Bringing the outside in this Autumn

You may have noticed that it has been while since I posted a blog. For a number of reasons, the summer was a time to work less and have fun with the family and in addition, I am facing into the ill health of a family member which continues to occupy my mind. Instead of running my business I was maintaining the necessary items and allocating time to where I wanted to be and was needed more. Whilst this is still the case for the remainder of the year, I do want to place an update here on what has been on my mind about the coaching profession and place my thoughts out to the universe by way of preparing my plans for 2026. This may help you too.

What has been occurring?

Well for one, ICF (The International Coaching Federation) finally published the long-awaited PWC report that we were hoping would provide insights into the Coaching Market. Has it delivered on that I am not sure? The headlines are still on my mind as like others on LinkedIn the numbers are not feeling congruent to the market I am experiencing here in the UK. It feels like the ICF needs to share more of the regional details to believe the hype around total market growth when the hourly rates, annual salaries and number of active clients do not really add up. The data for the regions is promised but not visible yet and I have held off sharing the report whilst I remain skeptical that it is helpful.

Thankfully, I have been happy with the workload I have had this autumn. I have been thinking about next year’s annual plan and I have been spending time thinking about how AI will impact our profession and how I wish to bring it into my coaching and business or not. This year I worked with a group of highly respected coaches to work this out and allocated time to experimentation and upskilling. We are sharing this work with you in a series of blogs on LinkedIn and if this is a resource you wish to access, please so here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/transcriptions-uninvited-guest-david-kesby-pcc-eia-esia-es23e/?trackingId=vxoMi1Hbrcd%2FiVUWodgFVQ%3D%3D

The final and important part of the summer was spent reconnecting with other coaches and their work, insights and opinions to help me see the professional changes that keep us on our toes. Most notably I have been fascinated by the reaction of the newer changes to competencies that the ICF have published that represent a closer fit to where the work is and its shape based on what the client is seeking from coaches. When I re-read my Spring blog, I spoke about my understanding of client needs and not being 100% non-directive and here we are seeing the “Knowledge sharing without attachment” being recognized as another method of evoking awareness if done with coaching not consulting in mind. At last, I can breathe again in relief and wait for this to be clarified and potentially restart the MCC journey if I can place my trust in the ICF process. That feels like a great goal for 2026 as a leadership coach who has always understood how to support my clients when they are not ‘resourced and whole’ which is exactly what is happening to many leaders in this tricky world of ours.

What goals do you need to pay attention to and check in with others and the market?