10. Coaching enters the digital age
Technology-wise, there are three kinds of coaches: high-tech, low-tech, and no-tech.
In the past, all a coach really needed to set up shop was a client, pad of paper, and pen. Many coaches eschewed coaching by phone. As recently as three years ago, 93% of Sherpa survey respondents coached their clients in-person all or part of the time. Today, that number has dropped to 40%.
Virtual coaching via high-definition video conferencing, Skype, and Facetime is overtaking in-person coaching. And that’s just the tip of the trend line.
Coaching is poised to experience a tech revolution. Experts such as Dr. David Petersen, director of executive coaching and leadership at Google, see unlimited possibilities for coaches to leverage new technology to reach clients and reinforce desired behaviors. A CoachTech panel at the 2015 Capital Coaches Conference spoke of high-tech tools for delivering learning prompts, homework reminders, provocative questions, and feedback in between coaching sessions. Pick a behavior you want to support and there’s probably an app for that. Here are a few examples on the market today:
Headspace is a popular smartphone app that teaches clients how to calm their nerves and clear their heads through meditation. It offers 10 meditation practices in 10 lessons lasting 10 minutes.
Similarly, the iPhone app Breath includes 15 meditation recordings of varying lengths, like Mindful Breathing, Body Scan, Be Present, Mindful Walk, and Gratitude.
HeartMath incorporates biofeedback technology into its Inner Balance App and Sensor to show clients their heart rhythm patterns as they experience various emotional states. Clients can plug into their smartphones or computers to get “real-time coaching” (though not a real coach) on how to change, and eventually control, their state.
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Rey Carr
December 27, 2016 at 2:34 pm
With the increasing use of polls and surveys by different coaching groups or independent survey firms, it has become more difficult to integrate the different findings into a coherent picture.
Carol Goldsmith integrates the results from different surveys/interviews brilliantly in this article; and for those with a short attention span, she’s even included the top 10 in an executive summary.
Most of the organizations that conduct coaching surveys do not point out the limitations of their instrument or data collection procedures. However, when such surveys are combined, as they are in this article, the resulting data can be more credible.
Carol Goldsmith
January 2, 2017 at 10:33 pm
Thank you for the kind comment, Rey. Glad you found the article to be useful.
Be your best, Carol
Carol Goldsmith, PCC, NLPT
The Discovery Coach