Life Coach isn’t:

Consultant

A consultant usually is a specialist in a given area. They are hired to give recommendations and provide solutions. A consultant usually works with a client to solve a particular problem. Once the problem is solved the consultant leaves. Generally, a consultant doesn’t get involved with areas outside of their specialty. Coaching uses a more holistic approach. With the client, the coach examines the situation, creates a plan of action, and works side by side to resolve the issue. The coach does not have to be an expert in the client’s business. The client is the expert. The coach collaborates with the client to create a solution using the client’s knowledge and answers. The coach does not have the answers. They have the questions that allow the client to find their own answers and clarify their own values.

Therapist

A therapist typically works with a dysfunctional person to get them to become functional. A coach works with a functional person to get them to become exceptional. Therapists typically work with people who need help to become emotionally healthy. They often deal with past issues and how to overcome them.

A coach works with functional people to move them to magnificent levels. Coaching does not rely on past issues for achieving growth, but rather focuses on goals towards the future. Coaching is action-oriented. The focus is on where the client is right now, where they want to be next, and how to get them there. If you are working in the past, then you are involved in therapy. Clients can use the services of a therapist during the same time period that they are working with a coach.

Counselor

While a counselor provides information and expertise, the relationship is normally hierarchical, perhaps even authoritarian. It is based in the past and focuses on fixing a problem. This differs from a coaching relationship which is present and future based, action-oriented and not hierarchical in nature. The client and the coach partner together to create a better future for the client.

Mentor

Mentoring is a relationship that is established with someone that is an expert in his or her field. The mentor is usually older and more experienced than the person being mentored. The mentor bestows their knowledge and wisdom onto the student. The student looks up to the mentor and seeks guidance and advice from the mentor. A coaching relationship is a partnership whereby the coach walks side by side with the client. The coach supports the clients in drawing on their own wisdom and following their inner guidance.