Online Coaching and Consulting and Effective Strategy

Is Consulting Coaching?

It should be clear at this point that consulting and coaching are two very different practices. And, while they can be instituted concurrently within a client organization, each has specific purposes, guidelines, and ethical considerations. As an OD consultant, it will be your responsibility to determine the appropriate use and timing of coaching interventions.

According to Jacobson, Butterill, and Goering (2005), “Consulting appears to be an effective strategy for carrying out an interactive model of knowledge transfer to enhance the use of research-based knowledge in decision-making environments. The success of consulting in facilitating knowledge transfer between [consultants] and decision makers seems to rest on several characteristics of the process: the genesis of most consulting projects is change that presents an urgent challenge or threat to the client group; the “service” model of the process, in which clients pay consultants to provide specific knowledge, expertise, and/or skills within a defined scope; the mutual, and ongoing, contribution by consultants and clients to defining that scope; the consultants’ explicit attention to creating a process that respects their clients’ local expertise and political reality; and the consultants’ efforts to promote the utility of their knowledge-based recommendations through strategies of participation and representation.”

Lunenberg (2010) notes that “’organization development-type change agents’ [focus] their attention on internal processes such as intergroup relations, communication, and decision making. Their intervention strategy is often called a cultural change approach, because they thoroughly analyze the culture of the targeted organization. This approach grew out of such areas as sensitivity training, team building, and survey feedback. Many managers assume the role of organization-development type when implementing change.”

In short, the goal of both consulting and coaching is positive change. However, the methods and processes of effecting change differ between these models.

References
Jacobson, N., Butterill, D., & Goering, P. (2005). Consulting as a strategy for knowledge transfer. The Milbank Quarterly, 83(2), 299–321. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0009.2005.00348.x

Lunenberg, F. C. (2010). Managing change: The role of the change agent. International Journal of Management, Business, and Administration, 13(1). Retrieved from https://naaee.org/sites/default/files/lunenburg_fr…

To prepare:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources and consider what differentiates consulting from coaching.

BY DAY 4

Post a response to the following:

Describe the differences between consulting and coaching and the personal and professional skills needed in each profession. Identify a situation where consulting would be most appropriate and beneficial and a situation where coaching would be most appropriate and beneficial.

Required Readings

Note: To access this week’s required Harvard Business Review resources, select the article link and navigate to the relevant article or go back to Blackboard and select Harvard Business Articles from the course navigation menu.

United States Department of Agriculture Virtual University. (n.d.). Differences between coaching, counseling, managing, mentoring, consulting and training. Retrieved August 16, 2019, from https://www.dm.usda.gov/employ/vu/coaching-diff.ht…

Giberson, T., & Miklos, S. (2012). Coaching. TIP: The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 49(3), 53. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.or…

Myers, A. C., & Bachkirova, T. (2018). Towards a process-based typology of workplace coaching: An empirical investigation. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 70(4), 297–317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cpb0000118

Neenan, M. (2009). Using Socratic questioning in coaching. Journal of Rational – Emotive & Cognitive – Behavior Therapy, 27(4), 249–264. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-007-0076-z

Rothwell, W. J. (2015). Organization development fundamentals: Managing strategic change. Alexandria, VA: ATD Press.

• Chapter 7, “Special Issues in Organization Development”

Schermuly, C. C. (2018). Client dropout from business coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 70(3), 250–267. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cpb0000112

Schuneman, F. (2019, January 24). Sorting out coaching vs. mentoring vs. training. Retrieved from http://www.invistaperforms.org/sorting-coaching-vs…

The Coaches Training Institute. (2011). Coaching vs. therapy: What are the differences and when do you refer? Retrieved from https://coactive.com/learning-hub/fundamentals/res…

The Coaches Training Institute. (n.d.). Coaching vs. therapy: What are the differences and when do you refer? Retrieved from https://coactive.com/learning-hub/fundamentals/res/topics/FUN-Coaching-vs-Therapy.pdf. Used with permission of The Coaches Training Institute.

Tjan, A. K., (2017, February 27). What the best mentors do. Harvard Business Review.