People often ask, what’s changed in the 20 years since I’ve been a coach?
One trend I’ve definitely noticed is the shift from future-focused coaching to present-focused coaching. Twenty years ago, and even 10 years ago, almost everyone I was coaching was focused on the future, on moving forward. That was a big part of coaching.
With today’s clients, even as I’m working with someone to come up with their vision forward, we’re also talking about how they can be more in the moment and savor today.
Even as people show up for their session, they often need to take a moment to breathe, get centered, and let the soul catch up with the body.
So coaching has become multi-directional in that way. Or maybe as I’ve grown and developed as a coach I’m more present to a need that’s always been there. Whichever, I think this is a great shift. As a culture we are so caught up in not connecting, not being in the moment, not being present, when this is really called for.
For example, in the past when organizations would hire me to coach their employers, it was about how “we need to drive this bus forward!” Today, I’m brought in to help managers relate to their staff in the moment instead of being so caught up in their phones.
How does being present in the moment help us achieve our future vision? As Max de Pree said, the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. It’s hard to get anywhere if you don’t know where you’re starting from. You can’t program a GPS without telling it where your journey begins.
The other piece is that the future is incredibly fluid; it changes. You’ve got to be in the moment to adapt as the present becomes the future. Ultimately, the future is only as good as the moments that you have getting there.
Coaching Globally