Everyone’s heard the jokes --- a consultant is a person who can’t make it at a job. A consultant is a person who shows up to tell you what you already knew and then bills you for it. Now let’s think about when “coach” became a word for the business world. Coach was trying to dispel the negativity of consultant by portraying an image of someone cheering on the athlete or team from the sidelines, someone who knew the plays and would stick close by. Unfortunately, now business coach has become such a buzz-word that we find “coaches” at the information counter of a mall who can coach us on how to find a store.
Am I a business coach? Yes. Am I a business consultant? Yes. So what are the Donna Marie definitions and the difference?
As a licensed, Certified Professional Coach, which means I have several years of training in proven methods, along now with over 10 years of Executive Coaching, I support an individual in a structured manner. Often it is a weekly 30-minute phone call. The value of the call centers around tactical knowledge, consistency, accountability, forward action and can spring-board into as many areas as the client wants to explore within a confidential setting. Many times a leader has no one to share their full story, with the intention of finding results. The staff can worry too soon, family members wish for non-risk strategies, while friends too often interject their own parallel issues, with no-one wanting to provide accountability.
A coach can sound great, because it starts from a place that everyone truly has their own answers and knows what is best for them, they just need a confidential, accountability container to move forward consistently.
However, sometimes we can get stuck enough we just want someone to tell us what they think and what do they think we should do. That is a consultant. As a veteran educator, administrator in large organizations, within profit and non-profit settings, always with an entrepreneurial spirit … I can help. With my years of pragmatic personal experiences, blended with a passion to help others with their endeavors … I know the difference of when a consultant should simply speak and a coach should simply listen, to then provide accountability.