As coaching has become more of a dominant word and activity within organisations in all its guises, so the consideration of it has become a very broad church. Increasingly I feel and experience that the words coach and coaching are becoming more diluted in their use. That they are becoming ‘all things to all men’. If this is the case what is the impact it is having on and around coaching? And, what does it mean for coaching as an entity?
Now some of you might prefer to say that coaching is evolving, perhaps giving its relative infancy as an organisational activity, into its more puberty years. This I respect, and am open to be convinced around this. However, this comes with risks and I also think it is more than just evolution.
Coaching’s dilution?
So, what am I seeing?
In no particular order. The word coach is being ‘basterdised‘ by many people and groups to meet their own needs and agendas. Perhaps this is because it is seen as a ‘trendy’ and desirous activity. Look at LinkedIn jobs and other jobs boards and you see various re-orientations of the word – Executive Coach (Apprenticeship Delivery), Leadership coach (actually with apprentices), Management Apprentice coach, Business Skills Coach, Mindset and Success Coach, Operational Excellence Coach, Franchise Training Coach.
Examine the job profiles of these roles and the actual proper coaching role within them is miniscule. The term coach has become a blended one incorporating training, assessing, monitoring, supporting, coordinating, sales. It appears there is a coach for every role and activity…
In reality, what these roles all require are not coaches per se, but people with strong coaching skills. Simple. But it is the recruiters, some HR and many managers who are mislabelling and misrepresenting coaching and coaches. Perhaps through a lack of coaching understanding, ignorance, carelessness or even deliberateness in the chase for candidates.
Coaching doesn’t help itself
In the coaching field, in some quarters coaching is becoming more blended with other areas. Consulting for example is becoming – ‘coachsulting’. Even the term ‘couching’ now exists, combining coaching and counselling. We also have companies who call coaching mentoring instead, because it suits their organisational perspective better making it a more ‘acceptable’ term and concept. It seems as though coaching bolted on, blended and hybridised, becoming its very own ‘Heinz Coaching 57’.
So, with the whole field becoming conflated, confused and overly fluid, are we at risk of losing the potency of coaching. And, potentially its role and original purpose outright? To the earlier point, I am not sure this is the evolution many might think it is, rather a more retrograde movement..?
As an aside. We also have multiple governing bodies who happily part share a similar umbrella in relation to coaching’s code of ethics, but have differing definitions, perspectives, competencies and qualifications around coaching. There is no movement towards a common, more universal definition and approach around coaching. A post-modernistic apathy seems to be prevailing, allowed or encouraged? This doesn’t enable consistency of messaging, education or enable accountability on what coaching is.
Impact of this dilution on our coaching world
What messaging does all this give to prospective coaches, coaching leaders and internal coaches? What confusion is created? How does it help those genuinely wanting to get into the coaching industry? Coaching is one of the most powerful development approaches that people and organisations have at their disposal. Yet organisations and recruiters are regularly undermining this position, through their badging of coaching into every conceivable role. Coaching doesn’t always have the best of names, so conflating and misusing the terms isn’t going to help.
For those people applying for ‘Management Apprentice Coach’ and other similar roles they are getting a misrepresentation of what coaching is and its purpose. Which isn’t fair on them or on the wider industry.
You might say I shouldn’t be so precious around this field of work I have committed myself to for the last 22 years? Maybe I am the one with the problem, the mis- perception? I am curious why coaching governing bodies and some of the coaching luminaries aren’t more standing up for the industry they reap a lot from. With the exponential growth or AI and AI in the field of coaching the situation is surely going to get worse?
Supporting your leadership and coaching development
Nick Howell is a leadership coach and leadership development facilitator. He is also the author of a leadership coaching book – Great Coaching Questions. He has worked across all sectors and at all business levels.
Contact Nick today at nick@abintus.co.uk to discuss your leadership or coaching needs to begin to transform your leaders and managers.