Is it the client or the coach who is the fool? When I started my career in 2006, I had to explain to people what ‘business coaching’ was. Now, I have to explain how I’m different from the dozen shonky business coaches they’ve met at networking breakfasts. I do this by telling them I’m a business coach who doesn’t believe business coaching works; how coaches who are proud they’re not consultants are setting up their clients, and their own business, for failure. So, what is the difference between a consultant and a coach, and how does that distinction play out in the reality of helping business clients? Recognising the differences makes for better coaches and improved client outcomes.
by Jacob Aldridge
Coaching v Consulting
Coaching v Consulting Pedants will observe that a pure consultant brings the solution and completes the work themselves think IT or Legal, for example. A pure coach does nothing but ask questions, 'coaching' you because all the answers are inside you and you do not need external solutions.
Management Consulting is epitomised by multi-national firms, and to provide insight Business Insider produced a "Day in the Life Of" article focused on a third-year Deloitte consultant named Tim.
Tim is very good at what he does. It's just that I am scared about what he Put another way: A consultant has all does and what that represents for the answers, because you are a fool. Business Consultants in general. Scared for him personally - he works, Coaching is the opposite - you have on and off, for 18 hours a day; all the answers, and your coach is a delivering a return on investment for fool. his clients. Both extremes are, well, extreme. It’s Tim is on site for a client most of naive to believe a small business the day - of course, "he spends the owner has all the answers inside first few hours on site making them, and it's cruel to compel an multiple coffee runs, sifting through entrepreneur to pay you to deliver when every bone in their body wants weekend emails, and reviewing material before meeting the client" at to learn from you quickly to go and 2pm. do it themselves. Page 15
