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Coaching vs Mentoring vs Advisory: What’s the Difference, Really?

Updated: Jul 21

Coaching, mentoring, and advisory roles all support growth—but they serve different purposes. Learn the real differences between them and discover why coaching is uniquely powerful for personal transformation.

Different Paths. Different Guides.

If you’ve ever wondered, "Do I need a coach, a mentor, or an advisor?"—you’re not alone.

These roles often overlap in language, but not in approach. Each offers a valuable type of support — but only one puts your own inner wisdom at the centre.

At One Life Rising, we believe in clarity — and that starts with helping you understand who’s walking with you and how they’re helping you rise.


The Advisor: The Expert with the Answers

Advisors are specialists. They bring knowledge, strategy, and technical expertise. If you need someone to:

  • Diagnose a problem

  • Provide a solution

  • Tell you what to do next

…you’re probably looking for an advisor.


Example:

Need to know how to structure your business finances? An advisor will guide you through the process, give you the “best practice,” and create a roadmap, think Accountant or Financial Advisor. Advisors work from expertise. They solve problems and offer direction.


The Mentor: The One Who’s Been There

Mentors offer wisdom from their own lived experience. They’ve walked the path ahead of you, and now they’re circling back to guide others. A mentor may:

  • Share what worked (or didn’t) for them

  • Offer encouragement

  • Help you avoid pitfalls they’ve faced


Example:

Navigating leadership for the first time? A mentor who’s been in your shoes might share their own story, and tell you how they handled similar challenges.

Mentors guide based on experience. They light the way they once walked.


The Coach: The Mirror, Not the Map

Coaches don’t come with answers. They come with questions.

A coach believes you already hold the answers — you just haven’t accessed them yet. Coaching is about:

  • Deep listening

  • Powerful questioning

  • Helping you connect to your own values, clarity, and direction


Example:

Feeling overwhelmed and unsure why you're stuck? A coach won’t tell you what to do — they’ll help you uncover what’s really going on beneath the surface. They’ll hold space for reflection and support you in designing your next move your way.

Coaches walk beside you. They help you find your truth, not follow theirs.


Why Coaching Is So Transformational

Here’s the real magic of coaching: It builds your capacity to trust yourself.

When someone advises or mentors you, you may feel supported in the moment — but still uncertain later. When you’re coached, you grow your inner compass.

Because coaching doesn’t give you fish or even teach you to fish. It helps you realize you’ve had a net in your hand the whole time.

You leave coaching not just with a plan, but with power.


When You Might Need Each One

Here’s how to know which support might serve you best:

Need

Advisor

Mentor

Coach

Expert strategy or advice

✅ Yes

❌ No

❌ No

Real-world experience & insight

❌ No

✅ Yes

❌ No

Self-awareness, growth & mindset

❌ No

❌ No

✅ Yes

Clarity on direction or decisions

✅ / ❌

✅ / ❌

✅ Yes

Space to evolve at your own pace

❌ No

✅ / ❌

✅ Yes

The truth is — you may benefit from all three at different stages of your journey. However, when you're stuck in self-doubt, unsure of your truth, or ready to evolve from the inside out — coaching offers something uniquely transformative.


The One Life Rising Approach

My coaching isn’t built on telling you who to become, it’s built on holding space while you remember who you already are.

At One Life Rising, I don’t wear the expert hat — I hold the mirror, light the torch, and walk beside you as you rise, step by step, into your next chapter.

Your answers will always be the most important, you hold the key.


Your Journey, Your Pace, Your Power

Still not sure what kind of support you need? That’s okay.

Start by asking:

  • Am I looking for advice or self-discovery?

  • Do I want to follow someone’s path or create my own?

  • Do I feel ready to listen deeply to myself?

If your gut says yes to self-trust, yes to personal growth, yes to discovering your truth — then coaching might be the very thing you didn’t know you needed.



Keep rising, keep evolving, keep shining.

Claire x

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