There’s no doubt that the world of coaching is changing fast. But how can we predict and ride these waves of change? A stating point is to take a systemic perspective, in which we can identify three key forces interacting and moderating the pace and direction of change. The first of these is technology. Rapid (more…)
Studies from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands have found that the benefits of a holiday/ vacation disappear within a week. Jessica Bloom, the scientist who conducted the study, recommends six restorative activities that we can use across the year. Together they from the acronym DRAMMA. D = distancing yourself from negative or stressful (more…)
Professional coaches and mentors are in the business of people development. It might be expected, therefore, that they would be role models for self-development, both generally and as coach/mentors. The reality is somewhat different. In a number of workshops and seminars in recent years, I have asked coaches “How many of you have a Coach (more…)
Team coaching is the fastest growing area of coaching. There are around 5,000 accredited team coaches globally and an estimated need for 150,000 in the next few years. The two main professional bodies in coaching, the ICF and the EMCC, have both created accreditation routes to certify coaches, who work with teams. So what’s behind (more…)
Once trust is broken in a team, it is hard to recover. Yet the requirement to collaborate remains as strongly as ever. Mistrust between two individuals affects all the team, with other members either taking sides or suffering the discomfort of trying hard to stay neutral. Mediation or conflict resolution can hammer out a compromise (more…)
The executive knows she has a tough week ahead, with some difficult decisions to make. Once upon a time, she might have had a PA, but now she has a dedicated AI. On the way to work, she talks over with her AI assistant what has to be accomplished today. When she gets to (more…)
When historians look back at how companies and society tackled diversity and inclusion in the first half of this century, they will most likely comment that good intentions led to far slower progress than intended. They will point out that well-meant initiatives, such as implicit bias training, not only failed to have any lasting impact, (more…)
Personal development plans are a great idea in theory, but in practice simply become another file at the bottom of the desk drawer. There are many reasons for this, but one of the main ones is that all the responsibility lies with the individual to put the plan into practice. Here’s a simple, but (more…)
One of my fondest memories of my late colleague David Megginson was a day in Kathmandu, where a group of coaches and academics had gathered for a Himalayan trek. The tourists around us tried not to lock eyes with the colourful characters around us, sometimes appearing quite comical in their desire not to engage. David, (more…)
Most people have some strong opinions, but these don’t normally prevent them from having rational discourse. However, some people present to coaching with deeply closed mindsets, by virtue of, for example, extreme religious or political views, or adherence to irrational conspiracy theories. What makes them so difficult to coach is their inability to accept the (more…)