The 3 C’s: Coach, Counselor, Consultant

We love coaching. Yet we struggle with the word. After all, what is a coach? What differentiates a coach from a counselor or consultant?  And furthermore, what makes someone qualified to coach? From the perspective of EARN’s Wealthcare team, we bring you a few descriptions and things to consider when engaging one of the 3 C’s:

• A coach partners with clients to help them realize their dreams. A coach is many things – a sounding board, accountability partner, motivator, and success partner, among others. Coaches often work with people who are stuck and want to move forward, but don’t know how. In essence, coaches hold a flashlight, helping individuals to see where they want to go and to articulate how to get there. Coaches walk the path with the client, lighting up rocks and trees and other obstacles, until the destination is reached.
• A counselor provides guidance, specific information and advice to clients related to problems or goals. Qualified counselors may look deeply into the client’s past in order to help them in the present and future. There are counselors with specialties ranging from mental health and marriage/family to credit and homeownership, among many more.
• A consultant uses his or her expertise to benefit an individual or group client. Consultants may be engaged in a number of ways. A consultant might contribute to a project, create a business plan, provide advice or information, or research and make recommendations – just to name a few. There are mortgage consultants, business consultants, organizational development consultants, lactation consultants, image consultants, and many more.

Hopefully, these definitions will help you better understand who you are engaging if you choose to work with one of the 3 C’s. Still, we recommend that you ask a professional to describe to you what they mean when they call themselves a coach, counselor or consultant. What services will they provide? What will they not do? And what are their qualifications — what kind of education, training or licensing have they received? Do they have client testimonials to share?

Last but not least, for those of you still wondering, we love coaching because it’s empowering. There is no power dynamic between coach and client. A coach knows that you are the expert in your own life and merely helps you live your life intentionally. Coaching is illuminating. And in the world of money management, coaching can help you make lasting changes, resulting in greater financial security, prosperity and abundance.