To mentor, coach or train……

Hi All,

Hope you all well.

I thought that I would begin my first blog to you based on the basic principle of training and the association (confusion) it has with other methods such as coaching and mentoring.

This topic is based on a training session that I had with a trainee last week. I began the session as a training session, during the session it contained more principles associated with coaching and mentoring and it got me thinking what is the difference???? Is there a definitive difference between the three??? Is training more successful on its own or does it require a combination of mentoring and coaching to be successful/or assist with success.???

I did what most people do these days, I ‘googled’ each area to find their definitions and found that there were a number of definitions between all three areas and it is still evident that confusion still exists between them.

To follow are summaries of definitions to describe each area –

• Mentors
  – someone who passes their experience and knowledge, usually delivered by a senior person within a workplace
  – They often give advice and guidance
• Coaches
  – primarily focus is enhancing performance
  – Coaching is usually a one-on-one process, within a workplace and usually delivered by a supervisor/Manager
• Trainers
  – Pass on and teach information, they have specific skills and knowledge
  – Training occurs generally in groups, out of the workplace and usually delivered by an external organisation

These three areas have similarities, such as the objectives are to support the trainee in setting appropriate goals and methods of assessing progress in relation to these goals. In addition, to encourage commitment to action and develop lasting personal growth and change. The only difference which can be concluded based on the range of definitions provided is, coaching/mentoring is based on existing knowledge and training imparts information.

Although there are some distinctive activities amongst the three areas, I have found that mentoring, coaching and training work very successfully when used together.

So, do you agree??? What are your thoughts???? Do you provide training??? Or do you provide a combinaton of mentoring, coaching and training???