Is There a Difference Between Consulting and Coaching?

Source: Accounting Today 

Clients look to consultants for solutions and to coaches to help them solve their own problems. This article asserts there is room for both, but coaching is on a higher level. Coaching assures the client is involved with you, working with you to achieve goals and objectives. Coaching also distinguishes you from the competition, especially in IT consulting. 

As a coach, you use the discovery process (determining wants and needs) in a strategic way. It is part of the engagement rather than just part of the sales process. You get your clients to do their own needs analysis. The clients are more likely to take responsibility for results. And the majority of the discovery process is chargeable. 

When clients are involved in the process, they are more likely to implement the solution. But there is a cost to you. Your client is less dependent on you, and you won’t necessarily direct the solution in the direction you want. On the other hand, your clients may be more grateful to you, and more likely to use you for other projects. 

Coaches should be brutally committed to getting results. They should insist on action plans that clearly identify the responsibility for completion and set firm completion dates. They must have regular meetings to assess the progress of each action step and to refine the plan. They must thoroughly document all that occurs. 

For the complete story, see Accounting Today, March 14, 2005, “Are You More Consultant or Coach? And Does it Matter?” which can be found at

http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=11165&;pg=acctoday.