The Complete Lawyer

Coaching has become a buzzword in the last five years. Lawyers hire coaches to help with everything from business development and leadership to time management and life balance. Many law firms have jumped on the bandwagon as well, forming coaching committees designed to provide internal “coaching” for their lawyers. However, as coaching has become more popular and widely accepted, the lines between coaching and other disciplines have become blurred. When is a relationship between two individuals coaching, and when is it something else entirely, such as mentoring, consulting or counseling?

Coaching, according to the International Coach Federation (ICF), involves “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. Coaches help people improve their performances and enhance the quality of their lives.” In addition, professional coaches are “trained to listen, to observe and to customize their approach to individual client needs. They seek to elicit solutions and strategies from the client; they believe the client is naturally creative and resourceful.” At the core, a coach provides support “to enhance the skills, resources, and creativity that the client already has.” In other words, true coaches don’t provide the answers; they provide the questions and the framework to elicit answers from the client.

Although some lawyers may prefer to work with a coach who is also a lawyer, in reality, coaches who are experts in the art and science of coaching can coach anyone in any field.

It is important to remember that coaches draw out their clients’ innate wisdom by asking targeted questions and facilitating directed thinking—not by relating the situation to their own experience. Coaches help clients achieve change and results by serving as confidential, neutral partners who are objective and non-judgmental. Through their specialized training, coaches learn specific competencies including becoming experts at listening contextually for what is said and done and what is not being said and done.

Now let’s see how coaching differs from mentoring, consulting and counseling. It’s important to respect the differences. If we don’t, we not only diminish the true value of coaching, but we create false expectations as well.

A Coach Is Not A Mentor

According to Merriam-Webster, a mentor is a trusted counselor or guide. YourDictionary.com defines a mentor as a wise, loyal advisor and lists “teacher” or “coach” as alternate definitions. No wonder we confuse coaching and mentoring!

Traditionally, in the law firm environment, a mentor has been someone who advises and guides others based on her own knowledge and experience. Because the mentor has already traveled down a certain path, she can advise you on what to expect as you walk down that path, including the benefits and pitfalls you will experience. A mentor will frequently provide advice or will teach the “mentee” about a certain subject matter or course of action. And although a mentor may ask open-ended questions (a hallmark skill of coaching), the mentor will generally not be trained as a coach and will feel that her primary role is to give advice.

There is no question that mentoring can be extremely valuable, particularly to younger associates in a law firm. However, mentoring differs from coaching in two important ways.

First, coaches are supposed to be objective, and to advise from an impartial perspective. In contrast, a mentor speaks from the perspective of his own experience. As a member or employee of the same law firm, it is actually impossible for the mentor to be truly objective or unattached.

In addition, mentors typically receive little or no training on how to fulfill their roles. They are simply expected to advise and teach from their personal experience and to create relationships with the people they mentor. True coaching, on the other hand, requires training to learn and practice certain core skills that are intrinsic to the coaching relationship, such as how to ask open-ended, powerful questions; how to listen, and to provide structure for accountability.

A Coach Is Not A Consultant Or A Counselor

It is equally important to make a distinction between coaching and two other disciplines: consulting and counseling.

As noted above, coaches do not need to have expertise in a field to help someone in that field. The hallmark of consultants, however, is that they have experience and expertise in a specific subject area. They are then hired to analyze and address a particular issue and to give advice about what needs to be done to remedy a problem or change a situation. They may use coaching skills in their work but only as a tool to complement their other professional skills.

Coaching is also quite different from counseling or therapy. Generally, the therapist-client relationship is based upon the medical model which assumes that the client/patient needs to be diagnosed, treated and/or cured. Coaching operates from the premise that each client is whole and may desire guidance but does not need to be fixed. Therapy also tends to address the current issue by reviewing past factors. Coaching begins with the present and helps the client move forward toward a more fulfilling life consistent with his or her values and vision.

Which Helping Professional Is Right For You?

Let’s examine these different roles by discussing an example from real life. Jane, a third-year associate, has been having a difficult time communicating with Mike, the partner she works with most closely. How might a coach, mentor, consultant and counselor uniquely help her?

Jane’s trained and credentialed coach might ask: “What are the hallmarks of good communication? Whose communication style do you admire? What are the key components of that person’s style? What do you want Mike to hear? What works in your communication with Mike? What doesn’t?” By asking these directed questions, figuring out the answers, and creating a way for Jane to be held accountable, Jane and her coach will develop a personalized roadmap so that she can better communicate with Mike.

Jane also consults Sherry, her mentor—a junior level partner in her firm. Based on her experience with Mike, Sherry advises Jane that very direct, to-the-point email communication works best with him. She also suggests that Jane invite Mike to lunch and ask him questions about some of the clients she serves. This type of conversation, Sherry counsels Jane, will help boost Mike’s confidence in Jane and create a stronger relationship between them.

Jane also hires a communication consultant. Drawing on his expertise, he teaches Jane some of the fundamentals of good communication. He then advises her on how to use those skills in her situation with Mike.

Finally, Jane visits a counselor or therapist, who asks if Jane has always had communication issues, or issues with male authority figures. They then discuss ways Jane can change her future behavior so that it does not mirror her past.

As you can see, coaches, mentors, consultants and counselors all have unique and valuable approaches, and would treat the same dilemma very differently. Each may use coaching skills as a tool but only the trained coach will fully embody the coaching perspective. It is important for the integrity of each of these roles and professions that coaching be called coaching only when it truly meets the definition.