What distinguishes the work of a coach?

Coaching is an area of ​​work that addresses many kinds of problems and needs both inside and outside of companies. Therefore, it is not uncommon for coaching to be confused with other disciplines, such as psychology or consulting.

In this article we will briefly see what are the most important differences between coaches, psychologists and consultants.

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What are the differences between coaches and psychologists?

The first difference has to do with training. Psychologists, to be one, need to finish a university degree of 4 or 5 years depending on the country; This path includes the completion of practices and several exams in each of the courses.

On the other hand, to be a coach it is not necessary to complete a university degree, and degrees and certificates can be issued by organizations that are not part of the university world. Of course, it is possible to be a psychologist and coach, and in fact it is becoming more and more common.

Furthermore, sociologically, teaching staff in coaching training centers tend to be more linked to business and private practice than to the field of science research, the latter being much more common in the environment of universities.

The second difference has to do with the objective of each discipline. Although Psychology is a science with a vast and varied scope of application and research, historically it has been linked to prevention and treatment of mental health problems, and forms of discomfort derived from personal relationships or a inability to achieve good living conditions given a given context (for example, learning disabilities, discussions in house, etc.).

On the other hand, coaching is positioned rather as a tool not aimed at solving or preventing severe problems that damage people's quality of life, but rather at harnessing the potential of people to promote satisfaction and well-being where there can be much more.

Two of its main focuses are the realization of personal projects with meaning for the person, on the one hand, and the promotion of professional careers and teamwork dynamics, by the other. In this way, the work of the coaches can be divided into two fronts: personal coaching, on the one hand, and business or executive coaching on the other (or career coaching, if the goal is to reorient a person's career by looking beyond a specific organization).

Of course, these two domains can overlap, and in fact it is very common for this to happen: let's think for example in the case of an elite athlete who needs to learn theoretical-practical principles of self-motivation and discipline.

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What are the differences between coaches and consultants?

We come to another source of frequent confusion: the line that separates coaches from consultants. To address this distinction, we will only talk about business coaching, since this is what can be confused with the work of consultants.

In this case, keep in mind that a consultant is above all a person with a very specialized training and who helps companies to carry out a series of specific tasks, which are important to carry out projects or to satisfy the demands of its clients on a day-to-day basis. No specific training is needed to be a consultant, beyond the training itself in the subject from which the contracting party is helped: accounting, laws, translation, etc.

A) Yes, the usefulness and effectiveness of consultants can usually be measured quantitatively in the short or medium term (although having technical knowledge that the contracting company does not understand, sometimes it is difficult to really know if the investment pays off, lacking the criteria to know if it is advancing or not).

If the consultants provide information and experience regarding the content of the work, the coaches provide information and experience regarding how to work and what is the direction in which that work should be oriented, taking into account the philosophy of the company and the needs and motivational factors that influence the workers.

So, the dynamics of communication, conflict resolution and leadership in general are part of the main topics of coaching, while consultants focus more on the technical, what you have to work on.

Do you want to train in coaching?

If you want to specialize and train in coaching, you may be interested in the Online Executive Coaching Certification Program organized by European School of Coaching. It is a 100% online training program lasting 194 hours, divided into two cycles and which includes live classes in a synchronous classroom, as well as content theoretical-practical technical and academic support at all times, and whose completion will allow you to obtain a title of coach by the International Coach Federation and that of Executive Coach by EEC.

For more information, you can contact the center or go to the website of the European Coaching School.