ABSTRACT
A mentor can never be a coach unless they deliberately adopt the skills involved in successful coaching. The coach concentrates on helping the performer learn how to achieve more. The mentor's aim is to be available for the performer to use as a resource. On occasion, mentoring can be more performer-centred than coaching but, in general, coaching will be more performer-led and therefore better at facilitating performance enhancement. Genuine adoption of these assumptions is central to the success of any coaching effort undertaken. Coaching and mentoring can be used to help both teams and individuals enhance their performance. Perhaps the most challenging and exciting role for those involved in coaching at a senior level is the design, introduction and implementation of a suitable coaching system for the company. Mentoring assumes more performer responsibility than a conventional training course, but not quite as much as a participant-led course.
