Business Coaching and Consulting

What are Coaching and Consulting?

The origins of business coaching come from the sporting arena where coaches have for centuries helped athletes achieve their goals. Business Coaching is a slightly different concept to consulting. Consulting implies identifying a problem within a business and proposing a solution. Coaching is more about the facilitation of a process so that clients can self-help.

The analogy to sport is a good one and also helps us to understand the difference between consulting and coaching. Imagine a tennis coach for instance. The coach talks to the athlete, shows the athlete where his or her skill levels are inadequate, and then sets—over a period of time—a plan for the athlete to improve. The plan would enable the athlete to think for him or herself in pressure situations and determine the correct shot to play. This is called “coaching.”

If, on the other hand, the coach instructed the athlete to play a particular shot (rather than having the athlete decide for him or herself the best shot to take) or even took the tennis racket from the player, stepped into the game, and actually played a few sets for the athlete, this would be an extreme version of “consulting.”

Business Coaching, therefore, is about the business owner and coach collaboratively seeking a solution and formulating an action plan. It looks at a broader perspective and helps in the development and implementation of processes to drive the business forward. Consulting, on the other hand, is more focused around problem-solving and the suggestion of specific solutions.

EastWind Business Solutions is a fully Accredited MAUS Partner. Our coaches—trained and certified by MAUS Business Systems—will help your business succeed through implementation of the proven MAUS MAX Programmes used around the world.