• Insights

When people ask me what I do for a living, I say, “I teach entrepreneurship and mentor entrepreneurs.” “Ah,” they say, “so you’re a consultant.” Politely, I say, “No, I’m not.” Promptly comes the next question: “So you’re a coach?” Again, I say, “No, I’m not.”

Most people usually give up at this stage, thinking that I’m unnecessarily quibbling with them. But the persistent ones say, “It’s the same thing, no? Isn’t a mentor the same as a consultant or a coach?”

No, no and a very big no. Let’s look at some key differences.

FOCUS
Consultant: The focus area is billable engagement. The emphasis is on the process, not on the outcome. For example, a consultant may be retained to put processes in place to monitor and track sales leads. He will do this by getting the workflow in place, plugging leaks, and tracking. But generating sales leads that lead to conversion is not his focus area.

Coach: The focus area is performance. He has to make sure that the team/person he’s coaching delivers in a given period. But capacity building to sustain delivery is not his focus area.

Mentor: The focus area is capacity building. He shares knowledge like a teacher does, and up-skills his mentee and get him to deliver like a coach does.

KEY SKILLS
Consultant: He tells his client what is wrong and why. He also tells him what should be done to right the wrong. Rarely does he hand-hold the client to do it.
Coach: He gives ruthless feedback on performance, but he doesn’t pre-empt the outcome.

Mentor: He is a blend of counselor and teacher. He listens, questions, explains, and in doing so, gets the mentee to discover his potential and find answers.

ORIENTATION TO GOALS
Consultant: Since he’s more focused on the process, that in itself becomes the goal.

Coach: He sets or suggests goals.

Mentor: His starting point is his mentee’s goals. He mentors him based on the goals the mentee has set for himself and his organization.

TYPE OF RELATIONSHIP
Consultant: Formal, distant, low intensity.

Coach: Formal, more close than distant, moderate intensity.

Mentor: Informal, extremely close, very high intensity.

LEARNING ENGAGEMENT
Consultant: One-way learning process—from the consultant to the client. The approach: I know more than you, so do as I tell you since you’re paying me for it.

Coach: One-way learning process—from coach to his ward. The sub-text of the learning equation: Don’t question what I ask you to do.

Mentor: Two-way learning process. The mentor does not have all the answers and is quick to tell his mentee that. The attitude: Let’s both learn along the way.

To me, a mentor is someone who bridges the inexperience gap, opens doors and hand-holds with accountability. The mentor and mentee share the same vision and passion for changing lives. And most importantly, a mentor is someone who always says “our company.”

NANDINI VAIDYANATHAN teaches entrepreneurship in biz schools around the world and has co-founded two companies, Startups (forstartups.blogspot.com) and CARMa (www.carmagroup.in), both of which mentor entrepreneurs.

©Entrepreneur April 2011

Tags:
coach, consultant, mentor, Nandini Vaidyanathan