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The pandemic has taken us on a wild ride up and down the good old Maslow pyramid. From empty grocery shelves to staggering case numbers, the constant bombardment of COVID-related news has left many of us with something we never thought possible before – experiencing the fear of not having enough basic needs and safety.

And of course, extended lockdown periods made us all long for more personal connections and a sense of belonging.

What is surprising, though, is the pandemic and its profound impacts have also created the opposite effect, where people strive for the highest level of needs – self-actualisation.

As I already mentioned in a previous CEO Letter, people acquiring different perspectives about their priorities in life is among the key driving forces behind the ‘Great Resignation” phenomenon. In a sense, the yearning for becoming a greater self and realizing one’s full potential, caused by the pandemic, is motivating more and more people to reach for the top of their Maslow pyramid.

There are many ways that lead to self-actualisation. And it’s up to each person to chart their own course towards that destination. Nevertheless, there is one particular way that can greatly accelerate the journey to self-actualisation, i.e. seeking help and guidance from a professional coach.

That is because one goal of coaching is to achieve self-actualisation through personal transformations. And by helping their coachees become self-actualised individuals, a coach can also have their own self-fulfilment needs met.

So in essence, being a professional coach can mean both you and others reaching the top of the Maslow pyramid. What’s not to like about it?

Coaching can impact an individual’s life and career, a team’s performance and cohesion, and a company’s bottom line and culture. Despite being such a powerful tool, coaching is still tragically underutilised. But it only means more opportunities for people like you to step up and become a professional coach.

Because it’s the right thing to do for your organisation, your employees, and, more important, yourself.

Arguably, coaching and mentoring have always been integral parts of leadership and management. All leaders and managers know, to an extent, they have to train and nurture their subordinates.

Many think they are pretty good at it. Unfortunately, hard cold data proves otherwise. In a study conducted by Havard Business Review, 3,761 executives are asked to rate their own coaching skills. The answers are then compared with those of people who are working with them. The conclusion is 24% of the executives overestimate their capabilities.

Even for the most competent and well-meaning leaders, coaching is a challenging activity. That’s why organisations have been increasingly looking for professionally trained coaches in recent years.

The global coaching market size reached $19 billion in 2019 with over half a million coaches practising around the world. PwC at that time rated coaching the second fastest-growing sector.

Despite being hit hard during the first year of the pandemic, as businesses and individuals alike scrambled to cut expenses anywhere they can, the coaching industry has recovered and continued to grow since 2021.

This is partly due to coaches and their clients adopting technology to conduct remote coaching sessions. But the major reason for this resilience is more and more business leaders realize that they need coaching more than ever to navigate this business-as-unusual environment.

As the global workforce undergoing gigantic shifts since the start of the pandemic, businesses are increasingly considering coaching programs a valuable asset rather than an expense that should be cut to save costs.

Not only do executives need to reinvent their leadership capabilities in an era of hybrid working and high turnover rates, but they also want a way to cope with all the pandemic-induced stress that they normally are hesitant to show.

For the rank and file, a leader who is professionally trained in coaching is supposed to be able to maximise their performance not by relying on control and coercion but by tapping on their hidden potential.

It may sound like an alien concept to some but most employees do want to do a good job. They want to be their best at work. So the benefit here is two-fold: the organisation enjoys a more productive workforce while the employees themselves are more satisfied and hence much less likely to leave.

Undoubtedly, becoming a professionally trained coach is a life-changing decision. On the one hand, you can transform your people, your business for the better, and even kick-start a new career in a lucrative industry.

On the other, the transition to a fully-fledged credentialed coach requires serious commitment. And I am not just talking about time and money. Coaching, in its truest sense, is more than a profession. It’s also a mindset, a way of life.

The good news is you can also become an effective coach and transform your employees and teams if you set your heart and mind to it. Of course, that needs dedication and special training – 125 hours of coaching training and an additional 10 hours of mentoring per ICF requirements, to be exact, in order to solidify your first stepping stone to unleashing one’s potential and generating sustainable growth.

There are many organisations that can train you to be a coach, I’m biased (yes I’m a CCMP and CCMC) and recommend ITD World’s dedicated coaching and mentoring programs for world leaders:

• Certified Coaching and Mentoring Professional (CCMP)
• Certified Chief Master Coach (CCMC)

Your chance to meet the world’s best business coaches and be your best self is here. For more information on each course timeline, structure, investment value and more, check out the links provided above.

Getting trained and certified is just the first step though. Just like almost everything else in life, coaching is a skill that needs to be practised and sharpened. Investing your time to provide free-of-charge coaching sessions, first to your organisation, and maybe to others, would be time well spent.

If you’re interested to know more about coaching, feel free to reach out to me.