The distinction between coach and mentor is frequently blurred, especially when it comes to those within your business or profession. Often this distinction is blurred by the descriptors used by mentors that have chosen to take on the label of coach.
A mentor is someone in your profession, often within the company you work, who will offer advice. This is usually due to their experience and so their ability to help those less experienced in their field. They will help their mentee find a way through the problem by taking them through the process using specific guidance.
Coaching is different to this. A coach will help you improve by aiding you to find your own answers, those which are right for you. Often coaches aren’t in your profession, which can be an advantage, as this will allow you to explore your position in more depth, with no assumptions. When you can externalise the problem/situation, it allows you to see it from a different perspective. By asking you questions, and probably giving you more questions to work through, a coach will help you to find your own answers.
Not only do I coach, but I also, where appropriate, use my counselling skills. Many times when we are stuck, it isn’t just the situation we are in but we hold ourselves back by beliefs. The reasons we do this can be the ‘absolutes’ that we hold. These absolutes are beliefs that we believe are a hundred per cent true and have usually been created by our experiences up to that point. Being able to identify these absolutes can allow you to understand the experiences that have led you to where you are. Spending time to see if these beliefs are currently valid or are old beliefs that can be altered and allow you to let go of them. Once you have let go of these, you can find the coaching more effective, having fewer beliefs holding you back.