knowledge, and skills with a protege to promote their personal and professional growth. It is about aiding an individual on the road to self discovery and thereby leveraging their own strengths and weaknesses for improved performance. The Guru-Shishya tradition in India is a classic example of mentoring.

Coaching on the other hand is an intensive 1-to-1 relationship with a trained professional who helps you clarify what matters the most in life and work, and then organise action steps that produce these results quickly and easily. A coach helps to sustain action by learning from setbacks, turning problems into opportunities and producing results even when you don't feel like it. A good example of a coach is the basketball coach.

Therefore, you may be coached to drive a car, set up a business or learn a new skill, but you will be mentored so that you can make better judgements and learn from the experience of your senior about the job that you are currently doing.

What are the lessons for a manager?

• Mentor for Growth & Coach to Win
  A promising employee in the organisation who displays the required potential for assuming greater responsibilities needs to be mentored. The mentor would have the task of advising the employee and showing him new perspectives which he could utilise in his tasks. On the other hand, coaching would be useful as a tool for the personal success of the employee. An employee would need coaching in order to improve his skills and be successful in his work.
• Mentor for the Future & Coach for the Present
  Mentoring is done with a view towards succession planning and meeting the future needs of the organisation. Through mentoring the employee is developed so that in the future he/she can handle tasks being undertaken by superiors. However, coaching involves preparing the employee for immediate tasks.
• Mentor for Leadership & Coach for Facilitation
  The literature on mentoring has focused on its effects on the mentee. Few realise that the mentoring relationship enables the mentor to act as a leader to the mentee. While the mentee undoubtedly benefits, it draws out the leadership skills of the mentor over a period of time. A coach instead acts as a facilitator and is task oriented. He actively assists in formulating action plans.

To optimise employee potential, it is necessary that coaching and mentoring be used judiciously so that both the employee and the organisation are benefitted.

Graphic Done By Himani