Is Coaching the same as Consulting?
As a Coach, do you give ‘advice’ and tell the client what to do?
There seems to be a lot of confusion about the difference between coaching and consulting, and whether a coach behaves the same way as a consultant does towards clients.
A consultant is employed for their knowledgeable input to take charge and make things happen. A coach on the other hand is more client-centred in their approach, aiming to empower the client to recognise their strengths and make their own decisions.
In short, Coaching is not consulting or telling the client what to do.
Here’s a longer breakdown of the key differences between Coaching and Consulting…
Consulting
Consultants are task-oriented, which could mean a short or long-term contract, and focused solely on the outcome.
Consultants don’t deal in behaviour or mindset change and won’t consider your thoughts or feelings very much at all.
Coaching
A coach, especially a Holistic Life Coach, learns to pose their questions and suggestions in such a way to engage the clients’ own mind and inner resources, and empowers their ability to ultimately choose what feels best for them with the right mindset, attitude, self-knowledge, and tools to guide them.
Self-responsibility is empowering. Having someone else do it for you when it’s a more personal investment, simply won’t work for long-term change.
People usually already know what to do but don’t have the confidence, motivation, resources, support or self-belief to actually do it on their own. This is where a qualified Holistic Life Coach comes in!
If you’re a Holistic Life & Mindset Coach…
This approach requires a collaborative partnership, where the paying client puts their investment and trust into the Coach to help them learn what’s holding them back and how to get unstuck and feel confident within themselves to take ownership of their choices in life.
The aim is to help your client not only move forward and create change, but maintain the outcome independently, long after your coaching ceases.
We encourage our holistic coaching students to light the way and empower their clients with self-awareness, mindset shifts, and behaviour change tools to support them for life. You can’t do the changing for them!
Explore our empowering courses HERE to see how you can become a transformational, neuro-coach or practitioner!
Featured image by Adam Winger on Unsplash.
Author:
Viki Thondley
Viki Thondley-Moore is an Integrative Holistic Counsellor, Brain-Based Coach, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Mind-Body Somatic Practitioner, Wellness Coach, Meditation Teacher, Educator and Disordered Eating Specialist. Viki is founder of MindBodyFood and Founder/Director of the MindBodyFood Institute.
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