I hired a coach, I have been working with a mentor, I see a counselor, I am looking for a consultant. There is an increasing number of disciplines providing services to people to help develop themselves.
What are Coaching, Mentoring, Consulting and Counselling? How to differentiate them and choose the best for you?
People are usually confused between these disciplines. In this article, you will learn how they differ thanks to the simple analogy of riding a bike
Counselor or psychologist
The counselor or psychologist will help you to figure out what happened in your past that hold you back from riding a bike today. The objective of the practitioner will go into your head to understand the root cause of the problem.
"The Counselor helps you to understand what hold you back from riding a bike today"
Consultant
The consultant is an expert of bike riding. He will perform a gap analysis between your skills and the best practices to ride a bike. He will deliver an action plan detailing what you need to do to ride a bike (how to seat, where to put your feet on the pedal, how and when to brake).
"The Consultant tells you the best way to ride a bike"
Mentor
The mentor has been cycling for many years. He will share his experience, lessons learnt and recommend you a brand, and the most effective position to ride your bike to get the best results. Since he knows a lot of people, he will also be able to introduce you to the local cycling club.
"The mentor share with you his own way to ride a bike”
Coach
A coach will ask you thought provoking questions that will help you to define your goals. Is your objective to ride a bike for leisure or to run a race for example? Is this objective important to you?
The coach will then help you to assess what you already know and what you already tried before to ride a bike. You will then define the options available to you to reach out to your objectives and you will organize these options into a concrete actions plan.
During each session, the coach will ask you to reflect on what you learnt and what you should do differently to improve your riding. The coach will walk alongside with you until you feel comfortable enough to ride your bike alone. The coach will provide you with encouragement, support and accountability and will acknowledge and celebrate your success with you
“The coach will walk alongside with you until you feel comfortable enough to ride your bike alone”
There are overlaps between these different disciplines but there is no counter indication to work with different practitioners at the same time.