Executive Coach vs Consultant

When to use the services of an Executive Coach vs a Consultant?

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Companies and individuals want to achieve results, and coaches and consultants are there to help achieve them. And while the methods that they employ for getting the desired results may differ, the outcomes can often be quite similar.

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The main difference between coaching and consulting is that coaching pulls out answers from the client while consulting tells the client what to do. With coaching, you walk away with strategies for uncovering your truth on your own. With consulting, you get tools that can support you in moving forward and executing. Both can be useful depending on the client's goals and intentions.

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So based on your needs, you can choose one or the other... or a combination of both!

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Executive Coach

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In many ways, coaching is more transformative. It is the process of helping people to become the best versions of themselves and empowering them to find the answers they are looking for and become better equipped to deal with similar situations in the future. Coaches help clients achieve objectives by making them accountable for their actions and improving goal setting.

 

Great coaches are good listeners, they let silence do the work. They seek to understand through thoughtful and sincere inquiry without judgment. And they guide the client to see solutions for themselves by asking and not telling.

 

Some coaching objectives might be to:

• Develop your leadership skills

• Think more strategically (individual and team)

• Increase performance and motivation (individual and team)

• Increase confidence/self-esteem

• Improve interpersonal skills

• Deal with your emotion

• Be a better communicator

• Gain an overall better perspective 

• Improve time management skills and prioritize

• Be comfortable with public speaking

• To become a key player in your organization or life

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Consultant

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Consulting is the process of providing clients advice on how to approach a business challenge and/or achieve a specific objective. Consultants are usually leading experts in their fields, with plenty of experience, and they offer clients specific instructions on how to deal with various issues, scenarios, and opportunities. They help clients identify and assess business problems, and then provide solutions. A consultant may provide advice or training, or they may act as a facilitator.

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Since consultants are brought in as “fixers”, their success depends on how well they can explain and solve whatever the business or person cannot solve themselves. Because of that, a big part of the consultant’s work is preparing a thorough presentation on what will need to be done and what steps the client will need to take.

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Some consulting objectives might be to:

• Fostering a culture of high-performance

• Improving change management

• Equipping future leaders

• Revamping training and development practices

• Fostering a healthy work environment

• Improving talent acquisition and onboarding

• Strategic workforce planning and building critical skills

• Improving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

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Both Executive coaches and Consultants can work with businesses or individuals on both short-term and long-term projects.

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