Coaching or Mentoring

At first, they seem very similar. Both are one-on-one relationships where the coach or mentor invests in someone he or she believes in. Both involve regular meetings, use covenants to structure the relationship, and use support, encouragement and accountability to help people grow.

Now here’s the difference. A mentor is a more senior individual who imparts what God has given (wisdom, opportunities, and counsel) to a more junior person. A coach draws out the abilities God has put in someone else.

Instead of giving counsel, the coach asks questions to help the person think things through and take action on what he chooses to do. By pushing him to think instead of offering advice, the coach builds the person’s decision-making ability. And because the person developed his own solutions, he really “owns” them and is more likely to carry them out.

When mentoring, you are teaching a person, letting him draw from you or learn from your experience. When you’re coaching, you’re pushing a person to draw from his or her own resources and experiences. Coaching is helping people learn instead of teaching them.