In the last post, I wrote about a 2-Word Coaching Tool that works incredibly well. That post also introduces a brief look at the differences between coaches and mentors.

In today’s post, I’m listing the differences between coaches and mentors in more detail, and then cover six big-picture traits that are true of both.

As leaders, we are shaped, even “imprinted,” by the model of training that impacted us the most.

For example, all five of the men who poured into me were more mentors than coaches. They were all good at coaching for sure, but they were mentors by nature. That has a lot to do with why I lean toward mentoring, even though I do a lot of coaching as well.

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When you are out in front and taking new territory, missteps are part of the journey. If you aren’t making mistakes, you probably aren’t leading.

All leaders make mistakes, the key is to not make the same one twice. If a leader makes the same mistake twice, it’s an indication they are not learning.

I’ve sure made my fair share of mess-ups and I’m not free from them now. Hopefully, not as frequent these days, and the context is also important. That is, you are doing more things right than wrong. But again, if you are leading in uncharted waters you will make mistakes.

Leaders who try to cover up, justify or minimize their mistakes often struggle with deeper issues. It can be anything from pride, to insecurity, to not wanting the mistake to be revealed.

But other times we just take ourselves too seriously. And it’s highly beneficial to be in an environment that is forgiving of our goof-ups.

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