Coaching is crucial in the Information Age.
We live in a time with more access to information than at any point in history. Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, 24-hour rolling news coverage, cheap paperback books, free online courses. All this means we have more information than ever before – more than we can actually consume.
We often rush to finding the latest new solution or idea. And then the next one. And the next one. All without properly trying any of the previous solutions we’ve been offered.
That’s why coaching is becoming a more and more important skill for leaders to master. Often people already have the knowledge of what to do and how to do it. But it’s locked away inside them. They’re so overwhelmed by information they don’t realise which bit of information they need.
The skill of coaching is in asking the right questions, to help a person realise what information they already know but are not acting on. It’s helping them prioritise the right thing they already know, and then committing to it.
As we go further into the Information Age, it’s a skill that will become more and more sought after.
Mark Williamson is a founding director of One Rock International. He’s a lay preacher and leader within the Methodist Church, author of a biography on John Wesley, and is currently researching for a biography on William Wilberforce. He enjoys good films, good food, praying for London, and going for long walks with his wife Joanna.