Coaching and consulting seemingly go hand in hand. But in actuality, they are quite different. A coach is defined as someone who aids individuals or groups in maximizing their performance in pursuit of their goals. While a consultant builds a strategy for individuals or groups to implement for a shared goal or venture. Let’s say the two are like a yin and yang. Wikipedia defines ying and yang as contrary forces that may actually be complementary. So let’s dive into the differences of coaching and consulting by analyzing them in film.
I watched the movie “The Legend of Bagger Vance”, as it applies to coaching, and “Twelve Angry Men” as it applies to consulting.
In the movie “The Legend of Bagger Vance”, a local golf star- Junuh- finds himself disenchanted, and out on his luck about returning to the game. The movie is narrated by a young boy- Greaves-, who is a fan of Junuh. Greaves attempts to persuade Junuh back into the game for a match against the greatest golfers of the era. Greaves ultimately plants a seed, that grows with the help of Bagger Vance.
Bagger Vance serves as Junuh’s coach throughout the movie. He appears seemingly out of nowhere, with advice in a take it or leave it fashion. Vance saw something is Junuh that he lost, and Vance attempted to help him find it. He coached Junuh by allowing him to find his swing.
There is an old saying- You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink- this saying applied to Junuh. Vance inspired him to see, and act on what he already knew, but didn’t force anything. This is coaching at its finest.
In the movie “Twelve Angry Men”, twelve jurors are to decide the fate of a young man who is on trail for murder. He allegedly stabbed his father, which resulted in death. There were several witnesses, and the men deliberate for about an hour in a heated, intriguing debate.
In the beginning of the film, there is only one juror who finds the defendant not guilty. As jurors, it is their civic duty to support innocence until proven guilty. The debate arises when – no one can seem to convince the lone juror that the defendant is guilty. The movie ends with the lone juror having convinced every juror of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Twelve Angry men showcases the beauty of rich consulting.
The lone juror, used logic, reason, and appealed to emotions of the other jurors. He utilized an emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is being in tuned with your own emotions, and understanding the emotions of others- such that you poise, and strategize in a way that maintains good will while delivering results. The lone juror showed empathy when needed, a steady calm, restraint, sadness, and hope. He appealed to each juror’s emotions all the while consulting them on the logic, and reason of reasonable doubt. He enlightened the jurors in ways they never saw coming.
Both movies are masterpieces for coaching and consulting. I wish I had more time to pontificate on my takeaways from the film. Grab a bag of popcorn and take a look for yourself. You will be amazed, and pleasantly surprised.
