Coaching and mentoring explained

Leading people the right way through the life can be a daunting task for any person who is tasked to do it. A person who has to do the guiding has a lot of delicate balances to strike: he or she has to be strong enough to correct the person who is following him or her when that follower is not being obedient or is straying from the chosen path; on the other hand, he or she has to sometimes allow the follower the chance to stray, so that the follower can gain best experience and thus be much more wise. There are many different things that a person has to do to guide her or his followers and these concepts of guidance are covered under coaching and mentoring terms.

The process of mentoring involves the bonding and relationship between master and pupil, that is more commonly referred to as mentor and protege. A mentor is someone who may sometimes be older, but who is certainly more knowledgeable, more wise, and perhaps even more serene and settled than what might predictably be a less knowledgeable, less wise, and flighty protege. The mentor's task is to be the guide for the inexperienced protege: as the protege learns more and more from the mentor, the protege is farther thrust into the greatness.

The mentor-protege relationship has long existed in history of humankind, and has been glorified by pop media. There are also many different mentor-protege relationships in the modern world. For instance, when an employee first enters a company or business, he or she is adopted by someone who has been in the company or business for a long while. Because a new employee might experience culture shock, or might not be prepared for the rigors of the current workplace, the mentor serves as a buffer and guide through how the company or business operates, making the transition easier for the protege.

Still in line with workplace relationships, an existing employee might show potential as someone who could one day lead the others, or who could move on and be great elsewhere. In this case, a person experienced in the company could informally take on this employee and be his or her mentor. In this relationship, the mentor will teach the protege the necessary skills to advance in the workplace, so that one day, the protege might perhaps take the mentor's place, advance elsewhere in the hierarchy, or move on to another company.

On the other hand the concept of coaching is quite different from that of mentoring. In coaching, a method is employed in which a leader or overseer directs the movements of a person or a group of persons. In coaching, the instruction and training given are done with a definite end goal in mind. The methods of directing people's movements and thought process might include giving motivational talks. There are also ways to train people in order to make them perform better, such as through seminars or workshops, or through practice, such as those done by sportsmen.

In mentoring, a mentor teaches a protege how to live better or how to function better. In coaching, perhaps better seen as a more specific method of mentoring, the coach guides his or her team in order for them to meet an end goal. For sports coaches, this will mean victory in their kind of game. For marriage coaches, this will mean a stronger marital bond. For family coaches, this will mean a stronger familial bond, the bond between parents and children, and sometimes, amongst the siblings themselves.

There are many different types of mentoring and coaching, as well as different techniques associated with each of them. For more information, you can talk to professional coaches and mentors and conduct more research online.