Chief learning officers should consult as well as coach stakeholders while partnering with business units to develop learning strategies. But to improve their influence and results they’ll need to clarify the difference between coaching and consulting, and find the right balance for each initiative they lead.
Both coaching and consulting begin with a well-defined problem, challenge or opportunity that is causing pain for the other party. That pain — including the pain of not seizing an opportunity and enjoying benefits — is what makes the other party receptive to coaching or consulting in the first place. If there is no pain, partners, peers and clients are unlikely to take interest.
