Universal Trends Impacting Coaches & Coaching

The following trends represent the ways society is evolving, and will continue to evolve over the next several years. 

Each of these trends has a direct impact on society's awareness of and need for coaching.  Which of these trends will you and your coaching practice be prepared for? One? Three? All?
 

1. Common interest communities will tend to define who a person is and what their opportunities are.

2. Work and play are converging.
Although people in the US are often criticized for working so hard, there is a trend in which people are wanting what they do for work to merge with what they do for play.  There are now dozens of books on the market showing how consumption isn't the ultimate goal of working and earning money.  People are getting more concerned about overall balance, health, and long-term viability than in short-term pleasure.  The primary goal of a job as being "earning money for play" is changing, as people realize how much time and energy is spent at work.  They're wanting work to be as much a part of the enjoyment of life as outside of work.  How this increases the demand for coaching:

Our culture doesn't know how to play.  Coaches can demonstrate, set a model for, and help clients understand how to blend work and play.

Coaches will help people identify what they really want out of life, and learn to create a balance, budget for the things they really need, and set boundaries around work and play that work for them. 
People may need some help from a career coach to make the transition to a job which is more personally satisfying, rather than merely about money. 

People will want to re-invent and get strategies that a coach can provide about the way their job is being performed today. Companies are doing this now, and it's going to simply increase over time.

People are going to be interested in finding new skill sets to make their job more interesting.

3. Women are taking more leadership roles in the workplace.
Women are becoming more CEOs, and having more leadership in government.  Women are moving into higher levels of management, and bringing with them their sense and style of living.  How this increases the demand for coaching:
Women bring more of a strength and collaborative-based way of thinking than men.  Rather than push their way through obstacles with brute force (and often alone), they'll seek outside and collaborative assistance.
Women generally have an increased sensitivity to quality of life issues.  They will be more concerned with the quality of life of their employees.  
The quality of communication will improve with women leading corporations, and the desire for improved communication, which leads to the need for coaching. 
Men will have to adapt to the changes, so there will be an increased need for coaching men.  
There will be an increased need for coaching both men and women on different ways to respond in the work place, especially with regards to stress and competition. 
More women are entering the MBA programs right now, and there is an increased emphasis on teaching coaching skills in the colleges.  This carries over to bringing coaching with them into the corporations. 

4. Convergence of technology with creativity.
Technology is allowing more creativity with more people.  Individuals who considered themselves "un-artistic" because they couldn't draw or paint, are seeing their creativity blossom through the use of technology, such as Photoshop.  Web sites, email, and all forms of technology are unleashing greater amounts of creativity.  How this impacts coaching: 
Coaches can become experts in the use of technology as a tool for creativity, helping many people tap into their own creative energy.

Technology is allowing coaches to reach people in more creative ways, providing coaching through technology, rather than through face-to-face connection alone.   
As more people start home-based businesses, coaches can help with the transition by showing them how to use technology to their best advantage.

5. Individuality is super-rewarded.
While this hasn't been true historically in Europe or Japan, individuality has been rewarded in the United States in varying capacities. Experimentation and creativity have been the driving forces of the 20th and 21st centuries.  Even while the largest corporations are getting larger, the number of small, independent, entrepreneurial companies is increasing.  In light of the recent scandals, it is becoming apparent that bigger isn't the key.  The August, 2002 issue of Fast Company magazine (http://www.fastcompany.com) demonstrates how poorly the bigger companies have performed.  The best, brightest, and most innovative people are leaving, forming their own companies.  How this increases the demand for coaching: 
People want the freedom to express themselves and create. Coaching fits right in with the development of creativity. 
The movement to a free-thinking society will naturally increase the demand for assistance in maintaining necessary systems in the midst of increased freedom.
People will want more coaching to help them identify and utilize their unique qualities, so that they, too can be super-rewarded for individual contribution.
People seek to define success on their own terms, and once they've made that transition, they're going to find the idea of personal evolution really appealing.

Want to learn more?
More details on all ten universal trends is available as a School of Coaching TeleClass; click here if you are an SOC member (you'll need your generic username and password to get in). 

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