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

Issue Twenty Eight: The Crisis of Expertise II–Blind Spots and the Role of Coaching

It is clear that we humans are influenced by a range of factors beyond our awareness. Beginning to understand these factors and implement techniques to become more aware of our thinking and decision-making, makes us smarter and reduces over-confidence, ignorance and poor decision-making. Given the resistance to these tools, leadership coaches and consultants are in a position to nudge their clients to apply these tools for better understanding and decision-making. These observations lead to an important question: in what ways are coaching practices concerned with the “blind spots” of clients (especially not knowing what they don’t know) and how does a coach address the unwillingness of some clients to acknowledge areas where they need but do not have adequate knowledge? In general, we must then ask: how common are these blind-spots in society or in business settings?  How does one as a professional coach go about identifying possible blind-spots in an individual and helping the individual see this for themselves? What are some of the techniques that can be used to help leaders?

Issue Twenty Seven: The Crisis of Expertise I–Setting the Stage

It is evident that the roles of leaders, particularly in a fast-changing world, and the roles of leaders, advisors, experts and that of lay-people is unclear (at least in many environments) leading to distrust, rejection and animosity. There is also the broader challenge that is now found in many societies. This is the widespread disbelief in expertise or at least the lingering skepticism that was precipitated by disparate, changing and often contradictory displays of expertise regarding COVID-19 over the past two years. Many people simply don’t trust either the competence or intentions of those claiming to be experts regarding health (and many other matters).

Issue Twenty Six: The Neuroscience of Coaching

Learning the basics of our biology validates humanistic and soft skills theories used in executive coaching and leadership development practice. Employees contribute more when they feel safe, have clarity, are included, treated equally, aren’t put down, and are provided autonomy. Laboratory studies using MRI technology validate these principles. As the field of behavioral neuroscience has evolved, it’s offered hard scientific evidence that leaders can understand. Coaches who grasp these dynamics and learn how to apply neuroscientific approaches can be more effective. This volume of The Future of Coaching features several articles related to the neuroscience of coaching.