Mentoring involves working with a client as they are, right now. A coach provides an honest assessment of what is working and what is not working.
While coaching works more directly with change, mentoring works with the nitty-gritty of the “now.” It can be an enormously useful tool to make sure things are on track, get feedback, provide observational insights, and to help navigate the “thorny” issues which can come up in any job.
Mentoring can be a valuable outlet for simply downloading, trusting your coach as a confidential source to share the craziness of your job, confident that he will also share his experiences. This can be an enormously helpful tool to see if your perceptions are skewed or on track!