Often you would hear the terms life coach and Mentor used interchangeably. The truth is that there is a clear life coach vs. mentor distinction that you need to be aware of before you decide which one of these two influential people are what you need to help guide you forward in life.
What Does a Life Coach Do?
When comparing a life coach vs mentor, a life coach is going to be able to help you develop the skills you already have. A life coach can guide you down a path towards the success you’re looking for, however you define that.
The goal of your time with a life coach is to live up to your potential. This can include the development and improvement of real, practical skills. At the end of your time with a life coach you should see some real, quantifiable results and feel like you are the person that you have always believed you could be but lacked the focus to become.
What Does A Mentor Do?
The relationships between a mentor in a mentee is more personal than the one with a life coach. That’s in the sense that a mentor will help you develop more than just skills and ability. A mentor will help you work on your emotional self so that your life and relationships can benefit as a result.
The very word mentor comes from Homer’s Odyssey. Mentor was the character that Odysseus left in charge of the education of his son Telemachus. The mentor offers wisdom and guidance from a place of true caring and experience, and their interest is in guiding and nurturing the mentee as an authentic person.
Can Someone Be Both a Life Coach and Mentor?
A qualified life coach can absolutely work as a mentor and vice versa. The two do not have to be mutually exclusive by any means.
The relationship needs to be clearly established in terms of what it is and the goals that you wish to receive from either a life coach, a mentor, or a life coach mentor. One should not act as the other unless everyone has agreed on that kind of relationship.
A life coach and mentor should never tell you what to do with your life. The best life coaches and mentors are there two guys you either professionally, personally, spiritually, and beyond. They should be able to help you see in yourself what you need to do rather than tell you what you need to do.