Leadership Development: Coaching vs Mentoring Explained
- Fern Beauchamp
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 13 hours ago
Leadership coaching and mentoring are often discussed in the same breath – while they are not the same, there are many overlaps.
The confusion around terminology can lead to mismatched expectations and poor experiences, so it's helpful to understand (and use) 'coaching' and 'mentoring' more intentionally and consistently.
For example, if you want to be an astronaut, you’ll probably want an astronaut mentor to share her experiences, any bumps along the way, and some tips on what you should start doing now to make it happen. It could also be helpful to have a coach (they don’t have to know all about being an astronaut) to help you stay focused and reach your goals.
Mentors offer long-term guidance and sponsorship, while leadership coaches are non-directive - both help you change how you think, behave, and lead at work.
Coaching vs Mentoring Explained helps you see why you should absolutely have both at pivotal points in your career, when to use mentoring vs coaching and how they work differently.
Contents
What Is Leadership Coaching?
Leadership coaching is a non-directive, structured, time-bound partnership focused on specific outcomes for you professionally and personally, as well as for your team and your organisation.
A leadership coach is trained to use coaching frameworks and questions, challenges, reflection, and feedback to help you increase self-awareness of your leadership styles, build emotional intelligence, shift unhelpful patterns, and experiment with new behaviours at work.
Forbes reports that according to a MetrixGlobal study, executive coaching has a 788% ROI based on factors such as productivity and employee retention.
➡️ Check out our What Is Leadership Coaching? article for a deeper dive into the ins and outs of leadership coaching.
What Is Mentoring?
Mentoring can be a short or long-term relationship where a person who has more experience in your field of expertise shares their insight, stories, networks, and advice.
Is a mentor a coach? No. A mentor may or may not have some basic mentoring training and tends to focus on career navigation, organisational politics, and identity as a leader, not just performance goals.
90% of workers with a career mentor are more happy in their jobs, according to the CNBC/SurveyMonkey Workplace Happiness Survey
Coaching vs Mentoring Explained: Key Differences
The objectives of coaches and mentors frequently align closely, as they both aim to help others achieve more of their goals and aspirations. The table below intends to show typical differences between coaches and mentors; however, there are overlaps.
Dimension | Leadership Coaching | Mentoring |
Primary focus | Behaviour change, performance, and leadership effectiveness in your current or next role. | Long-term growth, career navigation, identity as a leader. |
Timeframe | Typically structured and time-bound (e.g., 6–12 months, regular sessions). | It can be a longer relationship, evolving as your career develops. |
Relationship dynamic | Coach is a trained expert with no specialist knowledge of your role. | A mentor is usually more senior or experienced in your field or organisation and can act as a teacher or guide. |
Methods | Non-directive, question-led, reflective and solution-focused. | Question-led, giving advice, stories, networking connections and sharing perspectives. |
Mentors advise and open doors; coaches help you process, decide, and act. Both are part of a healthy development ecosystem.
Being a Mentor
Being a mentor is not about having all the answers.
Mentoring about being generous with your experience and honest about your missteps.
Effective mentors share stories, normalise setbacks, and help mentees see options and trade-offs they might otherwise miss.
The best mentors do three things consistently:
They listen more than they talk
They ask the awkward-but-important questions
They're willing to share the “behind the scenes” of their own career – the near-misses, the bad calls, and the quiet wins that never made it onto LinkedIn.
That kind of honesty is magnetic; it gives your mentee permission to stop pretending they have everything figured out and start experimenting instead.
Mentors themselves also benefit – gaining fresh perspectives, improving their leadership skills, and often increasing their own engagement and retention. It’s win-win - mentoring is a development tool for you as well as for the person you support.
Over time, many mentors find these conversations become the most energising part of their leadership role, because they are directly investing in the next generation of leaders rather than just “getting through” their to‑do list.
Mentoring Others
If you are mentoring others, clarity matters.
The strongest mentoring relationships have a shared sense of purpose, boundaries, and cadence – for example, agreeing on what you will focus on, how often you will meet, and how you will both know the relationship is still useful. This prevents mentoring from drifting into unstructured chats that feel nice but don't actually shift anything in practice.
Choosing a Mentor
Choosing a mentor starts with being honest about what you need right now: sector insight, organisational navigation, identity-based support, or a stretch challenge.
You do not need (and probably will not find) all of that in one person, which is why HBR recommends a “portfolio” of mentors across different roles and contexts.
You can also think about “mirror mentors” (peers who help you see yourself more clearly) and “bridge mentors” (people who connect you into networks or experiences you do not yet have access to).
75% of execs say mentoring has been critical to their career development - American Society for Training and Development, reported in Forbes
Tips on Asking Someone to Be Your Mentor
Focus on building rapport first.
Cold calling is not a good practice.
Try to build a relationship by having an informal coffee chat or by engaging thoughtfully with their work.
Communicate what you respect about them, your career goals, and how their guidance fits—then, when the time feels right, ask, "Would you consider being my mentor?" and specify the interaction frequency and feedback type.
If they say no, don't take it personally and seek referrals; proactive follow-through shows value.
Follow up with thanks and respect their time by sticking to the agenda.
Can You Have Both a Coach and a Mentor?
You absolutely can – and often should – have both a coach and one or more mentors.
They do different jobs for you. Build a network of mentors and a coach for different moments because each plays a distinct role.
Mentors help you see the map and open doors; coaches help you decide how you want to show up as you walk through them.
According to HBR, leaders who invest in multiple developmental relationships – including mentors, sponsors, and coaches – report stronger career outcomes and resilience, especially during transitions.
What matters is being explicit with each person.
With a coach, you agree on goals and measures of success, which can be contracted with your coach and organisation.
With mentors, you clarify what you are asking for: a sounding board, introductions, a perspective on key decisions, or candid feedback you might not get elsewhere.
How To Decide What You Need Right Now
If you want to go to the moon, are facing a big career decision, want to understand how things really work in your organisation or industry, or need someone further ahead of you to share their path, mentoring will be particularly valuable.
If you want to shift specific leadership behaviours, improve outcomes with your team, or tackle patterns like overwork, conflict avoidance, or low confidence, leadership coaching is usually the better starting point
In reality, your needs will evolve. Many leaders work with a coach during an intensive stretch of change and at the same time cultivate or refresh their network of mentors for broader, longer-term guidance.
A simple next step is to map your current support: who is mentoring you (and where might you want another perspective), and where might a defined period of leadership coaching help you accelerate the change you are already trying to make.
Summing Up
Leadership coaching and mentoring are both powerful, and they are both designed to support your learning and growth.
A mentor provides specific knowledge and serves as an adviser or teacher based on their experience in a particular field. In contrast, a coach, without needing specialist experience, helps individuals uncover their own knowledge and skills and become their own advisers.
You don't have to choose between them. The leaders who grow fastest – and feel most supported – usually have a small “board” of mentors alongside a coach at key moments, using each relationship for what it does best. Being intentional about that mix gives the best chance of thriving in your role now and shaping the career you actually want next.
