Working with both mentors and mentees, one may encounter comparisons of mentoring to other methods of development work, and even sometimes interchangeably.
Indeed, both mentoring, coaching and psychotherapy draw from humanistic psychology, which takes as its primary goal the improvement of a person’s quality of life, they differ in fundamental ways.
Whether working as a mentor or being in the role of a mentee, we must be aware that the power of mentoring is not to mentally support the other person, but to create a partnership, developmental in a specific area, between two parties. The relationship is meant to empower, motivate action, decision-making, autonomy, re-learning and experimentation.
Below I briefly explain how mentoring differs from other methods.
Mentoring is not psychotherapy
Therapy benefits people with diagnosed mental health disorders who need healing. Often they are not aware of their potential before starting therapy, nor are they ready to make difficult decisions. Psychotherapy is designed to help them restore their ability to function healthily and their readiness to face challenges in life. Mentoring, on the other hand, relies on the mentee’s inner strength, and requires the mentor’s energy and work, as well as making difficult decisions. The mentor’s job is to support the mentee’s mental health, but only in terms of his or her development work in the chosen area of mentoring.
Mentoring is not consulting
The consultant is mainly engaged in analyzing, advising, pointing out effective strategies and choice paths. He is interested in the final outcome of the process, in solving the problem, less, or sometimes not at all, in developing the person he is working with. In mentoring, on the other hand, the work oscillates around the development of a specific individual whose progress may or may not affect the outcome or transformation of the company.
Mentoring is not training
Although the mentoring process implies the acquisition of new competencies, as well as personality transformation, it is not just a training course where knowledge is acquired. The trainer focuses on the progress in learning a specific method, the mentor, in turn, cares about the overall transformation and progress in the mentored person.News
Mentoring is not coaching
A coach, like a mentor, builds on the talents of the person being mentored, but does not have to, and indeed should not, share subject matter expertise. In the case of mentoring, on the other hand, it is the mentor’s knowledge and practice that is an important resource for the mentee. While good mentoring begins with a coaching loop of ask-hear-reflect, mentors should go further and offer assessment, solution suggestions, resources and discussion.
Mentoring is not consolation or a pat on the back
A mentor or mentee supports substantively, emotionally but not therapeutically. He is responsible for communicating his expertise, for its quality and timeliness, and not for the result of its application. It can review the mentored person’s ideas, give opinions, advise, but does not make the final decision. It is his duty to keep his distance. As in coaching, throughout the process it supports and helps celebrate successes and efforts. Mentoring is sincere and dedicated support for the development of the mentored person, without taking away his or her decision-making power.
Have you encountered other mentoring comparisons and resulting expectations in your past work?
