The Future of Coaching: Status, Direction, Strategies and Tools

Background

The genesis of this digital magazine is to be found in a two day meeting held in Santa Fe New Mexico during the month of November, 2012. Fourteen senior level professional coaches gathered together at the Santa Fe Conversation to talk about ways in which the field of professional coaching can be best nurtured. Sponsored by the Library of Professional Coaching (LPC) and choice magazine, the meeting produced some important insights and proposals regarding this nurturing process (many of which will be featured in future issues of this magazine). One of the proposals concerned the creation of a new digital magazine, hosted by LPC, which would focus on the future of coaching. About six months after the Santa Fe Conversations, the two of us, William Bergquist [WB] and William Carrier [WC], decided to collaborate on the founding of this new magazine, having both participated in the Santa Fe meeting.  This is the first issue of the third LPC magazine. We hope The Future of Coaching [FOC] will have a long future, as the field of professional coaching itself evolves and changes over the years to meet new client needs and societal challenges.

Each issue of FOC will contain articles in most of the following categories: (1) articles based on research about coaching or based on some concept(s) related to the theme of the issue, (2) articles written about or by leaders in “partner” organizations that are concerned uniquely or extensively with the theme, (3) conversations (usually interviews) with professional coaches who are doing work that relates specifically to the theme, (4) conversations (usually interviews) with leaders of organizations who represent or are faced with challenges related to the theme, (5) tools of the coaching trade related to the theme, (6) strategies and tips related to running the business of professional coaching and caring for the soul of the coach (and clients)  and (7) book reviews related to the theme.

While we recognize that there is quite a bit to do in producing each issue of FOC, we have already received considerable support from our colleagues at the Santa Fe Conversation and from many friends and colleagues who were not at the Santa Fe meeting. We are particularly honored to have the support of John Lazar, who, along with one of us [WB], founded the International Journal of Coaching in Organizations [IJCO]. While this wonderful journal no longer is being published (due in large part to the recent rise in costs associated with producing and distributing a high quality printed publication), we will be able to include articles from IJCO in their original form or as revised by their original author(s).