No matter what country you are in, Lithuania, Italy, France or even Great Britain! You will definitely get these questions often if you mention mentoring.

Why did I emphasize Great Britain so much? Because in Europe it is one of those countries where mentoring has been developed for quite some time. If you want to study the subtleties of mentoring at the University, you will definitely find such a program in this country. The representative of this country also established the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC), which takes care of the professionalism of Mentoring activities and the accreditation of practitioners who meet those professional standards.

But to my surprise, when I speak to fellow British, I heard that they face the same issues as those working in other countries. And that they also often have to explain how Mentoring differs from Coaching.

Coaching is focused on solving a specific problem, and mentoring is focused on personal growth and development. So coaching is problem-oriented, and mentoring is person-centered.

It is not necessary for the coaching specialist to have experience in the area where the problem is being addressed, and for the mentor this experience is necessary. We are looking for a mentor who is experienced in the field in which he will be mentoring. This way he will be able to share his wisdom and experience with us.

The mentor often uses elements of coaching in his practice. They both need the same competencies. However, the mentor not only has a good knowledge and application of coaching techniques, but must also have experience in the field being mentored, as well as use all other methods, not just coaching techniques, helping others to improve, together looking for answers, ways to achieve goals.

Mentoring is often referred to as “coaching+”. Because mentoring is much broader than coaching. It cares not only about the specific problem solved, but about human development.

Here I didn’t write all differences, maybe I will publish them in my blog.

I invite you to tell me if you want more about this topic…

Do not hesitate to let me a message 🙂