According to the ICF Global Coaching Study 2016, carried out by ICF (International Coaching Federation) in collaboration with PWC, in 137 countries worldwide, the findings suggest that coaching can influence social change.
Worldwide, 51% of professional coaches surveyed and 49% of managers/directors, with coaching skills, consider that coaching is capable of greatly influencing social change. 33% of professional coaches and 27% of managers/directors, with coaching skills, consider that coaching is capable of moderately influencing social change.
The extent to which professional coaches consider coaching to be able to influence social change varies considerably from region to region.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, two out of every three coaches surveyed (68%) consider that coaching is capable of greatly influencing social change.
According to the ICF Global Consumer Awareness Study 2017, a study carried out by ICG and PWC in 30 countries, the main two benefits recognised in ICF studies on satisfaction with Coaching are improved communication skills (42%), followed by greater self-esteem / self-confidence (40%).
These are skills that create bridges in families, in organisations, in communities, that support a more balanced social and professional integration and that contribute to sustainable social and economic development.
Coaching as a development tool can be applied at different stages of life.
In young people, in professional adults, and in older adults, it contributes to creating greater awareness of one’s own value, to broaden perspectives for personal and professional development, to give a purpose to life and to build a legacy.
It is a tool that supports facing the challenges of each stage of life and conceiving opportunities in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous and hyper-connected world (VUCAH).
The improvement of communication skills, the improvement of self-esteem and self-confidence help to reduce isolation in current societies, contributing to a higher level of social integration.
At the organisational level, using coaching as a development tool also brings positive contributions and coaching can contribute to issues such as gender equality, diversity and inclusion.
In the 2017 ICF Global Consumer Awareness Study, the most commonly cited reason for seeking coaching was optimizing individual team work performance (43%), and the third most commonly cited benefit was increased productivity (39%).
Coaching as a tool for social development is thus transversal in society, applying to individuals, communities and nonprofit or profit organisations, collaborating on issues connected to corporate social responsibility and sustainable development objectives.
Fatima Ribeiro
