In times of overshoot, what is our role & responsibility as coaches?

Where we are

We are increasingly confronted with living in a new reality: an unravelling of the planetary systems; emergence of a new world order; and growing volatility and disruption. 

Business leaders – and many other of our clients – are either misinformed and oblivious to the scale and impacts of the polycrisis, entrenched (waiting to see how current volatilities play out), or informed but hesitant to act as first-movers in driving an economic transformation and systemic change. 

Nobody is in charge, let alone on top of, delivering stability and sustainability of the planetary, economic, political and societal contexts that all human and non-human wellbeing depend on.

Where we want to go

In this context, we are keen to explore a proportional shift in the role and responsibility of coaches.

The 90 min interactive session is designed to stimulate and guide much-needed clear reflections and honest conversations, breaking established taboos – as a starting point for a potential recalibration of how we, as coaches, show up to our shared, global predicament.

Event outline

Alice Kalro, thought leader on sustainable business and orchestration of systemic change, will first establish a shared baseline for our reflection:

• What does the range of plausible futures look like now – translating latest data on the Earth Systems and environmental tipping points using Systemic Foresight?
• What needs to be done, by when, in order to push out points of no return and steer clear of the worst imaginable outcomes – including us reaching non-liveable conditions for humanity by mid century?
• What is the necessary role of leaders in this context – what do we need them to step up to?
• What barriers do we see holding leaders and other decision-makers back?

Elodie Guérin, CCA member, leadership & well-being coach and systemic change enabler, will then guide us through facilitated reflection, breakout group conversations, and collective synthesis of the session’s findings.

• Group reflection: Exploring our reactions to the shared baseline.
• Personal inquiry: The ethical tension between our coaching role, perceived agency and our personal responsibility as human beings.
• Breakout conversation: What can we do as coaches?
• Collective synthesis: What has come up in the groups and reflection space?
• Conclusion: What are we taking away, and what are we committing to?

We will conclude with possible next steps for the coaches in the audience keen to begin modelling a new role and responsibility in this context.

Endorsement from CCA-co-founder and coach Zoe Cohen for this event:

“I believe this is a much needed conversation for coaches across the world at this time. 

As instigator of the open letter to the coaching profession in 2019 and a founding member of the CCA, I have been in many conversations with coaches over the years raising concerns about being ‘neutral’, ‘impartial’ and not wanting to bring ‘their own agendas’. 

With life-threatening 50°C temperatures now passed in Turkey and elsewhere, and mass deaths occurring from flooding from the US to China, this reality is our *context* for every coaching conversation we have, whether we realise it or not.

The interconnected ecological, societal, political and economic drivers and impacts are clear for anyone who cares to join the dots. 

We must continually reflect on what it is to be human in these times, and what this means for our ethical practice as coaches.

To be acting “as if” this wasn’t happening is surely deeply questionable.

I look forward to a wholehearted conversation with Alice and hundreds of coaches from around the world.”