Wondering what impact artificial intelligence will have on our profession?
What does the development of technology and the introduction of AI into coaching mean for coaches, coaching trainers, but also for our clients? These are three different perspectives to reflect on and learn from for the future.
From a customer perspective, the introduction of AI will be extremely valuable and helpful. He can already prepare for a coaching session thanks to technology. Working with chat or with special coaching apps will help him set development goals and discuss his values. It is likely that paid applications are coming soon – within 6 months. This will result in the democratization of coaching, which is still a limited service. Thanks to apps, anyone will be able to use it more cheaply than with a “live” coach, all you need is internet access. Also, organizations will have the opportunity to purchase coaching services, up to a certain level, of course – allowing employees to prepare for important meetings, such as with a supervisor. Certainly such a session will not be very complicated, but enough to stimulate his self-reflection.
From a coach’s point of view, the introduction of AI into coaching raises more concerns. This is because it involves several consequences. There will be an increased demand for coaches with a higher level of sophistication, whom AI will not be able to replace, whose interventions come from a much broader horizon and who are more experienced. But how do we gain this experience? What will be the barrier to entry into the profession? These are difficult questions and will be equally difficult to answer.
This should certainly force coaches to reflect on the added value of their work compared to typical interviews and educate those skills that cannot be easily copied. Emotional intelligence and the ability to incorporate “collaboration” with AI into their processes will also prove important here. With the initial chat work, the client will come to the session already with thoughts. I’ll admit that I would like it that way.
Regardless of how much concern we have about artificial intelligence, we must accept that it is a reality from which there is no escape.
When it comes to being a coaching coach, it is important to consider what competencies you are teaching: unique or repeatable. Already, basic development or business dialogue skills are being taught through VR environments, interacting with an avatar. We at Kingmakers have followed suit and created several VR scenarios from competencies involving collaboration and communication, which we are implementing with Metaskills. While learning basic skills will be done on your own or with an avatar, advanced competencies will be acquired from specific masters, learning selected styles that are difficult to copy.
