ABSTRACT
It can be useful to make a distinction between mentoring and coaching. For our purposes here we will take mentoring to mean a strategic approach that is about working with a person over time to support their development. Coaching we see as more tactical. A coach may assist someone to learn a specific skill but not work with the person beyond them learning that skill. (See later on Coaching.) Clearly there are overlaps and in many organizations they will talk of coaches doing what we see as the role of a mentor. However, in most people’s minds there is a notion that the mentor takes a holistic interest in their mentee and is likely to be involved in addressing career issues, for instance. Also a mentor may not be able to do any coaching. They may have no specific skills that they can pass on – but they can provide support for the person’s overall learning by focusing on the mentee as a person and understanding that person’s needs and motivations.
