Associations are challenged to provide learning opportunities that will promote their members’ professional advancement. Conferences, publications, online courses, and webinars have all found their rightful place on association learning menus.

But research has revealed one growth path that is superior to all others when it comes to socializing a new member into a profession: mentoring. People who are mentored report greater career satisfaction, increased productivity, and greater organizational commitment, and they are more likely to renew their association memberships. This developmental technique is so powerful that mentoring programs are expanding rapidly in professional associations.

But associations initiating mentoring programs don’t always properly distinguish between mentoring members and coaching them. Mentors and coaches both have their place, and while their roles and tasks often seem similar, there are clear distinctions. These differences can determine what support your members need—and when, why, and for how long they’ll need it—to advance their career journey.

Different Goals

Coaching is performance-driven. Coaches are exclusively engaged to improve a professional’s on-the-job performance. This may involve helping the client enhance current skills, acquire new skills, or both. Coaching normally requires metric-oriented performance reviews and timelines for achievement. The ultimate purpose is to improve a defined performance, and once the skills are acquired and mastered, the coach is no longer needed.

Mentoring is development-driven. Mentors guide the development of their mentees not only for current job performance, but also for potential positions in the future. The scope of development extends beyond skill and knowledge acquisition to include incubating the mentee’s professional aspirations, personal motivations, and lifestyle choices. Mentee development is targeted toward both career success and personal satisfaction.

The differences between coaching and mentoring can determine what support your members need—and when, why, and for how long they’ll need it—to advance their career journey.

Different Timelines

Coaching is short-term. A coach can be involved with a client successfully for a short period of time, maybe even just a few learning or training sessions. The coaching lasts for as long as is needed, depending on the performance goal established. Once the skill set is acquired and performance is demonstrated, the coaching relationship ends.

Mentoring is long-term. The best mentoring relationships are long-term. In fact, the longer it is, the better the experience for both mentor and mentee. To be successful, mentoring requires time in which both partners can learn about one another and build a level of trust that creates an environment in which the mentee can feel secure in sharing issues that affect his or her success.

Different Focus

Coaching is task-oriented. A coach aims to complete a specific, concrete, practical mission. This may include helping the client develop professionally relevant skills—such as effective leadership, communication, or planning and preparation for projects. Coaching can also help an individual prepare for significant events, such as an important meeting, interview, speech, or project. A good coach is an experienced expert who can teach others the skills and knowledge necessary to perform well.

Mentoring is relationship-oriented. Mentoring requires a safe environment where the mentee shares whatever issues affect his or her professional success and personal satisfaction. Although specific learning goals or competencies may be used as a basis for creating the relationship, its focus goes beyond these areas to include issues such as work-life balance, self-confidence, self-perception, and how the personal influences the professional.

Different Drivers

Coaches set the agenda. Coaching begins with an assessment of an individual’s skill set, experience level, motivations, aspirations, and knowledge base in a particular area or field. Based on this analysis, the coach sets a performance goal or goals and then structures a progressive plan to meet them, usually on a specific timeline.

Mentees set the agenda. In the most successful mentoring relationships, the mentee determines what he or she hopes to get out of the experience. The mentee should enter the relationship with particular goals in mind and a proposed strategy for meeting them. Then, in discussions with the mentor, goals may be modified and strategies reviewed until there is mutual agreement on both the goals to be achieved and the steps to be taken in achieving them. The mentor plays the role of a trusted advisor or guide. This approach produces greater buy-in on the part of the mentee and, consequently, better outcomes.

Different Relationships

Coaching relationships are professional. Because it is temporary and tightly focused on a specific performance outcome, the relationship between a coach and client remains largely professional. As they interact, the two may get to know one another on a personal level, but the purpose of their relationship remains solely results-oriented and professional.

Mentoring relationships blend the personal and the professional. Due to the long-term and developmental orientation of a mentoring relationship, it is both natural and desirable for the relationship to begin primarily as professional but then evolve into a combination of personal and professional.

Many associations offer both coaching and mentoring programs, and each may cover an extensive range of members’ needs. But often those programs have redundancies and lack clear focus as to the purpose and nature of the educational experience. Understanding the differences and contributions that mentors and coaches make in professional development should aid association executives in crafting programs to best meet their members’ needs.