COACHING Vs MENTORING – Which Is Right For You?

 

COACHING Vs MENTORING – Which Is Right For You?

 

As Zig Ziglar said, “A lot of people have gone further than they  thought they could because someone else thought they could.” 

(“What's the Difference Between a Coach and a Mentor? - Forbes”)

 

In today’s world, it may seem that there may be coaches for any and everything. When we originally used the word coach, it was used to reference those who coached sports teams – hockey coaches, football coaches, tennis coaches – you get the drift. Today we have life coaches, money coaches, marriage coaches, executive coaches, entrepreneurial coaches, and the list goes on.

Having a career coach can help you to become laser focused on your specific discipline and achieve success and growth faster. Coaches will help you to tap into your inner self and bring out character traits that sometimes the individual being coached may not even know they have. In the mortgage industry, coaching and mentorship is critical to succeeding in an industry that has an exceedingly high fail rate along with new entrants who never realize their full potential.

In most instances, coaches usually have some experience in the same field as the individuals they are coaching, but not necessarily. Some may just be able to inspire others to greatness and success by instilling in them certain habits and abilities which are critical to continuous growth. The relationship with the coach can be temporary or permanent. Meaning the coaching does not have to stop but it is dependent on what the individual wants out of the relationship and the process.

Mentoring is both similar and different from coaching. A mentor is usually someone who has experience and wisdom in a particular profession or discipline or on a specific subject and is able to share it to help others succeed. Mentoring can be quite informal and can take the form of conversations between two individuals where ideas are shared with the expectation of benefit to one or both parties. I have found mentorship to be more fulfilling when both the mentor and the mentee go away from the conversation with a feeling of fulfillment.

Many mentorships can last a lifetime and those are usually the ones with the more successful outcomes. Up to today I still reflect and implement many of the things I learned along the way from the many mentors I have had. The best mentors for me where those who did not even know they were mentoring me but much of who they were in their specific fields and accomplishments is what I wished to become and accomplish.

Before you decide whether you need a coach or a mentor, sit down and do some self-evaluation to determine what is the outcome you expect and what are the gaps that you wish to have filled so your professional and personal journey is smoother than most and does not include a series of avoidable mistakes.

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