Mentoring is a long-term process based on mutual trust and respect. On the other hand, coaching is for a short period and is more specific in focus. Mentoring creates an informal association between the mentor and mentee, whereas coaching follows a more structured and formal approach.

If you're looking for guidance, support, and insights from someone who's been there, there's no substitute for a mentor.

A professional coach is ideal if you need a trained practitioner to provide accountability. Coaches often come with a proven track record in dealing with specific issues. Even with this distinction, you will get some coaching from a mentor and mentoring from a coach

If you aren’t yet sure of a particular need and want general advice and experience, a mentor may do the best job of seeing where the specific problems are.

Sometimes, a mentor builds so much trust and respect that the mentee might even adopt the mentor’s mannerisms. It isn’t uncommon to find that you synchronize your reactions with the person you are talking to or being influenced by. It is just normal human behavior, also known as “mirroring.”

We all tend to mimic the gestures of people we like and do it subconsciously. So, the good news is that if you build a good relationship with a mentor and mirror their good traits, that is just fine.