QLI

While both coaches and consultants help facilitate personal development, the approaches and goals are very different.  Here’s how:

Consultants are problem solvers.
Their underlying message is, “I’m smarter than you are. I’ll tell you what’s wrong and how to fix it.”

The goal of consulting is typically to maximize profits. 

Coaches are people developers.
They don’t tell their clients what to do; they ask questions. Their message is, “You’re smart. I’ll be a mirror to help you look inside yourself, so you can not only solve this problem, but maximize your potential in all areas of your life.”

The goal of coaching is to maximize potential.


Coaches vs. Trainers
Coaches also operate differently from trainers and group facilitators.

Trainers work with groups of people, primarily by teaching in a classroom setting within a short, predetermined time frame.

The goal of training is to impart information.
The key ingredient is knowledge. 

Coaches work with individuals, primarily by listening and asking questions over an extended, open-ended time period.

The goal of coaching is to elicit action.
The key ingredient is relationship.

Coaching is a powerful relationship that enables people to make important changes in their lives. The primary benefits begin after clients hang up the phone. That’s when they begin the real work of redirecting their lives.