Training, coaching or mentoring; what’s the difference?
People keep telling me that the difference between coaching and mentoring is merely a matter of semantics. Well… I am afraid I beg to differ. Whilst coaching and mentoring are two words that have almost become synonymous with one another, they mean very different things.
Don’t get me wrong – I am not an arbiter of language campaigning for lexical purity. Let’s get that out of the way right from the start. Words used to convey meaning naturally evolve and change over time.
But I get frustrated when real differences of opinion are swept aside as “semantics” whilst words are chosen to create the illusion of agreement.
Why should this vex me so? Let me explain.
Optima Training provides management services to Pera, and in so doing has been involved in delivering certain aspects of the GrowthAccelerator coaching for growth programme. The programme is intended to offer both coaching and training to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). However, those who sign up to the programme often want “specialists with direct industry expertise” directly relevant to their organisation. This makes the task of sourcing a suitable coach more difficult, but it is also unnecessary as what they actually want is a mentor.
The role of mentor
A mentor is an advisor. Mentors bring sufficient relevant experience to be accepted as a trusted source of “expert” counsel. The mentor shares knowledge, passing on what they have learnt. This means that a key characteristic of a mentor is that they spend a lot of time talking.
The role of coach
A coach is an enabler. They use established techniques to unlock the potential of others by guiding people to find their own solutions. The main characteristic of a coach is that they spend a lot of time asking both open and reflective questions. Eliciting knowledge from the responder to enable them to reach conclusions and solutions more quickly.
Whilst the two approaches can be combined, innovation coaching can derive greater value when the coach is not an expert in the recipient’s industry context. The coach is free to challenge patterns of behaviour and established assumptions to stimulate creative thinking. They can bring new perspectives rather than be blinkered by “accepted practices”.
Coaching uses processes (such as GROW) to guide the recipient to a goal. It is most effective when delivered to individuals or a small team. But it is not correct to say that coaching is more focused than training (unless we are talking about bad training of course).
And by bad training, I really mean tick-box and scatter-gun training. Tick-box: doing something once so that you can say it has been done. Scatter-gun: throwing lots of concepts at someone hoping that just one will be of interest to our audience.
Optima delivers bespoke training focused on the specific needs of your organisation. Sufficiently flexible to change in relation to the needs of the participants. It is very much aimed at the interactive end of the training spectrum, which makes each course unique.
The role of training
Good training is goal oriented and customised. Of course, any good training solution will be capable of being redelivered to other groups. When it is modified to the different needs of each group of participants. However, the value returned diminishes when the same training is used with the same group. For example, delivering the same course as a refresher year after year.
This is because training is intended to instil, develop or improve a particular skill set.
A sustainable approach?
Coaching offers a more sustainable value proposition. Using the same process to respond to new challenges and goals. There is no need to realign learning objectives or tweak session plans.
That said, a coaching engagement needs to bring you to your goal relatively quickly in order for you to feel that you have received sufficient value from the involvement of the coach. Only then will you feel comfortable continuing your journey to the next goal.
A successful coaching engagement will often end with the statement “I knew that already but you helped give me the focus that I needed”. This is not the same as the consultant who borrows your watch to tell you the time; the coach creates value by guiding you to your goal more effectively.
The role of consultant
As we have mentioned them. Consultants are not just people who are grateful to bankers for becoming the butt of many modern business jokes. A consultant is an expert who provides advice and guidance professionally.
I see a clear distinction in that a coach engages with the recipient whereas the consultant intervenes; an activity that involves a more “hands-on” and “doing for” approach. The role of the consultant can include mentoring and training, as well as coaching duties, but it is important to be clear when switching between these activities.
The impact of getting it wrong
I attended some coaching sessions last year that actually turned out to be low level consulting. To make matters worse, the consultant did not really seem to understand my business. As a result, I was rather disillusioned and quickly lost interest in the process. I was left with the nagging feeling that I had wasted my investment of time.
To sum up
That is why the distinctions between consulting, training, coaching and mentoring are important to me – Optima Training are involved in all four and we want you to know what we mean by each.
So if I am guilty of “just getting bogged down in semantics”, then let language be our weapons in a fruitful conflict. I love a good argument.
Key terms
Mentoring – providing advice and sharing experience and with others
Consulting –providing expert advice and guidance professionally
Training – developing or improving skills and knowledge
Coaching – utilising questioning techniques to guide others to their own conclusions.