Mentor blog: Coaching vs. Consultant… what’s the difference?

December 1, 2018 - 3 minutes read

Coaching versus Consulting… Is there a difference?

Written by Rob McKenzie, IU 17 PIIC mentor, and Melissa Petrilak, IU 20 PIIC mentor

Can a consultant coach?         Can a coach consult?       Is there even a difference?     The answer is yes!

Often, the lines between coach and consultant can get blurred.  If utilized well, both positions are in roles that provide professional learning and support to people. However, the purpose for employing either a coach or a consultant is the cornerstone of how these two professions differ.

While a coach is often viewed as a colleague who builds professional relationships with fellow educators in an effort to support and strengthen teacher practices and student learning, consultants are often considered experts in their fields who are relied upon for advice and solutions to problems.  Despite having two diverse objectives for collaborating with professionals, both roles rely heavily on strong communication skills, most notably with regard to listening and questioning.

Listening is undeniably the most frequently used form of communication for individuals, as the average individual spends 46% of the time listening and 30%of their time speaking. As a coach, listening is vital to building a collegial partnership based on mutual trust and respect.

Consultants are temporarily hired by school systems to provide training, address concerns, and identify solutions to issues. Consultants are often entrusted to employ the art of solution listening as a means to not only identify the source of the problem but offer their opinions toward a resolution as well.

On the contrary, coaches are not motivated by quick fixes and ready answers, but a desire to promote professional growth within the teachers.  Their conversations with their colleagues are data-focused, non-evaluative, reflective and centered around the individual needs and goals of the teacher. This often results in coaches designing their conversations, so the collaborating teacher is talking at least 70% of the time. Good coaches don’t tell teachers what to do, they offer precise explanations, ensure that teachers clearly understand those explanations, and then ask teachers what they think about what they’ve heard.

Both a coach and consultant understand the importance of well-designed, purposeful questioning, and its direct relationship to listening.  While consultants rely on their questions to promote awareness and action, coaches use questioning as a tool to levy insight, reflection, and empowerment.

Both coaching and consulting are both viable options for school systems to consider when it comes to building capacity and promoting professional learning among their staff.  However, how the district chooses to utilize these roles is most critical to whether coaching or consulting is valued, employed, and sustained.

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