I have always considered myself as a mentor and feel that I have a great deal to offer experience and knowledge. My military and civilian experience have always worked hand-in-hand and both have been advantages in my civilian positions, as well.

I consider myself a mentor. I enjoy sharing my skills and experiences and watching how others can take that information add their own twist and use it. A coach on the other hand tends to have others exactly follow his/her skills and experience. Both coaches and mentors are good, but each has its own time and place.

Sgt Joe LaBranche thank for posting, I would considers myself a mentor, I have a lot of wisdom/knowledge to share in my perspective areas of life and still learning from day to day. Great read!

What’s the difference between a mentor and a coach?
Let’s begin with a mentor. In my mind, a mentor has a visceral experience of the issue the mentee is trying to engage with – real life experience of going through the situation and overcoming it themselves.

For example, a business mentor will have started and grown their own successful business and can therefore provide a mentee with all they need to know to do the same.

Ultimately, a mentor is someone who can say, ‘Where you are, I have been. Where I am, you can go’, and can give a mentee clear directives to achieve this.

A coach, on the other hand, does not need to have walked the exact same path the coachee is trying to follow. Instead, a coach will identify what a coachee wants to achieve, will listen and observe, and encourage the coachee to identify their own next steps forward to achieve their goals. Think of a coach as a ‘skilful helper’.

Some of the greatest sports coaches have tried and failed as athletes, but learned so much in trying that they can coach others. They understand the techniques, and will observe, listen and empower athletes to achieve their potential.

So by using intuitive questioning, a coach will challenge the coachee to see a situation in a different way, teasing out the potential they see is there but the coachee can’t necessarily yet see themselves. Coaches may not always know the answer, but they will be able to identify areas for development by picking up on their coachee’s responses and encourage them to approach the situation differently.