In the past few weeks I've had several occasions to discuss the differences between coaching, mentoring, training, facilitating and consulting. And on two occasions, the people with whom I spoke told me, "Gill, You should write that down. It's a very clear explanation."
So here is one man's opinion on the subject.
I've been working with wood since I was a child -- starting with the construction of decks, room additions and other residential remodeling, and gradually moving into fine cabinetry. To this day, I can build a mean table and chairs, but I lack any real skill at finishing -- stain, lacquer, etc. -- the things I build. If I wanted to get better at finishing what I build, I could hire a coach, trainer, mentor, facilitator or consultant -- and here's how each would help.
A coach is a person who, with absolutely no knowledge of finishing furniture, could help me increase my skills by drawing out of me what I already know and don't know, by helping me to set goals, by encouraging me to fill the gaps in my knowledge, and by keeping me accountable to meeting the goals I set. The primary value is someone to keep me on track as I do it myself.
A mentor is a person who has already done what I'm trying to do -- add finishing skills to my toolbox -- and will guide me through the same process he or she used. Of course some goal setting and accountability stuff might also happen along the way. And he or she may even throw in a bit of training when needed. The main value is in helping me avoid pitfalls along the way, thus getting me to my goal sooner.
A trainer is a person who has lots of experience finishing furniture, and who might typically stand in front of a room of people and tell them (or demonstrate to them) how to finish furniture. As an attendee to the training session, I may or may not also do some live practicing while I'm there. The value here is in learning specific techniques.
A facilitator is a person who, with no knowledge of finishing furniture, can stand in front of a group of people and get them to help one another get better at finishing furniture. He or she relies on the content experience of the audience, and is adept at getting them to share their experiences. The value is you get exposed to more ideas than with a single coach, mentor, trainer or consultant, since the attendees themselves bring the myriad ideas with them.
A consultant is a person who, with or without specific knowledge of finishing furniture, can look a the whole situation and help me determine several things. Why do I want the furniture finished? Would I be better off with unfinished furniture? Other than doing it myself, how else can I get it finished? Is it better to collaborate with a furniture finisher who sucks at building furniture, or should I take the time to learn myself?
He or she would then offer an opinion of what I should and should not do. If we agree that I should learn to finish furniture, and the consultant has specific knowledge of this craft, he or she may then turn to training, mentoring or some other discipline to help me accomplish my goal. If the consultant has no way of helping me further, he or she might recommend someone who can.
The value here is the expert guidance to make the right decisions for the short and long hauls. Of course, coaches will sometimes do a bit of this as well.
On a sales-related note, I do a bit of all of these things with my clients. And to avoid adding to the confusion, I call what I do "thought partnering." That way when I'm selling it, I can say "It's a thought-partner program that's a combination of coaching, mentoring, training, facilitating, consulting and whatever-it-takes assistance that ensures you reach your goals."
This also frees me up to do some creative thinking as part of the relationship -- something at which I'm particularly adept -- without violating the codes of ethics of any of these other professions.
I guess this article is a form of training -- a one-sided opinion-sharing effort. If you prefer more of a mentoring, facilitating or consulting style, then you'll need to share your opinion with me (and everyone else). Just use the comment feature of the blog and we'll see where this goes.
(Note: I approve only those posts I deem appropriate to the topic at hand.)
Gill E. Wagner, Sage of Selling
President of Honest Selling
Founder of the Yellow-Tie International Business Development Association
As I was reading through your descriptions of each role, I asked myself, "Why is it important to understand the differences?" Then I came up with a possible answer: If I understand the need for each type of "helper" I can better understand my limitations in developing my staff. As an example, if one of my staff has a job that involves highly technical skills, and I don't have those skills myself, I won't be able to fill all these roles. I can coach or facilitate, but not train or mentor, since I haven't been there myself. I can help my employee understand my limitations as a leader and together we can find others to fill those roles. Further, under the assumption that managers usually don't have every possible skill that they would like their employee to possess, any manager can recognize their limited ability to train in some areas, but still coach, then go find a mentor or trainer.
Posted by: Tom Johnson | April 27, 2007 at 04:22 AM