The Future of Coaching

There are more coaches than ever before, and the opportunities available for coaches are in abundance. But will coaching endure as a viable and opportunity-rich profession? Where is the industry heading? 

If you’re about to jump into coaching, you’ll want an understanding of what’s ahead… 

Here are the predicted future trends within the coaching field. 

1. Leader/manager as a coach 

The benefits of empowering a team instead of controlling or commanding them, are becoming clearer to organisations.

Because of this realisation, organisations plan on equipping their managers and leaders with coaching skills instead. In fact,  the ICF noted that 65% of organisations aim to expand the scope of their managers and leaders using coaching skills in the next five years.  That means you can expect more opportunities in the corporate world. 

2. Professional qualifications required 

Coaching is an unregulated industry. However, as the field grows and more organisations show an interest in coaching, people will be looking for quality assurance. As it stands, qualifications are optional, but we can expect accreditation to become a necessity in the future. Even now, clients (especially corporate clients) demand accreditation before hiring coaches! 

The ICF is the main credentialing body for coaches. Those who do ask for accreditation tend to expect ICF accreditation specifically. 

3. Niche coaching will be in demand 

According to the Coaching Federation, coaches with niches will be more in demand than ever. Choosing one focus gives you the chance to specialise and stand out among other coaches. So, this is a great time to laser focus on one area if coaching is your chosen career. 

4. Digitalisation of coaching

Coaches don’t need to work with those local to them anymore. The pandemic showed us we can operate online through Zoom and other online platforms with ease. Now, coaches can expect to work with clients from all over the world! Taking your coaching practice online creates more opportunities, and not just for one-to-one sessions either – we’re talking webinars, online packages and more. 

This is why niching is an excellent idea, since you can reach people from anywhere. 

5. Need for results 

We can expect a stronger emphasis on tangible results within coaching. As a society, we want to datify everything. That’s why, at Optimus, we only teach evidence-based coaching. The approaches we teach GET those positive results. Success is much more likely with science backed approaches in your toolkit.