The Blind spots in the Coaching world
I know it's not a great marketing strategy to critique the industry that you work in. But, there have been a few things bugging me about the coaching world for a while, and given current developments in the world, these seem even more pronounced now.
There is a narrative from some coaches that you just need to change your mindset and then you will have the most amazing life. So much is put down to you and your individual goals with zero regard given for your life context and wider societal and cultural issues and norms. That you and only you are the issue and therefore if you could just ‘change your mindset’ you'd be grand.
Of course there is a place for mindset shifts and positive mantras, but if they are the only tools in the coach’s toolkit and they have no knowledge or interest in acquiring knowledge on wider societal issues, patriarchy, misogyny, racism, white supremacy, capitalist systems of oppression and many more, it’s not good enough. It is essentially blaming people for not having their act together in a very passive aggressive, gaslighting way.
Ultimately, we do have to take responsibility for our own lives but any coach who does not take into account your gender, class, race, history of trauma (big T’s and little t’s), sexual orientation, disability, etc., and keeps going with the ‘just think positive and set your goals’ narrative, I feel they are doing a disservice to their clients.
Coaching training in general seems to steer away from getting into clients’ history and background. I get it to a point, as coaching is about forward moving and not going into the past. But not acknowledging wider issues and societal structures that prevent certain groups of people from being on the same page as others is a serious blindspot. To date my experience with the main professional bodies Continuous Professional Development (CPD) seminars have been the usual corporate topics of getting the most out of the individual. I haven’t seen anything on coaching using a diversity lens or anything that acknowledges that we live in a world that affects our ability to make changes in our lives.
I am not claiming to have a full grasp of all of society's issues (who does?), but I am committed to always learning more and have been for many years. And I have a lot more work to do, it’s forever ongoing as humans evolve. Coaching can be really beautiful, transformative and supportive and I know some amazing coaches who are always looking for new ways to support their clients.
If you are thinking of going to a coach, it’s important to use your head & heart to discern who is a good fit for you. I would suggest to always have a free check-in/chemistry call before you book (don’t just go on their Instagram feed) and ask them a couple of the questions below. A coach who is solid in their professionalism and ethics will welcome questions even if they don't have all the answers!
What are your qualifications? How long did that course last? What did you work at before that?
Are you registered with a professional body?
Do you have a coach and/or supervision yourself?
Do you have a code of ethics?
What style of coaching do you use? A particular model?
How much Continuous Professional Development (CPD) do you do?
What are your other interests?
What are your views on gender inequality, anti-racism, body autonomy... (whatever issues are important to you)?
It’s important to find someone who has similar values to yourself, is qualified and is constantly evolving and getting support for themselves. They may not have all the ‘perfect’ answers to the questions above and that's ok too. Each industry needs to check in where our blindspots are and the coaching professional bodies and training centres need to do a whole lot better in this area.
