What does it mean to be a Coach or a Consultant?
In many sales presentations or landing pages, I see various consultants and coaches extoll the value of being a coach and not a consultant. So what is the difference, and why does it matter? I felt compelled to write this article today, probably out of a great desire to be “right.” I bring this up during every conversation with a prospect. We at Eureka Process are more than coaches; we are also consultants. Let’s start with the definitions of each. A quick Google came back with these:
- Coach, a verb: to train or instruct, teach, or promote or urge.
- Consulting, a noun: the business of giving expert advice to other professionals, typically in financial and business matters.
Now, I am not a linguist. I’m even a little confused about comparing a noun and a verb, but I still think the meanings are clear. In my own words, coaches are helping you improve you, while a consultant gives specific advice.
The Lay of the Land
When someone wants to be your business or leadership coach, they want to teach you how to be a better business person or leader. They may not offer any specific advice on exactly what you should do in your business, only guide you through being a better you. There is tremendous power in having a coach and being receptive to coaching. Engaging with a coach might require self-reflection and provide self-awareness and behavior modification methods. Looking at our systems, when we teach our leadership teams the 6 Leadership Superpowers, for example, we teach self-awareness and use that to coach new behaviors.
Now, look at someone who wants to be your consultant. They want to show you how to solve specific problems. Most usually come with years of experience in a specific industry or application. They will look at a particular challenge and have the expertise or even direct experience and offer specific solutions to those challenges. A consultant is less about teaching and more about solving challenges. There is a lot to learn from seeing problems solved as well. We are consulting when our team gives specific advice on a service delivery process or fix a PSA automation.
Vis-à-vis
Though gone are the days of the old cliche “Consultant is just code for unemployed,” coaching has become a buzzword and is quite trendy. I even ran across one article stating the difference is in “who holds the power.” That is true in a sense, but I also find it a little oversimplified. Coaching is training you, and consulting is done for you. Coaching is the ax sharpener, and consulting is the chainsaw. Neither is inherently good or bad, nor better or worse. They are each a tool with a specific purpose.
At Eureka Process, we love and do a lot of coaching. We want our clients to grow and do even more good for themselves and their team. However, our consultants (as we call ourselves) also have decades of experience among dozens of other IT Services firms. When needed, we can offer those experiences, processes, templates, and lessons learned directly to solve the problems before us. Hopefully, through the coaching our clients receive, they can adequately discern that information and decide what path is best for them.
We find that the hybrid coaching and consulting approach works well for our clients, yet you will always find us calling ourselves Consultants. We carefully select our vocabulary (see Words Matter, Choose Wisely) because we believe it precludes the possibility of giving specific advice in our emotional response to the word Coach.
Making the Right Choice for Yourself
So when you are looking for external help, make sure to clarify whether the person in front of you is a coach or consultant. Find out what the difference in those terms means to them. Then, make sure that their services match your needs and desires. So, are you looking for self-growth, or are you looking to solve a specific challenge, or is it both?
If you’d like to start a conversation on your thoughts on coaching versus consulting, sound off below. If you are looking for leadership and business coaching or have specific consulting needs in your IT Business, we’d love to talk with you as well. You can use the Free Consultation button at the bottom right.
