Clutterbuck and friends recently published a thought-provoking paper on what coaches do to develop themselves. Basically, certifications are of limited value.
Your post here inspired thoughts around doing a study on how coaches in their 50s and beyond stay relevant and in demand. There seems to be no blueprint for this, but there have to be common factors driving outcomes in all three directions. It's something I think about quite a bit. I see folks in their 70s and 80s who are still thriving. I see far more who don't have as much work as they want. It would be interesting and I think, valuable to the field, to pin down the factors that make the biggest difference.
Truett - Interesting, thanks for the comment. I think in this time of dwindling training and coaching budgets and AI, ALL coaches of any age need to tune their relevance. One of the coaches I noticed moving from solo practise to a big firm is actually under 50. Anecdotally, I think the coaches who are thriving have a specific niche or really rock at marketing. But, yes, some further study would be wonderful, I'd love to have some actual data on that. Great idea.
It's on my list of topics for future research. When I get to it, I can reach out to see if you want to work on it with me and perhaps a few others if you are interested.
Dwindling budgets--perhaps. The macro data I've seen from a few sources I trust suggests that budgets are expanding, especially for coaching but also for leadership development. I've noticed a rise in client sophistication and selectivity, which I applaud. They demand more of us, which increases the workload but also tends to catalyze a deeper partnership if we manage the situation properly.
I agree with the need to establish a niche; I also think a lot of people can't find enough work because they don't evolve within their niche, or don't dump it for something more useful when the time comes. I see a fair bit of grump and hubristic pedantry, which is likely both a cause and a result of the fear of losing one's relevance. Meanwhile the younger folks in the field are busy learning, partnering, and doing stuff they are passionate about.
Clutterbuck and friends recently published a thought-provoking paper on what coaches do to develop themselves. Basically, certifications are of limited value.
Your post here inspired thoughts around doing a study on how coaches in their 50s and beyond stay relevant and in demand. There seems to be no blueprint for this, but there have to be common factors driving outcomes in all three directions. It's something I think about quite a bit. I see folks in their 70s and 80s who are still thriving. I see far more who don't have as much work as they want. It would be interesting and I think, valuable to the field, to pin down the factors that make the biggest difference.
Truett - Interesting, thanks for the comment. I think in this time of dwindling training and coaching budgets and AI, ALL coaches of any age need to tune their relevance. One of the coaches I noticed moving from solo practise to a big firm is actually under 50. Anecdotally, I think the coaches who are thriving have a specific niche or really rock at marketing. But, yes, some further study would be wonderful, I'd love to have some actual data on that. Great idea.
It's on my list of topics for future research. When I get to it, I can reach out to see if you want to work on it with me and perhaps a few others if you are interested.
Dwindling budgets--perhaps. The macro data I've seen from a few sources I trust suggests that budgets are expanding, especially for coaching but also for leadership development. I've noticed a rise in client sophistication and selectivity, which I applaud. They demand more of us, which increases the workload but also tends to catalyze a deeper partnership if we manage the situation properly.
I agree with the need to establish a niche; I also think a lot of people can't find enough work because they don't evolve within their niche, or don't dump it for something more useful when the time comes. I see a fair bit of grump and hubristic pedantry, which is likely both a cause and a result of the fear of losing one's relevance. Meanwhile the younger folks in the field are busy learning, partnering, and doing stuff they are passionate about.