An Interview With Chad Silverstein
The mind and body are connected, and coaches should consider how they bring the body into their work. I already incorporate breathwork and EFT into my practice and being able to work in multiple modalities will support wellbeing in the future.
The world of coaching is undergoing a seismic shift, with emerging trends set to redefine its boundaries and possibilities. From digital transformation and the integration of artificial intelligence to the growing emphasis on mental health and the global rise of coaching cultures within organizations, these developments are reshaping the landscape of personal and professional growth. As we navigate through these changes, understanding the forces that drive the future of coaching becomes paramount. I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Yvette Ankrah MBE.
Dr Yvette Ankrah MBE is an award-winning transformational coach, consultant, therapist and trainer with over 25 year’s business experience. She is the Founder of Leading with C.L.A.R.I.T.Y — a corporate coaching, training and leadership consultancy.
Thank you for joining us. To start, could you share your “origin story” with our readers? How did you begin your coaching journey, and what challenges did you face in the early days?
I have been a coach for over 12 years now and when I started, I focused on being a business coach for women with micro and small businesses. I had moved away from the city I had grown up in and recently became a mother. I kept meeting some amazing women at mother and baby groups and many had businesses or were trying to establish something. There was little support and advice out there, so I transferred my business development knowledge and coaching skills to supporting these women. I created a programme, tested it out and based on the results started working with more women. I built up my practice alongside caring for my son, writing a PhD and my part-time day job. I won a Microsoft Business Award which was a great boost to the business. A few years into this journey I started to get ill. I was diagnosed with a condition called Fibromyalgia which leaves you in a great deal of pain constantly. I had failed to learn not to burn the candle at both ends and in the middle! The habits that had brought me success in my teens and 20’s were no longer serving me and were at the heart of burnout and ill health. My wake-up call was a hospital stay which included having a very painful procedure. This led me to change my relationship with myself and, fast forward a few years, to work completely differently, focusing on self-care and moving into mindset and therapeutic work. I had already started the shift into mindset work as my clients were making progress, but blocks would come up that my skills couldn’t remove — I trained as a Spectrum Performance coach before moving into Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
The three traits that have been instrumental to my success have been Determination, Grit and the ability to connect.
The path to getting my PhD was not smooth! From start to finish it took 10 years instead of the three I had envisioned — I got married, moved house, had a baby, got ill and launched a few things along the way. However, I was determined that I would complete, and I used visualization and other motivational techniques to get me there. It was a poignant moment finally walking across the stage at my graduation.
I was recently given an award for Grit — passion and perseverance — I am dedicated to my work but also to my family and needed to take a step back from business to support loved ones. I do not give up on my passions or dreams and love what I do so I have lived in alignment with who I am and kept my goals alive.
Connection is so important in what I do, and it is embedded in how work. I have always connected with people from all walks of life. I love sharing knowledge and helping people to grow and in turn am constantly learning from these interactions.
Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?
If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together
I love this quote — it’s an African proverb — as it speaks to working with others for your growth. Working with mentors and coaches has always been part of my career journey. I had my first mentor at 16 years old. I also am blessed with great people in my life who share ideas, collaborate on projects and co-work with me. As I grow and scale I am again working with mentors for the next part of my journey.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
I have spent many years developing training, and we are exploring a knowledge transfer project and potentially white labelling the content. It would enable coaches, trainers and in-house teams to have effective and tested content they can implement into their organizations to support their participants.
Without saying any names could you share a particularly memorable success story from your coaching career?
I have had the privilege of working with so many wonderful clients and I love witnessing the transformation in them. I’ll mention one who was not happy with their role and many things were not working, including the relationship with their manager. We worked together for several months and in that time, they improved their situation. They then decided they were ready for a new challenge. They got a fantastic new job, transformed their relationship with loved ones and they continue to take on new challenges. I always love receiving their updates and am proud of my part in their journey.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview about coaching. How has your approach to coaching evolved over the years, and what personal learnings have you applied to your development?
I moved into mindset and personal mastery and away from business coaching. Creating business plans and strategies is great but the person must believe they can implement them. When you train in the modalities, I use you also must work on yourself. Addressing my blocks, stories and beliefs has been a huge part of the journey. I am an eternal student! There is no technique or tool I use that I haven’t done or applied to myself. I also reach out for support when needed and build in self-care and boundaries, so I look after my mental and physical wellbeing. I practice what I preach!
How do you incorporate feedback into your coaching practice to continuously improve?
Feedback is built into my 121 sessions with clients and regular check-ins are important. When working with corporate clients’ feedback allows us to ensure that the participants are getting what they need and to continuously improve our offering.
Can you discuss an innovation in coaching that you believe is currently underappreciated but has the potential to significantly impact the field? There are so many ways in which AI dominates all fields and can be used in coaching in a multitude of ways. I see it as supporting the infrastructure of coaching and running a business rather than focusing on developing bots to have client conversations. They are great for research if primed properly and can support analysis and content generation. Using AI tools to automate business tasks, onboard clients and connect with your audience is a great way of being more effective with your time and allowing more focus on working with your clients.
In what ways can coaching address the evolving mental health needs of diverse populations in a digitally connected world?
Coaching can help people understand themselves better and find ways to thrive in a busy world. Coaches can enable people to work on their mindset, self-care and build resilience, which can all help improve mental wellbeing. A coach can help you create healthy boundaries and find tools to help you step away from the always-on culture that is the theme of our times. Coaching makes support accessible for many as it can be delivered through a variety of platforms — for example, I coach online and use WhatsApp and other tools.
Coaching is not the same as therapy but does have a role to play in supporting mental health needs across all ages. It provides a safe space for exploration and support can be given online from anywhere in the world. For some, there is still a stigma in seeking therapy whereas coaching may be seen in a different light. However, a coach should know the boundaries of their practice and refer a client if necessary to therapy. There is a place for coaching in the world of workplace wellbeing and providing psychologically safe spaces in organizations where people are supported. This encourages retention and creates environments where people can thrive.
How do you foresee artificial intelligence and machine learning transforming the coaching industry in the next decade?
I think AI could be used alongside coaching to enhance the work that we do and provide support in between sessions. It can enable more personalization and a deeper bespoke experience e.g. personalized assessments to support the interventions needed for specific client goals. I know there is consideration in using it to analyses tone and have it working alongside the coach in sessions and this might be where it goes in the next decade. Using it to support development and give feedback, for example practicing public speaking and having the tool feedback in real-time and providing suggestions. I also see apps and bots being available which help users continue learning in between sessions and after interventions which means that learning Is embedded and not lost. There is a role to play for AI that works alongside coaching, but it is not a replacement for human interaction as it is still prone to errors and there are things that people perceive that a bot cannot.
What role do you believe ethical considerations and privacy concerns will play in the future of coaching, especially with the increased use of digital platforms?
We will have to engage with privacy and where the information is stored even more than we do now. AI only learns through data so unless we feed it our content it cannot develop. Many platforms integrate your data and use it to train the tool. We will have to be assured of where our data goes, who has access and how we protect our clients.
Could you list and briefly explain “Top 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Coaching” based on your experiences and insights? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
1. AI for business and coaching
It will help automate and shape the backends of coaches’ businesses and has already started to do so. AI notetakers already attend meetings and companies are integrating WhatsApp with AI to engage with users. Using bots and automating diaries and admin tasks will give coaches more time. It will also enable clients to receive bespoke solutions — powered by AI their tasks can be analyzed; training can be more tailored and solutions even more tailored.
2. Coaching as a wellness choice
Those who value coaching are seeing the importance in their day-to-day life and having regular access to coaches might opt to have a regular subscription for support — PTs for the mind! The rise of Voxer coaching for accountability and the desire for clients to have check-ins to keep on track
3. More focus on deep work
Attention spans have become short, and people want to be able to focus again! We can help people get focused and deep in this fast-moving always-on culture. We get to support people with peak performance and provide skills that enable them to thrive.
4. Bringing in more holistic practices
The mind and body are connected, and coaches should consider how they bring the body into their work. I already incorporate breathwork and EFT into my practice and being able to work in multiple modalities will support wellbeing in the future.
5. Dealing with burnout and resilience
Burnout is on the rise and being able to help people avoid that path or recover is and will continue to be — we need to able to help people with this area.
How do you envision the integration of coaching within organizational cultures changing the landscape of leadership and employee development?
Coaching and coaching styles are being embedded into leadership training within organizations — coaching has become available across organizations and not just for the senior leadership team. Organizations are creating their internal coaches, and we have helped with their development. There is still a role for external coaching, especially when in times of transition. It is also helping some organizations prioritize wellbeing and create better leaders who care for themselves and those they support.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the coaching industry today, and how might we overcome it?
The biggest challenge facing coaching at present is saturation and standing out from the crowd. So many people are using the term ‘coach’ and entering the market. With the ever-changing world of work, you see more people coming into that space, particularly where I reside, which is in leadership, business and transformational coaching.
Being clear on what you stand for, who you support, and the transformation you provide is even more crucial. I see coaching as a craft to which I have dedicated a lot of time to learning and I continue to do so alongside having regular supervision. Being value-driven, on purpose and leading with integrity matters.
I would ask people to look at the coach’s training, if they’re a member of an accredited body, look at their testimonials and speak to their clients. What are their values? Do they talk about their purpose? Can they share their impact?
There is an ongoing debate about regulation, and I think this needs further exploration now.
What is one long-term goal you have for your coaching practice, and how are you working towards it?
My goal is for my company to expand globally — I have taken my British Certified Trainer certificate, and we have already delivered contracts aboard, we are now developing and deepening relationships with companies based in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.
How can our readers continue to follow your work?
The best place to follow and connect with me is on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvetteankrah/
Thank you for offering such valuable insights into the future of coaching. We look forward to seeing your work continue to reach new heights, and we wish you continued success.
Dr. Yvette Ankrah Of ‘Leading With C.L.A.R.I.T.Y’ On The Top 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Coaching was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.