Coaching vs Mentoring – What’s the Difference?

In the modern workplace, “coaching” and “mentoring” are often used interchangeably — but they are distinct approaches to professional development. Understanding the difference is key for anyone looking to grow their career, lead teams, or support organisational performance.

Coaching: Goal-Focused Performance Development

Coaching is a structured, goal-oriented process designed to improve specific skills, behaviours, or outcomes. A coach works with individuals to identify objectives, explore options, and create actionable plans to achieve results.

Key Features of Coaching:

• Short to medium term: Focused on achieving measurable goals within a set timeframe.

• Performance-driven: Targets skills, behaviours, or outcomes that improve performance.

• Facilitates self-discovery: Coaches ask powerful questions, helping individuals uncover solutions themselves rather than providing direct advice.

Benefits of Coaching:

• Studies show that organisations with coaching programs see a 70% increase in employee engagement and a measurable improvement in performance.

• Coaching supports personal accountability, focus, and professional growth.

Mentoring: Experience-Based Guidance

Mentoring is more about sharing knowledge, experience, and wisdom to guide an individual’s long-term development. Mentors typically act as trusted advisors, offering insights from their own career journey.

Key Features of Mentoring:

• Long-term relationship: Focused on career development and growth over months or years.

• Experience-driven: Mentors share lessons learned, provide guidance, and help mentees navigate challenges.

• Holistic support: Covers professional development, networking, and personal growth.

Benefits of Mentoring:

• Employees with mentors are 5x more likely to receive promotions and report higher job satisfaction.

• Mentoring fosters organisational loyalty and succession planning by developing future leaders.

Coaching and Mentoring: Complementary Tools

While coaching is goal-focused and mentoring is experience-driven, both approaches aim to transform performance and support professional growth. Many organisations implement both as part of their leadership development strategies: coaching for targeted skills improvement, and mentoring to guide long-term career progression.

Step Up Your Understanding with Footstep Training

At Footstep Training, we help individuals and organisations harness the power of both coaching and mentoring. Our accredited programs, including the ILM Level 5 Coaching & Mentoring course, equip you with the skills to:

• Coach individuals to achieve measurable goals

• Mentor colleagues with guidance grounded in experience

• Build stronger teams, enhance performance, and support employee wellbeing

Whether you want to become a qualified coach, mentor, or both, Footstep Training provides the tools, practical guidance, and accredited qualifications to advance your career.

💡 Learn more about coaching and mentoring, and how they can transform performance in the workplace, on the ILM Insights page: ILM article