When you are faced with a challenge and become stuck, you may seek the services of:
- a consultant
- a lawyer
- an accountant
- a therapist
- a mentor
- a personal coach
- or some other advisor.
The self-selecting choice you make matters. Choosing the wrong expert can waste time, money and put you on the wrong course of action. That is why knowing what kind of help you need and who is best able to supply that specific type of help is important.
The water can be muddy when sorting out the roles advisors play today; especially, when many consultants, therapists, lawyers and mentors also call themselves coaches. When you need a coach, it would be a mistake to hire a therapist or, worse yet, a consultant.
I am a recovering management consultant. At some point, it seemed to me that solutions for client problems seldom became a permanent fix due to leadership blind spots preventing seeing why the problem arose in the first place. So, I began doing more business and executive coaching, helping clients fix their own problems and excel in their personal and professional lives. Yet, few potential clients seem to know what a business coach is and does---they continue to categorize me as a consultant. Conversely, management consultant firms are working to transform themselves into becoming more coach-like since personal and business coaching works where consulting does not.
So, what's the difference between coaching and consulting?
A consultant is brought into a company because of his or her knowledge and experience to solve a specific business problem. The consultant proactively solves the problem and disengages. A coach is brought in to guide the executive or business owner in solving the problem and then disengages. The difference is subtle but important.
The coach assists the client to understand whatever is causing the problem so the client can solve the problem today and when it reoccurs. Whereas, the consultant knows or discovers what caused the problem, solves the problem and leaves without transferring this knowledge to the client. When the problem reoccurs, the client simply calls the consultant in again to resolve the problem, time-after-time.
If you are willing to call and recall a consultant in to fix problems as they occur, call a consultant. If you want to learn what is causing the problem and how to fix it, call a coach. The choice is yours.
For where coaching fits in personal development, go to: http://home.att.net/~coachthee/Archives/coachinghappens.html
