Training is about teaching specific skills or knowledge - Coaching is about facilitating someone else’s thinking and helping them learn by working on live work issues.
Training usually takes place off-site or in dedicated training sessions - Coaching takes place in the office and (when carried out by a manager) can be integrated into day-to-day workplace conversations.
Trainingis more typically carried out in groups - Coaching is usually a one-to-one process and is tailored to the individual’s needs.
Training is usually delivered by an external consultant or dedicated internal trainer - Coaching can be delivered by an external consultant or by a manager.
Although they are distinct activities, training and coaching can work very well when used together. One classic obstacle encountered in business training is the difficulty of transferring skills and enthusiasm from the training room to the workplace. Coaching is an excellent way of helping people apply what they learn from a course to their day-to-day work.
A research study found that post-course training had a dramatic effect on the effectiveness of one training programme - the paper is available here or via Amazon.
Mentoring'>Coaching is not Mentoring There are some superficial similarities between coaching and mentoring, as they are both typically one-to-one conversations aimed at facilitating professional development, but there are also significant differences:
A Mentor is usually a more senior person who shares experience and advises a junior person working in the same field - A Coach is not necessarily senior to the person being coached, and does not typically give advice or necessarily pass on experience; instead s/he uses questions and feedback to facilitate the other person’s thinking and practical learning.
A Mentor is not typically the line manager of the person being mentored, but someone who is available for advice and guidance when needed - Coaching is frequently delivered by line managers with their teams.
