Often confused with coaching, mentoring may share some traits with coaching but is also different in a number of ways. First, you don't need to be qualified to mentor someone. Second, mentoring is a much more hands-on and direct discipline where the mentor is expected to be an expert in the specialism or field of the mentee, and the mentee is supposed to follow the mentor's methods, which are also often designed for guidance around specific projects.
Coaching digs deeper and requires the coachee to come to his or her own conclusions through role-play and psychological exploration. Crucially, the coach does not need to be an expert in the coachee's field of work - indeed sometimes a coaching scenario can benefit from a little distance - although in certain circumstances familiarity may be helpful.
