Definitely not. The discipline known as coaching differs markedly from counseling or consulting, as we know these processes.
The advice consists of, within an organizational context, having a person who could be natural or legal who has answers to our problems. In this case, the relationship consists, fundamentally, in accepting these solutions, applying them according to the adviser's instructions and paying him compensation for it.
About management consulting Topping (2008: 10) refers to it in the following terms: "The most traditional" management consulting "is usually associated with a high-level style where the role of the consultant is to advise the managers of a company "
Of course, the advisor must be an experimenter who knows the thematic area of the problem to be treated, that is, an expert with successful solutions. Your area of performance must be specialized, which will increase confidence in the advice, instructions or solutions that you propose.
That organization (or person) that hires an adviser, must trust the technical skills of the same and not necessarily worry about developing their own to get involved in solving a problem. The same is true of consulting, as Caby (2004: 23) says: “ Consulting designates the services provided by an expert to improve an organizational process in a given field (for example, personnel management, strategic planning, IT…). The goal is to increase the performance of the affected system and not the personal effectiveness of an individual. ”
On the part of the advisor or consultant, within the organizational sphere, the improvement of the person is not (generally) envisaged, but rather of the structures or systems where he / she operates.
On the other hand, coaching is explicitly concerned with the person, as Alles (2005: 165) says when he defines it: “ Coaching refers to intensive training for one or more people by another whose abilities are indisputable. As for the figure of the coach, he says that he must be a person with high capacities, proven before himself, before his peers and publicly ”.
In the above, the work of an advisor and a coach could coincide. There needs to be a recognition of professionalism, which in turn results in respect, so that the process is more smoothly on track. It is imperative that the work of both is mediated by credibility, otherwise it is difficult, very difficult, to move forward.
So what does the coach do that sets you apart from the advisor? Within the business space, the coach collaborates to get things done, but does not expressly say how they should be done. In the metaphorical language it does not fish or teach you how to fish, it opens up the possibilities for everyone to discover or re-discover what type of fish is required and with what bait to fish it, what cooking method to use and how to taste it.
From that same scope, being much more specific, Hoffman (2007: 56) expresses the following:
"The main concern of organizational coaching is to establish highly effective individual and group performance conditions for achieving business goals and therefore the organizational vision. The strategies and means that the organizational coach uses to facilitate the achievement of business results in clients in a more effective way are: development of competences, experiential learning, performance measurement in its different forms, positive reinforcement, observation and accompaniment on the ground, open dialogue between the parties, characterized mainly by questions rather than by the coach's personal answers and opinions ”.
As can be seen, coaching is extremely helpful within the organizational space, contributing to the achievement of satisfactory results inherent in the success of the company. Thus, some authors have classified the types of coaching that we can observe within an organization. Among them is Dilts (2004: 20) who says:
“At the business level, coaching involves a variety of ways to help people perform more effectively, including project, situation, and transition areas. The coaching project involves the strategic management of a team to achieve the most effective target.
The coaching situation focuses on expanding or improving specific performance in a given context. The coaching transition involves helping people change a job or function other than. "
At this point, it can be concluded that although both consulting, advising and coaching are processes aimed at improving the performance of the organizations where they intervene, each one does it in a different way. In this sense, coaching is consolidated as a process that is distinguished by defining the objectives, considering the reality, studying the options and emphasizing the work of those interested in reaching a successful conclusion.
Bibliography
Alles, Martha. Development of Human Talent Based on Competencies. Granica editions. Buenos Aires. 2005.
Caby, Francois. Coaching. Editorial De Vecchi. Barcelona. 2004.
Dilts, Robert. Coaching, tools for change. Uranus editions. Barcelona. 2004.
Hoffmann, Wolfgang. Professional Coach Manual. Norma Editorial Group. Bogotá. 2007.
Miedaner, Talane. Coaching for Success. Uranus editions. Barcelona. 2002.
Topping, Gilbert & Czerniawska, Fiona. Business consulting. Four Average. Buenos Aires. 2008.
