MARUMAHOKO: Executive coaching

EXECUTIVE COACHING

80 per cent of people who are coached at work have increased self-confidence, and over 70 per cent benefit from improved work performance, relationships, and more effective communication skills. PHOTO | POOL

Today, all companies require a systematic approach to building the capacity of their people to handle the emerging growth opportunities they are angling for.

Each business leader, team and company have their own contextual limitations and to break through these barriers, they need to do things a little differently and this calls for executive coaching.

Available evidence shows that 80 per cent of people who are coached at work have increased self-confidence, and over 70 per cent benefit from improved work performance, relationships, and more effective communication skills.

Coaching identifies your blind spots and provides you with a sounding board that allows you to increase your chances of success by avoiding unnecessary pitfalls.

Which brings me to the issue of technology and how it will be used to be more effective at coaching. Erin Owen, an executive coach, notes that emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) present tools that have the potential to shape the way coaching is done for executives.

Since exposure to different environments and experiences forms a key cog in the coaching wheel, she notes that virtual reality presents an opportunity for business executives to be immersed without physically moving from their current workstations.

Drawing from lessons on travel restrictions that were imposed globally during the Covid pandemic, it shows that coaches in Africa can work with tech teams to develop these varied environments that are then embedded in the virtual software and used for coaching sessions.

Erin also writes that AI software can be programmed with specific data that relates to individual executives. This allows the executive being coached to receive content that is only relevant to their area of expertise or interest.

These are critical as they also integrate with assessment tools that the coach will use to generate reports that provide helpful insights.

Gamification is also an area that possesses great potential as a tool for better executive coaching.

I see a scenario where executive coaches will work with game developers to build real-life scenarios with highly relatable interactive characters speaking in local languages and within discernible cultural environments to deliver an even more immersive experience.

It is unlikely that technology will fully replace in-person human interactions where a coach can also structure interactions with a client based on visible emotions and body language.

But if designed and implemented correctly, it is going to be a major boon for executive and leadership coaching in Africa.

Marumahoko is the CEO of BPL Africa Connect, an executive and leadership coach, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

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