TI think it is important to understand the differences of the professional assistance one could provide within an organization to assist their respective employee group ’s to foster their growth and development.   Typically, employers offer a variety of programs to provide assistance and have used labels like; counseling, mentoring, consulting, and coaching to describe this assistance. The chart below provides a brief definition of the differences between these four programs.

Types of Professional Assistance in Organizations

Coaching is different than the other professional assistance roles provided within an organization. You are not attempting to diagnose a personal issue, or be the subject matter expert, or share experiences. You are engaged in providing a reflective process to improve performance. I provided the above illustration so you might appreciate the difference in what a coach is trying to accomplish as compared to the other professional assistance roles. Although there are many books written about a coach’s role, a simple approach is a coach works with an individual to identify his or her strengths and weakness and explores how both are affecting one’s performance with the goal of improving that performance. Even high performers in an organization will require an opportunity to reflect on their activities in their work life to assess and explore potential changes in how they approach those activities. It must be a process of self-discovery to determine what methods and practices you might consider to successfully make those changes. It is about development which typically requires an understanding of one’s behavior and potential changes. Behavior is difficult to change by only external pressure. Permanent behavioral change requires a reflective process of exploration and recognition of what you might embrace to improve performance. 

But how is coaching different? It has been estimated that 70% of professional development comes directly from one’s on-the-job experience. Twenty percent of that development is associated with the interaction you have with others and the balance is formal training. (1)  Though these are all critical sources for any individual’s development, it is limited by the experiences and individuals one is exposed to, along with the available formal training programs, for identifying solutions to determined what might be appropriate for a positive outcome. Further, in the absence of those experiences or the availability of a trusted mentor, most individuals must blindly navigate difficult, high-risk situations to achieve desired results using their best judgement. This approach is often less than successful, and failure is a high probability. A coach provides insight to consider alternative options when confronting workplace challenges through a shared dialog and observation. A coach works with the individual to identify areas that need to be considered as opportunities for further development and document an appropriate plan with specific steps to ensure an awareness of what needs to be done. Coaches work with an assigned person to assist them with identifying those solutions to move his or her performance to the next level. Everyone is different and therefore what might work for one person is usually not the solution for another. There is typically no one specific model or method that is followed, but rather a process employed by the coach using proven approaches, techniques, and diagnostic tools to develop that plan. This process is ….exploration “go on about how the process might work”…..

1.    The 70-20-10 Model for Learning and Development, a commonly used formula within the training profession to describe the optimal sources of learning by successful managers, was developed by Morgan McCall, Michael M. Lombardo, and Robert A. Eichinger while working at the Center for Creative Leadership, a nonprofit educational institution in Greensboro, N.C.

William H. Dibble, “What is Coaching,” August 2023