The Chronological Development of Coaching and Mentoring: Side by Side Disciplines

Abstract

Interest in coaching and mentoring has increased over the past decades. However, confusion about what is meant in practice and in the literature and the lack of sound definitions makes it hard to research the antecedents and outcomes of both concepts. We show that coaching and mentoring share a lot, but they are often treated as separate fields. By developing models that combine the concepts of coaching and mentoring, we aim to provide a base for more rigorous research. Such a base hopefully encourages researchers and practitioners of coaching and mentoring to work together instead of struggling against each other.