Coaching or mentoring ?
We must confess that we really do not know the subtle difference between the two !!! …So far as the established meaning of the words is concerned in the English Language.
A table from “coachingandmentoring.com” might help:
Table 1: Differences between Mentoring and Coaching
Mentor Coach
Focus Individual Performance
Role Facilitator with no agenda Specific agenda
Relationship Self selecting Comes with the job
Arena Life Task related
These may or may not be the exact differences….and often….the two terms are used interchangeably.
But in terms of the application in real-time ….there is a great deal of difference !....Especially if one is talking about the Education Scenario.
Coaching …here….is associated with a kind of ‘spoon feeding’ ….a magical potion for getting great grades / percentages.
While an ideal coach is required to EMPOWER the trainee….our typical Coaching Centers…..take away the self-belief from the students. These centers….instead…..put a fear psychosis among aspirants….who now cannot even imagine a minor success…what to talk of ‘cracking’ a competitive exam….without the ready-to-absorb success mantras provided by the coach !!! And the students….who often are at the threshold of adulthood….mostly start behaving like clue-less tiny-tots….
Well…the magic works….or at least the hapless students/parents/teachers tend to believe….
But what is taken away from the students is the will to excel….on their own steam !
Mentoring….we do believe is to guide and direct….but without taking away the ‘joy stick’ from the trainee.
A true mentor is not a remote control …..he/she is a catalyst !!!
Focus on Understanding the Fundamentals of Education ….. This should be the aim of a good mentor-student relationship….not a blatant fixation with marks !!!
