Coaching
• Is not Therapy.
• Is not Consulting.
• Is not Mentoring.
• Is present and future-oriented.
• Helps a client develop specific skills or achieve personal and professional goals.
• It usually involves a set timeframe, specific objectives, and regular sessions.
• The client sets the tone, the outcome, and the action steps.
• The coach asks questions and provides feedback and encouragement.
• The relationship is formal and structured, with clear roles between the coach and client.
• The agenda is set by the individual being coached, and it's driven by specific outcomes or skills to be developed.
• Focuses on self-discovery, gaining new understandings, becoming more self-reliant.
• Coach possesses methodologies and tools to facilitate goal achievement.
• The coach can act as an accountability partner only until the client is able to find other accountability partners and develop a support system.
• The coach is not there to fix the problems of the individual, but rather to help guide the client to find their own solutions.
• The coach cannot teach understanding. Rather the coach attempts to facilitate and guide the individual to their own understanding.
• Coaching is effective because the individual can gain a true understanding of both themselves and the issue(s) they are facing. The individual learns valuable insights and skills with which to help and empower themselves.
Mentoring
• Is not Therapy.
• Is not Coaching.
• Is similar to Consulting except for an individual instead of a business or organization.
• Is present and future-oriented.
• More informal, where a more experienced individual (the mentor) offers guidance, advice, and support based on their own experiences.
• The relationship is based on mutual trust, respect, and personal rapport.
• Outcomes can be more fluid, evolving based on the client's needs, goals, and the direction of the mentoring relationship.
• Feedback is more spontaneous, broader, and rooted in the mentor's personal experiences and insights.
• Can be great as a short-term bridge for finding solutions, especially when stuck.
• The drawback is that the individual can become dependent on the mentor to provide solutions rather than developing the skills to find their own solutions.
• Limits the individual to the understanding and insight of the mentor instead of developing their own understanding and insights.
• Can limit motivation. Motivation that comes from true understanding is more impacting than when it comes from someone else's understanding.
• Can teach.
Therapy
*I do not provide Therapy.
• Addresses and resolves psychological challenges, emotional struggles, traumas, or mental health disorders.
• Emotionally centered, aiming to heal, manage, or understand emotional and psychological issues.
• Is a therapeutic alliance where the therapist offers expert guidance.
• Therapy often is past-focused.
• Helps clients process issues from the past so they can move forward.
• Therapists have formal education in psychology, counseling, and/or a related field and are licensed to practice.
Consulting
*I no longer provide Consulting.
• Addressed specific challenges, problems, or needs in a business or organization.
• Has clear, well-defined objectives.
• Time-bound, project-specific.
• Problem-solving, optimizing processes, and implementing strategies in an organizational context.
• The consultant has specific specialized knowledge or a specialized skill.
• Provides expert advice, strategies, and solutions based on specialized knowledge in a particular field(s).
• Is typically for a business or organization.