Blog

So, you are in dire straits. The undefined and misunderstood needs of yours are still oscillating your fickle mind between ‘a coach’ and ‘a mentor’. Right? Admittedly, “executive coaching vs. mentoring” is one of the highest searched topics on Google. So, the riddle is valid, and it’s widely spread issue. So, how to combat this expensive battle? Let’s dig a bit deeper. Are coaching and mentoring interchangeable when your personal or organisational development is getting blunt? No. They are not the same but they are not completely different either. They do fall somewhere in between. Supportingly, Arya, one of the coveted organizations in the executive coaching and development niche, says that the demarcation line between a coach and mentor is not thin and there are elemental differences between them. What’s that? A mentor is a long term friend. Starting with the mentors, the relationship between a mentor and his mentee is a long term one. A mentor directs his mentee. A mentor teaches his mentee. A mentor advises his mentee. Now, these are long term parameters and these needs to get cultivated for obtaining a sustainable growth both in the organizational and personal development context. Mentoring is like a continuous exchange of knowledge between to different experience levels. Mentoring is like wrapping up the loose ends of a less experienced colleague and enhancing his capabilities gradually. It’s a continuous monitoring system that watches you and helps you when you need it. Nowadays, most of the organizations in the project management or leadership development leverage mentoring to aid their officials when they take over a new or a more complex role for their companies. They need this long-term support in order to fight new challenges over a considerable amount of time. Now, a mentor can be a friend, a senior colleague or other informal relationships. So, who is a coach?