Coaching Compared to Training

While training and coaching both promote learning, they do so in different ways.

Although they are distinct activities, training and coaching can work very well when used together. One classic obstacle encountered in business training is the difficulty of transferring skills and enthusiasm from the training room to the workplace. At Ascent, we see Workplace and Executive Coaching as extremely useful in helping people apply what they learn from a course to achieve the results they are seeking in their day-to-day work. In one 1997 study by Olivero et al in the Journal of Public Personnel Management training a group of executives resulted in a 22.4% improvement in productivity. However, when training was combined with one-to-one Executive Training there was an 88% improvement in productivity.

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Training Coaching
Teaching specific skills or knowledge Facilitating thinking and learning by working on live work or personal issues
Trainer is the expert Person receiving the coaching is the expert in their life(Transformational Coaching)
Agenda is set by trainer/organisation Agenda is set by individual (Transformational Coaching) or individual and organisation (Business Coaching)
Often a group exercise Often one to one and tailored to the individual needs of the person being coached
Usually based on achieving competence Focused on achieving more adaptive and effective performance
Success determined by attainment of skills usually assessed by trainer Success determined by achieving personal and/or professional goals and is often difficult to establish by purely quantitative methods. Success is often determined by person being coached and/or by the sponsor of the coaching