Choice, The Magazine of Professional Coaching

Reproduced with the permission of choice Magazine, www.choice-online.com
By Gail Barker, BA, CPCC
For as long as I have been a member
of the coaching profession
– just over seven years now –
and to my knowledge for many years
preceding that, there has been a debate
about how coaching and consulting
can co-exist in the business world.
Depending on who is behind the query,
sometimes the question that arises is
about the fundamental difference
between these modalities. Sometimes,
the question simply assumes an inherent
difference and is therefore more about
how they can co-exist as part of the cultural
fabric known as “helping professions.”
Always, however, the overriding
question is how coaching and consulting
might support each other in the everyday
world. Is there room for both?
Looking at the coaching and consulting
industries as they currently exist it would
appear that the short answer is “yes.”
The longer answer is not only can coach-
Meeting in
theMiddle
Niche coaching blends the best of
coaching and consulting
ing and consulting support each other,
they absolutely do support each other.
The Coach/Consultant
Continuum
In order to understand how coaching
and consulting come together, it is
important to first realize that these two
service modalities exist as part of a continuum,
with consulting at one end, and
pure coaching at the other.
Consulting, according to the definition
provided by businessdictionary.com, is
“the providing of expert knowledge to a
third party for a fee.” In other words, in a
consulting capacity, a professional is
being hired for a very specific area of
expertise, with the assumption and
understanding that he or she will impart
concrete tools and strategies based on
this expertise, in order to fix or at least
enhance already existing infrastructures.
At the other end of the continuum,
pure coaching offers a different flavor
of service to its clients. The International
Coach Federation (coachfederation.org)
defines coaching as “partnering with
clients in a thought-provoking and creative
process that inspires them to maximize
their personal and professional
potential.” In other words, in its purest
form, coaching does not require the service
provider to have an area of expertise;
if you look closely at the two definitions
VOLUME 8 NUMBER 2
Coaching
&Consulting
“ A consultant is expected to do the
work and share their expertise to
solve an issue for the client.”
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Reproduced with the permission of choice Magazine, www.choice-online.com