mentoring and supervision for human coaches will still be viable at least in the next 5 years but I am concerned if these 2 aspects of reflective work of a coach will also be replaced by AI. In the mentoring space, I note that the use of tools such as Raenotes can pick up coaching competencies in an audio recording with about 60% accuracy. ChatGPT, Claude, etc. can engage in intellectual discussions on issues faced by a coach and provide almost similar support as a human mentor and supervisor.

the philosophy and practice of coaching—shifting from individual-centered growth to a broader, planet-centered purpose—will evolve toward co-creating a better ecosystem through collaboration between human and AI coaches.

competencies, while helpful to start with, become less relevant as we gather experience. Relational skills and collective work begin to matter more. Being able to bring the proper focus, mindset, and attention to match the coachee’s needs at any given moment is essential. Learning is less effective in silos and more transformational in collaboration with peers.

leaders are not primarily asking for better strategies. They are asking for clarity in confusion. The pace of change is relentless, but what exhausts them most is not workload. It is meaning overload. Constant decisions. Constant noise. Constant uncertainty.

Hunch:
The future of coaching will shift from performance acceleration to sense-making. Coaches will increasingly serve as thinking partners who help leaders slow down, interpret complexity, and act with intentions.

ICF is becoming an instrument in the hands of technology corporations, and therefore, state authorities. The coaching I felt attracted to is not about brain-computer interfaces tracking emotions and cognitive states. I am not interested in being an agent of government bodies using tech to control human inner states and human behaviour. Have we not learned anything from the experience of communism? Our highest human potential does not wait to be tracked – but uncovered and reverently supported.