What is the difference between Coaching and Consulting?

I get this question a lot, and I'm not even a Coach. Seriously...A LOT!

I'm a professional Business Trainer who teaches people how to start and run a little business of their own, of anything they dare to try. It pushes my limits of knowledge sometimes but I love it. Part of this journey for people naturally involves some elements of Coaching, but sometimes also Consulting, Mentoring or even Counselling (don't worry, I'm clear on my limitations).

So, let's get this straight once and for all.

Who else is sick of the word...'Coach'? (hands up!) Life Coach, Business Coach, Career Coach, Lifestyle Coach, Wellness Coach, Transformational Coach...far out, brussels sprout!

But, for a moment, let's reserve judgement.

Coaching is a relatively new concept as a profession. Sports led the way. Teams that had 'Coaches' proved to do better on the field. And new studies are really demonstrating that Coaching in any and all professions, helps individuals, teams and organisations break through the plateau of predictable consistency. This means, no matter whether you're new or experienced, you will always have a blind spot that hides patterns and behaviours you're unaware of.

In physiology, a blind spot is a small blank spot in our visual field that corresponds to where the optic nerve connects in the rear. You literally cannot process visual information from that specific spot. But in psychology, a blind spot is a part of us that others can see, but we are blind to, even when it is directly observable.

They literally help us identify our blind spots and give guidance on how to move past them. Sometimes this is planning, sometimes tips and tools, sometimes behavioural changes - it depends on the goals.

So don't dis the Coaches...just ask them for their story on how they became a Coach - I'll explain this later.

To 'consult' literally means to ask for advice or information..as one might consult a Wizard...just kidding!

Consulting, as a profession, is more established and widespread.

They're not always 'hands-on' but good ones are and worth every penny if they save you more.

PS: I believe Coaching can be done in group settings but I'm not convinced with Consulting - too many specifics needed to be able batch people together.

For the sake of clarity, I'm also including Mentoring, Counselling and Training (yay!!) as they're also easily confused.

Mentoring is a little bit of Coaching and a little bit of Consulting in the form of a pearls of wisdom. A Mentor is someone experienced who's not only been to the magic show, but sold the tickets, fixed the props, and stood in for the Magician from time to time. They've got real runs on the board.

Like a walking, talking case study. You may hear people say from time to time 'you just need to find a Mentor', as if it were that easy. Hmm, actually, it is!!

A Mentor can be anyone experienced in what you want to learn, who's willing to sit with you and chat, in length, about it. It could be a one off Mentoring session, such as asking someone senior, or a public figure, out for coffee or lunch. Or, it could be an ongoing arrangement but it's only occasionally a formally structured gig.

The rules of asking for Mentoring are fairly simple:

1. Respect their time

2. Be clear on what you want to know about

3. Listen without interrupting, THEN ask further questions. Just because you have a million questions, doesn't mean they can answer them all at once.

Finding a Mentor is easier than ever before since everybody wants to 'give back' these days. Just start asking around. Be bold!

Oiv! If nothing else, I wish Coaches knew more about the difference between Coaching Vs Counselling, and stop doing it!

Counselling is very different to Life Coaching, although the emergence of Positive Psychology is starting to create a gray area between them, stealing Coaches' thunder.

Both Counselling and Coaching are based on an individual wanting to improve or overcome obstacles, but they address different things. To be able to tell the difference, I apply the Time Machine test.

The test is:

...if you're getting into the Time Machine armed with your 3 books to make the future a better place, then you're looking at Coaching.

...if you're getting into the Time Machine to go back to the past and relive what happened to try to change it, that's Counselling.

While each steals ideas and tools from the other, it really comes down to this distinction.

While Life Coaching should be open to anyone who has the fabulous observation, analysis and interpersonal skills to help others be better versions of themselves, it is a slippery slope when a Life Coach tries to play Counsellor. In these instances, ignorance is NOT bliss.

A topic close to my heart (flutter, flutter). Training is simple. I teach. Teaching is a journey (sorry Masterchef).

I teach start ups. So, I know a bunch of useful information and seriously weird factoids on setting up and running a small business. Hopefully enough to inspire and entertain people long enough that they pay attention to the core learnings. There's a lot of 'ah-hah' moments in Training, which is why I love it.

But even Training requires me to steal elements of...

> Coaching to provide purpose to learning and create positive patterns

> Consulting to troubleshoot start up issues

> Mentoring to share my own start up journey or those of others

> and Counselling to help some people push through difficult personal issues in order to keep studying towards their goals. And yes, I've been trained in this but am very clear on my limitations.

But even Trainers get a bad rap. There's plenty out there that consider a successful outcome is having a student complete all the assessments - boo! A good Trainer or Teacher will have a genuine investment in your learning and make sure you learn all you need to get from point A to point B.

You'd think this would be a common question but actually I rarely get asked how I became a Trainer ...or Coach (LOL).

It's a straightforward question and one of the essential questions you should ask before engaging one of the above professions.

If their background story depicts someone who matches the guidelines above, go for it. If the answer depicts them 'being on their own personal journey and they're still trying to figure it all out'....smile, wish them well and reverse slowly. Beep! Beep! Beep!

I hate to say it, but there's a well-observed paradox that, when we obsess over self-improvement, we often become knowledge narcissists. This means, we've immersed ourselves in self-improvement for so long, or so deeply that our own revelations surely must be shared with others, because if we were blind - others must be too - and we have the knowledge to help them! It is figuratively 'the blind leading the blind'! I believe we would literally lose half of our psychologists without this paradox (and that's not an insult - it's simply a talking point).

If you're wondering what the 2nd essential question is, it's...

(*substitute stated profession)

And, hopefully they know!

I hope this helps illuminate the differences between these roles. I know it's confusing, for us and for you. But at the end of the day, what matters is whether that person can add value to your journey. In whatever form it takes and wherever they are in their own journey.