When I was in college (way back in the last century), I thought it would be cool to be a management consultant (I was working on a BA in Business Administration/Management at the time).  I could travel all around, snoop around client companies, determine their problems, suggest ways to fix the problems, and leave.  They would then take care of the boring implementation part of the process.

Years later, I became an adjunct/associate professor of English, teaching writing, business communications, literature, and other related courses at various California colleges and universities.  Quite quickly, my natural way of dealing with students emerged.

I would discuss the general topics and the step-by-step tasks of various writing processes.  I worked individually with students, in and outside of the classroom, usually on my own time.  And I did a lot of handholding, helping students to master the process or genre so they could produce a passing assignment.  I also helped them to become better writers, with more confidence in their natural abilities and ideas.

I often thought I was giving them too much in the way of handholding, but I couldn’t help myself.  That was my natural rhythm, my natural way of helping my students.

And when I received feedback from the students, whether in the official student evaluations or in comments from them, I was always praised for my caring attitude and actions.

When I decided to do this handholding for clients, which I’ve been doing on and off for years but rarely with any real focus, I didn’t know the proper title of my services.  Was I coach or a consultant?

So naturally, I did some research on the topic.  Here are my findings:

For a Coach

1. A coach helps the client define, flesh out, plan, act on, and achieve her (or his) goals. In my case, my clients want, primarily, to complete and publish a writing project.  Additional benefits are sought, almost as an aside, such as increasing confidence.

2. A coach guides the client through the processes required to achieve the stated goal.  In my case, the client is often writing something big — such as a book, a master’s thesis, a textbook, or whatever.  This often involves a lot of handholding, daily emails, daily to weekly phone calls, and other close contacts.

3. The coach works one-on-one with the client throughout the entire project.  Sometimes small group gatherings are useful, especially with screenplay critiquing, but mostly the work is one-on-one.

4. The coach focuses on teaching the client to accomplish the task through the client actually doing it step-by-step, with the coach giving advise when needed or asked for.  This process also involves a lot of self-discovery and personal changes, especially attitudes about writing talent (usually better than thought) and career direction.  The Coach facilitates this process by asking the right questions, prodding and encouraging the client to see beyond age-old blocks, narrow views, and frustrations to new possibilities.

5. The Coach is available to advise the client on any part of the process, but she will not do the actual writing.  That’s the client’s job.

6. A coach might work with a client on a project for months or years.  In my case, as a writing coach, a book can take a few months to a year to write.  And once that project is done, the client may come up with another project, and we’re off and running again.  So the Coach – Client relationship is often a long-term one.

For a Consultant

1. The Consultant is brought in when the client has determined that a problem exists and she needs outside help.  So the goal is already set when the consultant arrives.  In my case, my client has a manuscript or screenplay that needs to be evaluated with recommendations made to improve its quality and marketability.

2. The consultant investigates the problem, determines solutions, and presents the solutions to the client.  Sometimes the consultant will do the work to solve the problem, and sometimes the client will implement the changes.  In my case, I will read the project, make changes on the page and submit an Analysis letter discussing the recommended changes.

3. The consultant does the job pretty much independently of the client’s daily workflow.  In my case, I do this reading and evaluation at my office in the Portland, Oregon, area.

4. The consultant is there to solve a problem, not to teach or guide or facilitate any life changes.  The consultant is a problem solver.  That’s it.

5. The Consultant does the work for the client, in that the Consultant identifies the problems and offers solutions.  In my case, I would read the manuscript and identify recommendations for changes.

6. Although a consultant might work for a client occasionally for many years, the problems he works on are distinct and short term.  When the problem is solved, he leaves.  In my case, I can see working with the same clients over the years, but each job relates to a specific manuscript or screenplay for evaluation.

I have realized that I can serve clients both as a Writing Coach and a Writing Consultant, each with very different focuses and services, both of which are needed by different clients at different times in their careers or lives.  Check out my Writing Coach Services or my Writing Consultant services on this website.

What do you think of my analysis and research about coaching vs. consulting?  Are you one or the other?  Or do you offer both service areas?  What experiences have you found most useful in either of the service areas?  Leave your comment below.