Definition Of Coaching – The Difference Between Coaching And Training

What is a definition of coaching and how does coaching differ from training?

Solo Build It!

There is more than one coaching definition but here are a few from some the current leading writers and experts that reflect my own thinking:

‘It is helping them learn rather than teaching them’ (Gallway, T. 1986)

‘Unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance’ (Whitmore, J., 2002)

On the other hand training can be defined as:-

‘An organised activity aimed at imparting information and/or instructions to improve the recipient's performance or to help him or her attain a required level of knowledge or skill.
(http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/training.html)

With life or personal development coaching the emphasis is less on imparting information and more on the coach asking questions to help the coachee raise their own awareness, take responsibility, think through options and decide upon their own course of action..

So, is coaching a type of training? Whilst coaching is a means of personal development just as training is, it is fundamentally different from training in that the answers come from the coachee rather than the coach. 

See Also:-

What Is Coaching
Benefits Of Coaching In Organisations
Coaching And Interpersonal Development
Implicit Explicit Formal Informal Coaching
Can You Coach Yourself?

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