Coaching
- Short-to-medium term.
- Goal-oriented: focuses on specific performance improvements or skill acquisition.
- Typically structured and time-bound (e.g., 6 sessions over 3 months).
- Coach doesn’t need direct experience in the coachee’s role — they facilitate thinking.
- Uses questions more than advice.
Mentoring
- Long-term relationship.
- Development-oriented: broader career growth, professional identity, and guidance.
- Less structured, more relational.
- Mentor usually has more experience in the mentee’s field.
- Uses advice, sharing, and role-modelling.
Frameworks
GROW Model (most common)
- Goal: Define what success looks like.
- Reality: Explore the current situation.
- Options: Brainstorm possibilities.
- Way forward: Decide next steps.
Also see:
- OSKAR Model (solution-focused)
- CLEAR Model (for behavioural change)
General Techniques:
- Questioning (open-ended, reflective).
- Active listening.
- Reframing perspectives.
- Accountability check-ins.
Mentoring Approaches:
- Sharing experiences (stories, lessons learned).
- Career advice and networking introductions.
- Shadowing opportunities.
- Encouraging reflection.
- Building confidence and identity in a profession.
STAR (useful in mentoring conversations)
- Situation, Task, Action, Result
ABC of Mentoring
- Availability,Building rapport, Commitment