May 27, 2025

Mentoring vs Coaching: Which is Right for Your Team’s Development?

Mentoring vs Coaching: Which is Right for Your Team’s Development? Image: a senior member of staff having a mentoring meeting with a junior member of her team.

When your team is growing, adapting to change, or facing new challenges, they will benefit from support from colleagues, team leaders and more experienced people. One of the most effective ways to provide that support is through structured development, and that often starts with understanding the difference between mentoring vs coaching.

If you’re planning training for your team, you’ll know time and resources are limited, so it matters that you choose the right coaching and mentoring route. Mentoring might be the right fit if you’re aiming to pass on experience and build long-term capability. Whereas coaching might be more suitable if the focus is on helping team members set goals, overcome problems, and improve performance in a shorter timeframe.

What is mentoring?

Mentoring is a structured relationship in which a more experienced person supports someone with less experience in growing, reflecting, and developing over time. It often takes place over weeks or months, with regular conversations that help the person build confidence, resolve difficulties, and plan for the future.

A mentor gives guidance based on their own experience, but the focus isn’t on telling someone what to do. It’s about listening, asking thoughtful questions, providing suggestions and helping the mentee reach their own conclusions. Mentoring in the workplace might be used to support a new team member, help someone prepare for a promotion, or develop future leaders within your organisation.

Various types of mentoring suit different settings. One-to-one mentoring works well for personalised guidance, while group mentoring and mentoring circles encourage shared learning across teams. These approaches can lead to successful mentoring outcomes when mentors are trained and prepared to fulfil their role.

Mentoring works best when there is trust, mutual respect, and a clear structure to the relationship. It’s especially useful in settings where knowledge needs to be passed on or where long-term development is a priority.

What is coaching?

Coaching is a focused, goal-driven approach that helps people improve specific skills, solve problems, or make progress in a particular area of their work. Unlike mentoring, coaching doesn’t rely on the coach having direct experience in the coachee’s role (coachee = person being coached). Instead, coaches need to ask the right questions, play devil’s advocate, and help the person find their own solutions.

Different types of coaching can help depending on the situation. One-to-one coaching is the most common, but peer coaching can also be powerful, especially in team environments where shared difficulties exist. 

Coaching sessions are usually short-term and structured, often with clear agendas or objectives. A coach might support someone in improving their time management, preparing for a presentation, or developing leadership skills. This flexible approach works well when someone is facing a challenge, starting something new, or looking to raise their performance.

Effective coaching requires active listening, strong communication, and creating a supportive but focused environment. It’s widely used in leadership development, team performance, and change management programmes.

Differences Between Mentoring vs Coaching in the Workplace

AspectMentoringCoaching
FocusLong-term growth, linked to the mentee’s career pathShort-term goals, skill development and performance improvement
ApproachDevelopmental and experience-basedStructured and has specific goals
RelationshipOngoing, often informalTime-limited and structured
Expertise RequiredA mentor usually has experience in the same fieldCoach doesn’t need subject-specific experience
Conversation StyleShaped by sharing knowledge, providing guidance and offering supportDriven by questioning and reflection
Best ForBuilding confidence, transferring knowledge, and succession planningImproving specific skills, tackling problems, and developing performance
Typical ArrangementRegular check-ins over weeks or monthsScheduled sessions with agreed goals and outcomes

When to Choose a Mentoring Programme for Your Team

Mentoring is perfect for situations where your team needs long-term career development and consistent support. Whether you’re helping a new team member settle in or guiding someone ready to step into leadership, mentoring will help with confidence, knowledge sharing, and better engagement at work.

Mentoring relationships tend to work best when built around trust, reflection, and mutual respect. They’re ideal for:

  • Supporting personal and professional growth over time
  • Helping staff explore their next steps in career development
  • Sharing expertise across roles and departments
  • Developing future leaders within your organisation
  • Creating a culture where people feel supported and valued

How Mentoring Strengthens Your Organisation

Implementing mentoring builds resilience and capability across the whole organisation. When experienced staff pass on their insight through mentoring, teams retain valuable knowledge and develop stronger internal networks. This is particularly useful in sectors with high turnover, complex systems, or in need of clear leadership pipelines.

Mentoring also improves engagement and morale. Staff are more likely to feel valued and invested when they know their development matters. At the same time, mentors gain greater confidence, communication skills, and feel more connected to the organisation’s goals.

By adding mentoring to your development strategy, you create an environment where knowledge is shared, talent is recognised early, and staff at every level feel supported to grow. Over time, this leads to better retention, stronger internal promotion pathways, and a more collaborative workforce. To help build that foundation, Carlton Training offers the Level 3 Award in Effective Mentoring, which is an excellent introduction to workplace mentoring, and the Level 3 Certificate in Effective Mentoring, which supports staff to design and deliver structured mentoring programmes that drive long-term success.

When to Choose a Coaching Programme for Your Team

Coaching in the workplace is especially effective when staff are taking on new responsibilities, dealing with change, or working towards targeted improvements. It helps people take ownership of their own development, and it’s often used to build confidence, increase motivation, and unlock potential.

You might consider workplace coaching when:

  • Team members need support with performance coaching
  • There’s a need to build capability around a specific task or skill
  • Staff are adjusting to change or preparing for progression
  • You’re encouraging greater responsibility, initiative, and self-direction
  • You want to embed reflective practice into everyday learning and development

One of the biggest benefits of coaching is that individuals explore their own solutions with help from their coach. This means that coaches can work in unrelated areas, allowing them to take an outside view. 

How Coaching Drives Results Across Your Team

Workplace coaching creates a culture where performance is managed actively and supportively. This environment gives the staff the tools to reflect on their behaviour, make decisions more confidently, and take ownership of their professional growth.

When used consistently, coaching improves problem-solving and speeds up professional and personal development across departments. It can help identify blockers, improve cross-team communication, and reduce reliance on management for everyday issues. As staff become more self-sufficient, team leaders can focus on strategic work rather than constant troubleshooting.

Coaching also supports succession planning by encouraging high-potential employees to step up and grow into new responsibilities. Over time, this helps create a more agile, capable organisation where development is aligned with performance and not just discussed during annual reviews.

Carlton Training has practical qualifications that will equip your staff with coaching skills. The Level 3 Award in Effective Coaching gives staff the core skills so they can begin coaching in the workplace, whereas the Level 3 Certificate in Effective Coaching includes more extended practice and deeper learning, so it is great for those looking to deliver ongoing coaching programmes.

Can You Use Both Mentoring and Coaching?

You don’t have to choose between coaching or mentoring. In fact, many successful organisations blend both approaches to meet the needs of their teams by building a flexible framework for supporting both personal growth and workplace outcomes.

For example, a team leader might act as a mentor over several months to support a colleague’s progression into management, while also building a coaching relationship in regular one-to-ones to help them tackle immediate problems. This combination encourages reflection, accountability, and steady development.

Building a workforce that can draw on both sets of skills means your staff are equipped to support others in a range of situations, from managing apprentices to guiding high-potential employees. It also helps to create a stronger culture of learning and development across the organisation.

The ILM Level 5 Certificate in Effective Coaching and Mentoring is ideal for those who are ready to take their skills further. This advanced qualification helps experienced professionals to lead structured development programmes, support others through difficult challenges, and create a strong culture of coaching and mentoring relationships across their organisation.

Get Started with Carlton Training 

Strong coaching and mentoring don’t happen by chance; they come from structured training, thoughtful practice, and the right tools.

If you’re exploring coaching or mentoring for team development, our ILM-accredited qualifications give you everything you need to get started. Whether you’re supporting new starters, developing future leaders, or building a culture of peer support, there’s a course to suit your goals.

Take a look at our coaching and mentoring qualifications, or contact us to discuss how we can deliver on-site workplace training for your team.

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