In early June, CoachSource® CEO Brian Underhill and SVP, Client Engagement Mary Dombrowski attended the NYU Coaching and Technology Summit. Now in its third year this standing-room only event attracts a broad audience including coaches, technologists, and leaders of talent inside organizations.
A notable omission at the summit was the discussion on privacy and security. Co-organizer Anna Tavis indicated that these topics would be addressed at the Berlin conference, but this felt like a missed opportunity given the global implications of such issues. In an interconnected world, we can’t afford to overlook privacy and security in isolation.
The event featured several paid sponsors, each granted stage time. This led to a product-focused narrative, which sometimes overshadowed a broader exploration of technology’s role in coaching.
One key theme that came up over and over was the “democratization of coaching.” There seemed broad consensus about the value executive coaching provides senior leadership in organizations and an intention to make that value accessible to all levels of the organization.
Discernment is another word that comes up with increasing frequency. As we are all dealing with so much technology, so many tools, so much information coming at us, the key tool we humans need to develop is discernment. It is simply not possible to take it all in, so we need to determine what warrants our attention and what does not. Rubrics help in this regard.
The organization side of the discussion was presented by Nicole Forward, Head of Executive Coaching at Netflix, and Matthew Breitfelder, Global Head of Human Capital at Apollo Global Management. Nicole talked about discernment in knowing when and where to use people for coaching versus leaning into the apps and technology. She talked of knowing which tools help leaders make good decisions in volatile circumstances and how to do scale while providing a human experience with impact. In her view, the HR technology tools to date emphasize the “doing but not the being.” Asking powerful questions that elicit responses leading to transformation is the role for great coaches. AI will only be as good as the prompts. Nicole also addressed that in order to develop future leaders of diverse backgrounds we need representation of inclusion in the coach pool (shameless plug, CoachSource® strives to offer a global pool of experienced executive coaches that mirrors the diversity of our clients’ employee populations). To date, she saw very little diversity represented in LLMs.
Matthew Breitfleder of Apollo also lamented the diversity and bias issues still evident in technology. He said the research has been done such that we know definitively how to eliminate bias but it has not yet been incorporated into the tools. His view is HR as a strategic function is the single most powerful tool to unlock performance because talent and culture are the critical elements of success in adopting new initiatives in any organization. He would like to see coaching much better integrated with L&D but does not yet see it able to deliver at scale. Any solution needs to include delivering the technology at scale, understanding OD (and eliminating bias) as well as addressing privacy concerns but to date 9 out of 10 solutions providers may deliver one or two but not all three.
On the product side, the companies are seeking to empower team leaders with data to drive transformation at scale. They feel the biggest value of coaching at scale is data and using an organizational heat map to identify where issues are occurring. For the people receiving coaching their goal is to “replace the best available human” for the individual on the receiving end. AI is also used to supplement providing support in between sessions (and is available 24/7). Ezra said in order to effect change inside an organization, 25% is the tipping point. Their use cases vary from accountability, decision making, creative solutions, career trajectory and navigating new systems or new tools. We saw interfaces that allow individuals to chat with a bot, which raised questions of privacy. Who exactly sees these interactions? How does the company review and use the data from these systems?
Last but not least were the tools for the coaches. While there were differing opinions on using AI to replace a high-quality transformational change coaching experience, there was wide agreement that AI can help coaches become better at their craft. In particular, AI was found to be a far more unbiased observer of coach behavior than human observation – helpful and accessible in learning and continuing education. Other tools like scheduling platforms, note taking and recapping of themes are available for coaches to spend less time on administrative tasks. Still there is the concern of maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of those being coached. CoachSource® has asked our clients if they are comfortable with our coaches using AI when it comes to their leaders. So far, the answer is no. No doubt that stance will be refined over time as the technology improves and the privacy and security concerns are addressed.
Across the conference, the value of executive coaching to effect transformation was not in dispute. Several times the reference was made to sports and the use of coaching to enhance individual and team performance. And, as in sports, different coaches, different players, different teams and different tools produce differing results. While there is no question that technology will play an increasing role in employee development and transformation until the privacy, security and bias concerns are addressed it seems the tools are still in nascent stages for delivery at scale.
Join our First Friday webinar on September 4 2024 at 1:30pm PT/ 4:30pm ET / 9:30pm UK where we will have a deeper discussion on the use of technology and AI in Executive Coaching.
Register for the Webinar here.