TRAINING VS. COACHING
There have been a few coaching discussions lately and the term ‘coaching’ and ‘training’ are sometimes used interchangeably. The terms may seem similar but have a fine distinction between them.
From a personal perspective, I have been working as an Agile trainer and I am also getting qualified as an ICF credentialed professional coach. This article aims to address the confusion and I hope it can be helpful for people to obtain a better understanding.
Training vs. Coaching
So what is the difference between Coaching and Training? Whilst there is a learning process involved in both concepts and they are complementary to each other, they serve different purposes and adopt different approaches in the delivery process.
Please see below the key differences I have summarised:
| Training | Coaching |
| Trainer transfers knowledge and skills | Coach actively listens and asks powerful questions |
| A trainer provides external information to the audience | Coach helps coachee to build self-awareness and belief, and removes inner blockers |
| Learning focused | Development focused |
| A trainer is an expert | Coach may or may not be the expert |
| Trainer drives the learning process, the trainer owns the actions | Coach partners with the coachee and facilitates coaching conversations, coachee owns the actions |
| Usually structured and follow fixed agenda | Usually unstructured and follow the coachee’s agenda |
| Typically done in a group setting | Typically conducted on a one-on-one basis |
| Short-term timespan | Mid-term to a long-term process |
Be Trained to Become an Effective Coach
Coaching is about partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process which inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. It is a refined methodology that enables maximum effectiveness, and a set of skills that can be developed through practice. Some people tend to mix up coaching with problem-solving, but coaching offers far more than merely providing ‘quick fix’ solutions.
Coaches actively listen and ask the right questions to help people improve self-awareness and build capability to transform and achieve the desired outcome. They work in partnership with clients to motivate, challenge and inspire them to maximise their potential and generate innovative and sustainable solutions from within. For the coaches to gain their competencies, they need to develop the skills, experience, character and compassion to positively influence their clients’ development journey. This involves being fully trained on the subject, and a lot of learning and practices.
Make sure you also check my other article on coaching here.
Adopt Coaching Skills to Become an Effective Trainer
Trainers have an abundant understanding of the subject matter and can transfer their knowledge to the audience in a structured and logical manner. Training implies a linear transfer of information, and research conducted by IBM on adult learning suggested that the if the audience is being told of a piece of information, only 70% of them can recall it after 3 weeks and 10% after 3 months. In other words, the effectiveness is limited if training is intended to just pass on pieces of information.
The recall score increased dramatically when the audiences are not only being told but also have experienced the learning. The IBM research revealed that in this case, 85% of audiences can recall the information after 3 weeks and 65% after 3 months. This finding echoes with the ‘Concrete Practice’ from the 4Cs in Training From the Back of the Room (TFBR) while designing your class.
In my practice as an Agile trainer, I found coaching a very useful tool to engage the group and provide the class with a unique journey with a great experience. I have actively asked audiences questions, invited them to think on their feet and resonate with themselves. I introduced Agile concepts and training content, facilitated the class to practice in teams, and delivered impactful and sustainable results.
Make sure you also check my other article on Training here.
Training and Coaching
In summary, training and coaching complement each other in equipping learners and driving them to move ahead to achieve their goals. I use the analogy of training and coaching working together like the way we playing tennis. Training is about the technicalities of developing the skills on how we serve, hit the ball, and move in the court which are extrinsic. Coaching is about the belief, the drive to succeed, and removing the inner barriers which are intrinsic. Despite that training and coaching are distinct practices, they can work well together and deliver successful outcomes. Training transfers the desirable knowledge and skills, coaching instil the learning and enthusiasm from the training to the workplace in a more sustainable way with greater influence.
