What is the difference between coaching and mentoring?

• A. Coaching is long-term career development; mentoring is task-focused.
• B. Coaching focuses on relationships; mentoring focuses on compliance.
• C. Coaching is performance/task-focused; mentoring is long-term career development and holistic guidance.
• D. They are the same.

Answer: (C)

Coaching concentrates on improving a specific performance or skill for a defined task. It’s usually time-bound and structured, with clear objectives, regular feedback, and measurable progress. The coach guides the learner to develop the precise capability needed to accomplish a particular job or objective, often focused on short- to mid-term results.

Mentoring, by contrast, is about long-term career development and holistic growth. It’s built on a relationship where an experienced mentor shares broader guidance, including career planning, leadership development, networking, and personal growth. It’s less formal, broader in scope, and can endure over years, not tied to a single task.

That combination—task-focused coaching versus long-term, holistic mentoring—is why this answer is the best fit. Descriptions that frame coaching as mainly about relationships or mentoring as about compliance don’t align with how these roles operate in practice.