Consultant Coaching: Listen, Lead, and Offer What You Know

Inside your lived experience is the very thing someone else is praying for right now: a guide who’s been there and come through it.

We often underestimate the value of our own process. Maybe you walked through burnout, rebuilt your confidence, navigated grief, launched something from scratch, or reclaimed your identity after years of living on autopilot. Those moments felt messy when you were in them—but they’ve shaped how you think, how you lead, and how you help.

Coaching, especially the kind of work we do here, is not about becoming an expert who knows it all. It’s about stewarding the path you’ve walked and using it as a bridge to help someone else cross their own. You don’t need to know everything—you need to know what you know.

So let’s make this practical. Think about three areas:

1. Wisdom - What have you lived through that taught you something real and lasting? What principles or truths came out of it?

2. Skills - What have you learned to do that others ask you about? What comes naturally to you now that once felt foreign?

3. Experiences - What moments have marked you, shaped your values, or changed how you see the world?

   
   

Those three things together form the core of your coaching offer.

Look back at where you've come from and you'll be able to see all of the ways you can help others.

People don’t just want a how-to guide. They want a human who’s gone first. Someone who can say, “I remember being in that place. Here’s what helped me. Let’s walk it out together.”

And when you learn to tell your story with purpose—not for validation or attention, but for connection and direction—it becomes the foundation of a message that solves a problem. That invites transformation. That makes you not just a coach, but a guide.

Your story isn’t just your past. It’s your strategy.

That’s the heartbeat of a Consultant Coach.

It’s a hybrid model I’m going to be teaching more about—because a lot of us aren’t just life coaches who want to sit and listen. We’ve also lived some stuff. We’ve built things, led teams, parented kids, walked through valleys, started over. We don’t just know how to ask powerful questions—we have wisdom and experience to offer. But we want to do it in a way that doesn’t override the client’s ownership. 

Hear me out here though: I think life coaches who use the model of listening and asking without consulting on anything is valuable and needed. But it believe it works best for the right client who says that’s what they want. I just have personally found that when I used to coach that way without knowing for sure that my client wanted me to keep my wisdom, skills, and experience to myself they didn’t great results and I wasn’t personally moved by the power of the session. Most of my clients want feedback, tools, and guidance on how to navigate from point A to point B. So that’s what I began offering. And it’s been a blast doing it.

A Consultant Coach offers insight, tools, frameworks, even direction when needed—but always with the mindset that the client is the one in the driver’s seat. It’s not about giving them our path. It’s about offering what we’ve learned and helping them find theirs.

So if you’ve ever wondered how to bring together your story, your skills, and your spiritual gifts into something that actually helps someone move forward—this might be your lane. Consultant Coaching is about bringing the full weight of your experience to the table with humility and with wisdom.

It helps you to blend what you’ve lived, what you’ve built, and the way you naturally help people.

Consultant Coaching is a model that honors both your story and your skills. It’s for the woman who listens well, asks thoughtful questions, creates safety—and also has wisdom and experience she can share when the moment is right.

If you’ve ever thought:

• “I love coaching, but sometimes people need more than just reflection—they need direction.”

• “I’ve lived through so much and I know what helps, but I don’t want to be pushy or overstep.”

• “Can I guide without rescuing? Can I offer my knowledge without taking over?”

Yes. You can. That’s exactly where Consultant Coaching comes in. The world is full of people looking for help. We are motherless and fatherless and feeling powerless to make changes and figure out what we need to do.

At its core, Consultant Coaching is a hybrid approach.It holds space like a coach—but it also leads like a mentor or guide when needed.

It’s flexible, intuitive, but very human.

Let’s break it down:

The Coach Hat is curious. It says:

• “What do you think is happening here?”

• “What matters most to you right now?”

• “What do you want to try?”

The Consultant Hat is wise. It says:

• “Here’s something I’ve seen work.”

• “Would it help if I shared a few ideas?”

• “Can I tell you what helped me when I was in a similar season?”

The key is this: you don’t force advice—you offer it, with permission.You don’t hijack the conversation—you enrich it.You don’t skip their process—you support it with insight and structure.

Consultant Coaching works especially well for women who:

• Have walked through life-altering experiences

• Have built something—like a business, ministry, or movement

• Are naturally drawn to teach, guide, and offer perspective

• Care deeply about not overstepping, but still want to lead

This model allows you to bring your whole self into the conversation.Not just your listening skills, but your wisdom.Not just your empathy, but your experience.Not just your curiosity, but your clarity.

So how do you know when to switch hats?

Start by listening fully first. Always.

Coaching is the foundation. Presence is the starting place.And then, when the client is ready—when they’re open and asking—that’s when you can gently step into that consultant space.

And when you do it well, it sounds like:

• “Would you like me to share a few things that helped me here?”

• “I’ve seen a few patterns in situations like this—can I offer some perspective?”

• “This is yours to choose, but if it’s helpful, here’s what I’ve seen others try.”

You’re not taking control. You’re lighting the path.

And here’s the beauty: your client still owns the decision.They get to reflect and receive.They get to be seen and supported.They get the best of both worlds—because you’ve done your own work to lead with intention, not ego.

So if you’ve been wondering, “Do I have to choose between being a coach and being a mentor?”The answer is no.You just have to learn to dance between the two.

That’s what we teach inside our certification program—how to use a coaching foundation while bringing your own voice, method, and story into the room.

Because someone out there needs your experience.Not just your heart—but your hard-won wisdom.Not just your questions—but your guidance.

And friend, if that’s who you are—this model is for you.

Reader Challenge:

Your challenge this week?

List three things you’ve been through or built that people regularly ask you about.Then reflect on how you might walk someone through those same things—not with advice only, but with presence, reflection, and thoughtful support.

That’s Consultant Coaching.

That’s the future of personal transformation.

And that might just be your lane.