What's the difference between coaching, mentoring, conselling and training?

I saw a discussion posting on Linked in asking this very question.  There were not many responses, but those who did respond has a vast array of definitions.  I thought it might be useful to share my perspective on this question on my blog.


Coaching – focuses on who you are today and who you want to be going forward. (The term “want to be” implies qualities and character of a person, not job titles or career achievements.) Coaching does not focus on the past – like counselling may. The coach acts as a catalyst for the client to gain a deeper understanding of himself. The client brings an agenda (little agenda) to the table e.g. be more organized, get better at managing time, and while the coach helps the client deal with their agenda, the overlying agenda (big agenda) is the personal awareness and growth of the client. Coaches know that the achievement of the big agenda goal will enable the client to handle all future little agenda issues that arise, thus bringing about more effective change and growth. Achievement goals can be used to help the client move forward in their growth process. The achievement or lack of achievement of these goals is used to help the client learn more about himself.


Mentoring – is a relationship between an individual with experienced in a particular field and a person within the same field who is looking for guidance to learn and grow in that field. The mentor shares his experience and knowledge, acts as a sounding board, advises. There may be achievement goals set by the mentor or learner. The achievement of these goals can bring about new goals to help the learner gain more insight and advance in their career. There may be some awareness of the character of the learner that comes out of the mentoring relationship, but this is not the focus.

Counselling – is the providing of direction or advice to another person on a specific course of action, in its very general sense. Counselling can be related to therapy based assistance that uses psychological methods (and sometimes tools and methods very similar to those of coaching). Counselling may use techniques that focus on the understanding of past situations to help deal with current situations. There is some understanding of who the person being counselled is (qualities and characteristics that arise in coaching as well). The counsellor tends to gain an understanding of the situation and the person, and then provides advice on next steps of growth.

Training – is the teaching of a specific task or objective. This is usually provided individually or in groups. The trainer may or may not have a further relationship with the trainees. The trainer provides specific instructional information regarding a specific topic. Training usually has specific steps or routines to follow in order to achieve the desired goals e.g. 5 ways to become a more effective speaker. It does not look at the intrinsic qualities of the trainees that could assist him in achieving the training objective. As well, very common with training, there is no follow up or accountability to see how the trainees are utilizing the information learned.

There are definitely overlaps between the various disciplines. To better serve our clients or employees, we should work to clarify when we are coaching, mentoring, counselling or training to help them gain the full benefits from each.