I was asked recently about the difference between an adviser/consultant and a coach.
It’s a valid question and, while I answered it after a fashion, I have been mildly annoyed ever since that my response was not better.
It’s a valid question and, while I answered it after a fashion, I have been mildly annoyed ever since that my response was not better.
This is my second try.
Someone who is looking for a consultant or an adviser is a person who expects to be told the answer. It is a childlike, submissive approach; one where the power has been passed to another by someone who believes they lack sufficient resource themselves.
Someone who seeks a coach is a person who wants to find the answer and do the work themselves. They accept the responsibility, assume control and are determined to shape their own destiny. However, they are adult enough to recognise that sometimes they need the independence and questioning skills of an outsider to help them make the best of themselves.
To adapt from The Prophet by Kahlill Gibran:
Advisers/consultants bid you enter the house of their wisdom;
Someone who is looking for a consultant or an adviser is a person who expects to be told the answer. It is a childlike, submissive approach; one where the power has been passed to another by someone who believes they lack sufficient resource themselves.
Someone who seeks a coach is a person who wants to find the answer and do the work themselves. They accept the responsibility, assume control and are determined to shape their own destiny. However, they are adult enough to recognise that sometimes they need the independence and questioning skills of an outsider to help them make the best of themselves.
To adapt from The Prophet by Kahlill Gibran:
Advisers/consultants bid you enter the house of their wisdom;
Coaches lead you to the threshold of your own mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment