The other day it was cool enough outside to create a need for the heat to turn on in the house. The thing is there was a problem. We could tell something was not right, so we hit the emergency kill switch. Now when the technician comes into your house and starts poking around do you really have a clue what they are doing, looking at or what the end result will be?
When working with a client you see the solutions. You see the answers. The coaching process demands that the coach does not ‘tell’ the client what to do. The client must ‘discover’ their own answers from within. This is for meaningful growth and change to take place. Is this how you practice your coaching?
There are coaches who often step in and step out. This means they are requesting permission or stating, “May I take my coaching hat off for a moment?” Then they proceed to offer their client opinions, directions and statements of direction, none of which are part of the practice of coaching an individual. Does this describe your method of coaching?
Feel free to state your views and practices in the comments area.
The point of this article is if we are to add value to others we should want that value to stick. While we are there for our client we cannot force a client to change, to grow, or to act. A client must want to do these themselves with our support and guidance as professional coaches. Anything less is to cheat the client of the opportunity for true change, true growth, and taking real action.
Consider for a moment the consultant who works on a project for an hourly rate.
Is there an incentive to add value and provide solutions to the client or to continue to ensure there are more hours to bill to the client? The consultant who instead bills by the result and the solution will be paid in full as the result and the solution are worth the fee paid. The time it takes is not material to the conversation. It should not matter if the result and the solution takes one day or six months.
In a similar fashion a coach who designs their practice to where the coach becomes the crutch and the client always needs to use the crutch is setting themselves up for more hours to bill than to provide the client with true value.
It is when this is done by design the question is – values or money which means more to you?
Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified executive and personal coach who resides in Stamford, CT.
I see many people engage a coach when what they really want is a consultant. There’s a big difference, as you have pointed out.
Thanks Mitch. I would have to say I don’t know the details of what the technicians are doing. I do enjoy learning about coaching from you members who practice that profession.
This makes me wonder if I’m a consultant rather than a coach. My clients come to me because I have proven strategies for how to get work in entertainment. They’ve been trying to figure it out on their own and couldn’t… that’s why they come to me. What I care about is their results. The good thing for them is once they learn the tools, they have them, so I’m not a crutch, I’m a teacher.
Depending on who I’m working with and what the goals are I wear both hats. And I do, at time, take off one hat to be able to focus differently with a client. Thanks for helping people understand what they’re getting when they work with a coach vs. a consultant.