What is the difference between Consulting and Coaching?
Many people today are considering hiring the services of a coach. There are business coaches, life coaches, employment coaches, etc. But do you need a consultant or a coach? Is the difference significant and of any consequence?
Yes, there is a significant difference between a consultant and a coach! A consultant is someone you hire to solve a particular problem you have. The consultant is the one solving the problem not the client.
As soon as the client has another problem, the consultant is called and they solve the problem. The relationship for the client is a very dependent one. They depend on the consultant to solve the problem.
The relationship with a coach is very empowering and geared towards the client becoming independent from the coach. In the coach relationship the client solves the problem. The coach works with the client to help bring out their strengths so that the client can solve the problem for themselves.
A professional coach has been trained to be quite the opposite of a consultant. The consultant is the expert and can have their ego involved in the process. The coach has been trained to not have an agenda, to be neutral and egoless, so that the process is all about the client, not about the expert.
Many people today are considering hiring the services of a coach. There are business coaches, life coaches, employment coaches, etc. But do you need a consultant or a coach? Is the difference significant and of any consequence?
Yes, there is a significant difference between a consultant and a coach! A consultant is someone you hire to solve a particular problem you have. The consultant is the one solving the problem not the client.
As soon as the client has another problem, the consultant is called and they solve the problem. The relationship for the client is a very dependent one. They depend on the consultant to solve the problem.
The relationship with a coach is very empowering and geared towards the client becoming independent from the coach. In the coach relationship the client solves the problem. The coach works with the client to help bring out their strengths so that the client can solve the problem for themselves.
A professional coach has been trained to be quite the opposite of a consultant. The consultant is the expert and can have their ego involved in the process. The coach has been trained to not have an agenda, to be neutral and egoless, so that the process is all about the client, not about the expert.
The consultant is all about giving the client the answers. The coach is all about asking the right questions. The coach believes they do not have the answers for anyone, but have been trained to ask the right questions to bring the answers out of the client.
Let’s say a client has called both a consultant and a coach to solve a problem they have. The problem is that the client can’t seem to reach the revenue goals they desire. The consultant would analyze the situation and give specific suggestions as to achieving the desired goals. The suggestions would probably include some kind of system or process to implement. The coach would help the client understand themselves to the extent that the client would be able to create their own system that would work best for them.
For example, the consultant may give the client specific processes to go through in order to implement a successful cold call to prospective clients. The coach would help the client determine if that were their strength and therefore the best method for the client to use. What if the client’s strength is promoting to a room full of people, possibly hundreds of people but feels completely uncomfortable talking to one person via the telephone about the very same thing? Which would be the most successful? The coach would look at what will work best for the client.
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