How Are Mentors Different From Coaches?

Coaching and mentor are different concepts. A mentor focuses on learning and development. The mentor-protégé role is more of knowledge sharing and companionship. A coach of the other hand is more concerned with performance and ability to accommodate change.

The differences between the two broadly fall under the following categories.
A mentor's focus is on the professional and/or personal growth of an individual with broad objectives. A mentor gives advice, which the protégé is free to accept or decline. Mentor is biased in favour of the protégé. A coach on the other hand is more focused on the job and is performance oriented. The coach generally tries to direct a person to some end result by strategically assessing and guiding the progress by giving advice for efficiency. A coach is often impartial.

A mentor acts as a facilitator to assist is development of its protégé who is allowed to discover his or her own path. A mentor-protégé relation is based on mutual trust and is driven by a learning process. A coach works on a set agenda in to achieve predetermined goals. A coach usually assumes a position of authority. It at times demands compliance. Mentors are usually selected by the protégé. Coaches are hired for the trainees.

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