Coach vs mentor – Who can help you level up your career?

Most of us appreciate the usefulness of impartial career advice and understand the value of an external advisor when it comes to our professional lives. However, advisory support comes in different flavours, and different professionals require different kinds of support.

There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution that meets every individual’s development needs.

Additionally, the terms we use to describe advisory relationships are often conflated, making it hard for advice-seekers to articulate what they’re looking for and for advisors to understand what’s needed of them.

Two of the most commonly confused ideas are coaching and mentoring. While often used interchangeably, these represent fundamentally different approaches to professional support.

So what are they and how do they shape the journey of an entrepreneur?

What is a coach?

Originating from the Hungarian town of Kocs (where horse-drawn carriages were first used to transport passengers), the word “coach” began being used as a slang term by Oxford University students in the 19th century to describe how tutors would “carry” them through exams.

In the context of your career, a coach’s primary role is to challenge you and ask provocative questions that encourage deeper thinking. Rather than handing you a solution based on their own experience, a good coach is there to help you find solutions yourself.

Crucially, they hold you to account when it comes to navigating whatever challenge or opportunity you are faced with in your career.

Coaches are most effective when you have a specific goal in mind, such as getting to grips with your first leadership position or pushing yourself to secure a promotion. Whatever success looks like to you, having an external voice ready to push you to improve your skills and carry you along can be a huge asset.

What is a mentor?

Fans of classic literature will appreciate this one. The word in its modern sense comes from the character Mentor in Homer’s Odyssey, who was entrusted as a guide to young Telemachus while his father (Odysseus) was away fighting the Trojan War.

Without delving too deeply into Greek mythology, the origin story offers a useful prism through which to understand the role of a mentor. While coaching tends to come with a more formal structure and specific goals, mentorship is more fluid. A mentor typically is someone with more experience than their mentee who has lessons to share that the mentee can follow.

While coaches are active participants who nudge you through skilful questioning, mentors tend to offer ‘how to’ advice based on their own experience. Having access to this kind of senior advisor who has seen it before can be enormously helpful as you progress through your career.

According to Forbes, 75% of executives say mentoring has been critical to their development. Assuming they have worked in a similar industry to your own, mentors can also use their networks to help you expand your professional connections, opening doors to opportunities you might otherwise struggle to access.

Finding the right fit

Neither of these support styles is inherently better than the other. When choosing whether to seek out a coach or a mentor, what matters most is what you are hoping to get out of the relationship.

At different stages in your career, you will require different kinds of guidance.

Of course, there are times when you might need both kinds of support working in tandem to help you reach your next professional milestone. Knowing the difference between the two and the value each brings can help you approach advisory support with a fully informed view.

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