An Interview with Chad Silverstein
Continuous learning — Today’s world is encouraging all people to develop new skills. Continuous learning helps all employees be successful in their current role but also strive for what the future holds for them. We can’t progress in our roles unless and until we take the time to learn new skills, attributes in whatever our current interests are. Employees should be aware that interests, passions and goals change. Through continuous learning we can achieve what the future holds for us all.
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 Anne Bloom, SHRM — SCP.
Anne Bloom focusses on executive/leadership coaching and being a trusted advisor to all leaders. Anne works with small to mid-size businesses to help develop strategy plans to move businesses forward, determine goals, build better relationships with employees, colleagues, clients, build rapport, help to meet your personal and professional goals while ensuring growth, both personally and professionally. Anne looks forward to working with individual leaders and teams and will aspire you through coaching and advising.
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?
My coaching story started over 30 years ago while I was working with a new leader in an established company with an established workforce. This leader had an idea that leading meant brow beating employees into submission. He believed that the louder he yelled the more people would listen. When he became a leader, the company experienced increased attrition and low morale. We had many discussions about perception, understanding, being humble and accepting that people wanted to be treated the same way you would treat yourself and your loved ones — The Golden Rule. The challenges were many — lack of understanding, caring about people, being unclear on how to lead to success. I believe the same challenges impact some of today’s leaders. It would be great if leaders took a step back and asked questions and listened to the answers. They would find their sweet spot and learn how to lead. I believe the answer is at the table and leaders need to listen to others to grow.
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?
Three-character traits that led to my success were:
Empathy — When working with leaders today it is important to understand not only our thought process but the thought process of our clients, colleagues, friends and family. Having empathy for others helps y clients achieve their goals as we work towards what is right for them. I had a client who did not understand the benefits of a process he wanted to implement. He asked me to review a communication he wanted to send out to his employees. The communication was all about him and not about “Why”. We had a discussion on the benefits of this implementation. What did he want to achieve and how would it benefit the employees? Unfortunately, he didn’t know the answer to that question. He was talking to a family member who suggested that implementing this process would benefit his clients. After our discussions he realized that he didn’t ask the right questions to understand the recommendations; took it at face value and ran with it. I helped him to realize that what he wanted to do may not be right thing for his company until such time that more thought and understanding was given.
Ethics — I am a strong believer in being an ethical leader. I was working with a start up leader who wanted to implement a Code of Ethics for his employees. Through discussions I helped him to understand the meaning of this and what needed to be included. His perception that a Code of Conduct was the same as a Code of Ethics. There are multiple differences. A Code of Ethics is a set of principles that distinguish right from wrong, while a Code of Conduct includes rules, principles, values, and behaviours that help an organization succeed. We talked about the culture he wanted to achieve, working conditions, acceptance of others and through this conversation he established what was right for his growing company.
Humility — This to me is the biggy. I have learned over the years that being humble ensures that I LISTEN to others, that I LEARN from others and that I ACCEPT others for who they are. As a coach I need to ensure that my clients, colleagues, friends and family know they can rely on me to be the person of reason and the person that is open to learning. I follow this trait in everything I do.
Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?
There are so many but the one that resonates with me now is a quote from Mark Twain — There are two important days in your life — the day you were born and the day you discover “why”. This is a life lesson because we each need to discover our why, our purpose and what our legacy is that people will remember us for and by. I believe there is no better way to ensure we leave this earth a better place and that our loved ones and business colleagues and associates recognize the difference we all make in their lives. There is no greater purpose.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
I recently started a new business — Your Aspire Coach. I am working on setting up that business, website, brand and logo. There is a sense of gratification and excitement to see this come to fruition. As I work towards building my brand, I have an opportunity to ensure that current and future clients know and understand that what they see is what they get. Building transparency of services is important to ensure acceptance, work ethics, humility and understanding. As a non-directive coach, I work with leaders to help them recognize steps needed to ensure both personal and professional success. I use assessments, ongoing dialogue and a tool called “Ikigai”” to achieve results. I am excited about what the future will bring
Without saying any names could you share a particularly memorable success story from your coaching career?
I was hired by a company to work with several of their leaders to assist in building engagement, morale, goals and objectives. Some of the leaders were new to leading, needed to understand their purpose in leading and how they wanted to lead. The outcome was extraordinary. All the leaders walked away from our sessions with a greater understanding of leading employees, how to build morale, how to engage, and ways to reduce attrition and burn-out. The company leaders are thriving, building morale, empathy, listening skills and acceptance of their employees.
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 own development?
Prior to five years ago coaching was about the overall success of the team — How to work together, performance management and skills development. Today, I work with individual leaders and executives to help them understand the impact they make on their colleagues, teams, business, clients. I now focus on building individual skills that will help them grow both personally and professionally. Coaching today is not only about business growth, but also about personal growth. Leaders are learning they can’t be a different person when they leave work, but they need to focus on how to ensure acceptance of that work person at home and the home person at work.
How do you incorporate feedback into your coaching practice to continuously improve?
Providing feedback is important to improving not only my coaching capabilities, but also the capabilities of the person receiving the feedback. I want and need to continuously learn to grow. I ensure that when I give feedback it is not destructive but builds the person up to feel they can accept that feedback in the manner it is given. I expect the same from others. When giving feedback we need to ensure it is constructive to allow for growth, understanding and acceptance. Feedback can be given in numerous ways, direct or indirect, written or spoken. I always believe in taking the direct approach. If a person can’t or won’t look at me directly to provide feedback, then I wonder how valid the feedback is. I want and expect feedback to be given with examples on why I am perceived the way I am and provide examples on how to improve.
Can you discuss an innovation in coaching that you believe is currently underappreciated but has the potential to significantly impact the field?
I believe that technology is only going to become more widely used in coaching. Any use of technology whether its AI and other tools will be widely accepted due to the benefits it will bring — clarity, conviction, capacity, coalition and culture. The use of any type of technology will help coaches cast a wider net to engage, motivate, and bring teams and individuals closer to build a culture of acceptance, collaboration and growth. When leaders and employees accept that AI is here to stay and will only grow with use, that it will bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and ease to help us do our jobs better and with more clarity and conviction. Coaches, leaders and employees will benefit greatly from the use of technology and all it has to offer.
In what ways can coaching address the evolving mental health needs of diverse populations in a digitally connected world?
Today’s world has increased stress, mental health and well-being in many leaders and employees. Over the last 5 years, Covid has done a disservice to many people — isolation, uncertainty, health issues and job insecurity. Coaches have an opportunity to work with leaders, executives and employees to build acceptance and changing mindsets. Coaches can help individuals in finding ways of dealing with the above feelings and building strategies to work through negative thoughts. As a business coach I work with leaders in building plans to help their employees work through return to office scenarios. Several employees are struggling with returning to the office as they have been productive, met deadlines, built rapport with colleagues and leaders all while working from home. I believe that leaders need to listen to their employees as they will tell them what works best for them. Leaders enforcing a complete return to the office may create more harm for employees and increase feelings of mental health, uncertainty and insecurity. It may also increase attrition rates and the continuation of the mass exodus to employers who continue to promote hybrid or work from home. We have a chance to reduce these issues and we should take the opportunity to help rather than hinder.
How do you foresee artificial intelligence and machine learning transforming the coaching industry in the next decade?
AI and machine learning are starting to transform the coaching industry. I use fireflies.ai to record my meetings so that I can concentrate on listening to my clients without taking notes. Fireflies.ai transcribes my sessions and provides me in real time with an overview and synopsis of the conversation.
Chatbots also help in answering questions, providing information and offering recommendations that enhance my coaching strategies.
I read that CHATGPT now has a legal program to help us with any legal questions we may have. Our clients also use these tools to help them in their day-to-day. AI and machine-learning cuts down on time, increases our ability to learn quicker and get answers at our fingertips quicker. As an example, LinkedIn has a vast online learning tool to help employees. I believe that these and more technology offerings will only continue to grow and improve.
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?
Ethical considerations and privacy concerns are being acknowledged today with tools being established to help coaches, with the most important one being our client contracts. It is important that all contracts have the appropriate clauses to ensure coverage of the services we provide, in the questions we ask, and discussions with have. My clients need to be confident that I will not provide false or misleading information as that is not ethical. As our digital capabilities grow, there will be a need for greater safeguards and language being used. I am not a lawyer and so I find that using my lawyer to review service contracts, offerings and oftentimes communications will help to alleviate any privacy or ethical concerns with future and current 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 . Technology and AI is growing faster that expected. More and more companies are using technological tools and AI to help employees do their jobs better, faster with more enhanced tools and opportunities
2 . Coaching will takeover consulting. Over the last number of years, we have seen a growth in consulting with more people specializing in areas to help organizations grow. We are starting to see an upswing in coaching being more widely accepted. Leaders, executives and employees are hiring individual coaches to help them meet their personal and professional goals. I believe that every leader and employee today require a coach to help them realize their potential. Coaching is not only about professional, but also a personal way of dealing with whatever is happening in a person’s life. Leaders and employees will need to determine the right coach for them whether life or business coach.
3 . Continuous learning — Today’s world is encouraging all people to develop new skills. Continuous learning helps all employees be successful in their current role but also strive for what the future holds for them. We can’t progress in our roles unless and until we take the time to learn new skills, attributes in whatever our current interests are. Employees should be aware that interests, passions and goals change. Through continuous learning we can achieve what the future holds for us all.
4 . Coaching is being more widely accepted — The business world is a brave new place since the pandemic. Leaders and employees are realizing the need to expand what they know, how they accomplish goals, and how best to guide their colleagues. They are also realizing they can’t navigate this alone. In speaking with leaders, I see a constant growth and acceptance in asking for help in achieving future goals and objectives. This acceptance is a growing phenomenon that I believe will continue. There is no better time than now to realize potential and accept that doing this alone is not the preferred method.
5 . Coaching as a management style. Leaders today need to be better coaches for their employees. Employees today are struggling in areas of business whether that is continuous learning, growth, current and future roles, needs and wants. It is becoming clearer that leaders’ management styles need to change to what employees, clients, colleagues need. As a leader, it is important to ask the right questions, determine the right goals and understand what is happening in a colleague or employee’s business and personal life. As a manager, you will be asked to not only mentor, but also coach your employees. Understanding and accepting this role will be tantamount to future success not only of self but of the business.
How do you envision the integration of coaching within organizational cultures changing the landscape of leadership and employee development?
Integration of coaching in an organization will strengthen business relationships, build rapport and acceptance for growth both personal and professional. Leaders will have no choice but to accept and be that coach that works with their employees leading to growth, development, continuous learning and trust. Being ethical in this organizational change will ensure that the future of the business, the attrition rate of the company and that employees feel secure, safe, with the knowledge that their mental health is top of mind with leaders. There is no other way to ensure sustainability of the business and the employee’s health.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the coaching industry today, and how might we overcome it?
The biggest challenge in coaching today is gaining the respect and realization that asking for help is not a negative. Having a coach will only bring better results for the individual, the business and the collective employee well-being. Leaders through coaching, can work towards better understanding their leadership style, the type of leader they want to be, build morale, the culture they want in their business and knowing that the results will bring better achievements and greater knowledge for all. Coaching will build stronger relationships, improve communication and ensure the leader and employee understand their roles in meeting objectives, goals and outcomes.
What is one long-term goal you have for your coaching practice, and how are you working towards it?
My long-term goal is to continue to build my practice through engaging with leaders and employees alike. I believe that growing individual and team coaching through assessments, ongoing non-directive discussions will ensure that outcomes are not being coerced but are being realized through thought-provoking discussions, ongoing questions, understanding gaps in learning and making the right decisions so my clients can realize their potential.
How can our readers continue to follow your work?
I am creating a new website — www.youraspirecoach.com. Readers can also follow me on LinkedIn — www.linkedin.com/anneboomcphr.
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.
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein is a seasoned entrepreneur and Thought Leader with over 25 years of business experience. He has founded, operated, and exited multiple companies and now builds into a handful of high impact CEOs. Chad has launched multiple online communities, including a recent leadership development platform, and also serves as a strategic advisor for Authority Magazine’s thought-leader incubator program.
To learn more and connect with Chad visit: chadsilverstein.io
Anne Bloom Of Your Aspire Coach 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.