Is Coaching the Same as Consulting?
What is the difference between coaching and consulting?
Coaching, consulting, and therapy are all different types of helping professions, but there are some important distinctions between them.
Coaching: Coaching is a process of helping people identify their goals, develop a plan to achieve those goals, and overcome any challenges that may stand in their way. Coaches typically do not provide advice or solutions, but instead help their clients to find their own answers. Coaches have tools and frameworks to help clients find their own solutions. The client remains in control of the coaching conversation (topic) and the coach controls the structure of the session (opening, exploration, and closing the session).
Consulting: Consulting is a process of providing expert advice, tactics, best practices, or solutions to a client. Consultants typically have a deep knowledge of a particular area, and they use that knowledge to help clients solve problems or achieve their goals. Consultants are usually subject matter experts in a particular area where their client needs a solution to a problem. Often the consultant is brought in to solve a problem and provide solutions. This is not coaching because the consultant is the subject matter expert on solving the problem at hand. In coaching, the client is always the subject matter expert (on themselves, their relationships, and their team or business).
One of the key differences between coaching and consulting is that coaches focus on helping clients develop their own skills and abilities, while consultants focus on providing expert advice and solutions. Another key difference is that coaching is typically future-focused, while consulting is often focused on solving current problems. Consultants can be “coach-like” in their work with clients, but coaches should never be “consultant-like” in theirs.
