Sometimes it’s helpful to understand coaching by distinguishing it from other personal or organizational support professions.

Therapy: Therapy deals with healing pain, dysfunction, and conflict within an individual or in relationships.  The focus is often on resolving difficulties arising from the past that hamper an individual’s emotional functioning in the present, improving overall psychological functioning, and dealing with the present in more emotionally healthy ways. Coaching, on the other hand, supports personal and professional growth based on self-initiated change in pursuit of specific actionable outcomes.  These outcomes are linked to personal or professional success.  Coaching is future focused.  While positive feelings/emotions may be a natural outcome of coaching, the primary focus is on creating actionable strategies for achieving specific goals in one’s work or personal life.  The emphasis in a coaching relationship is on action, accountability, and follow through.

Consulting: Individuals or organizations retain consultants for their expertise.  While consulting approaches vary widely, the assumption is the consultant will diagnose problems and prescribe and, sometimes, implement solutions. With coaching, the assumption is that individuals or teams are capable of generating their own solutions, with the coach supplying supportive, discovery-based approaches and frameworks.

Mentoring: A mentor is an expert who provides wisdom and guidance based on his or her own experience.  Mentoring may include advising, counseling or coaching.  The coaching process does not include advising or counseling and focuses on individuals or groups setting and reaching their own objectives.