a day ago
Don't Let AI Be Your Career Coach
With everyone all tied up in AI-induced knots, worried about their jobs, and concerned about the reliability of AI to begin with, it boggles the mind that so many people have flirted with or worse, committed to AI as a source of career coaching.
The come-ons are enticing, creating the impression of infallibility to everything including Kryptonite. There's only one problem, though, That's about as likely to be successful as a robot at a wine tasting.
As an independent career and executive coach for the past 28 years, I find the whole thing laughable. Staying up with the times for the sake of progress is one thing; change for change's sake rarely passes muster.
Coaching: Linear or Intuitive
This conflict between AI algorithms and human wisdom is the crux of the matter. I've coached thousands of people, delivered workshops to tens of thousands, and written articles which have been read by millions. Yet every single person makes a unique impression on me. That's how I learn. To me and countless other coaches, this coaching thing is much more intuitive than you might think. It's a distinctly right-brained process.
But is also imprecise.
A great coach is an artist
Career coaching is more an art than a science; it is more intuitive than it is empirical; it works more on hunches and accumulated experience than on proofs and strictly rational systems of thought. Career coaches who consider themselves scientists are fooling themselves. We are, hopefully, artists – and when we do our jobs well, we produce good work.
But it is imprecise.
As such, this state of being requires mutual faith – a kind of partnership in belief between the coach and the coached, a shared vision toward which both work. Both must subscribe. Both must be comfortable with the unknown, with ambiguity, with uncertainty. But both must be optimistic, hopeful, and proactive.
And while this remains imprecise, it works.
Half a century ago, Harold Geneen, CEO and chairman of ITT when it was the largest conglomerate in the world, said, 'Leadership cannot be taught; it can only be learned.' Today, it's the same thing with coaching.
Perspective and Experience
This thought has given me an uusual perpective. Over the last 28 years, I've coached people from 17 to 82 years old (yes, 82 – really); from the executive suite to the assembly line; from the classroom to the boardroom; from the military and law enforcement to the ex-con looking for a new start; from the private sector to the public and non-profit sectors; from construction and manufacturing to biotech; from science and medicine to sports and leisure; from logistics and transportation to journalism and publishing. I coached people in dozens of industries, with hundreds of job titles and thousands of job descriptions.
I've learned from each one, gaining experience and perspective. AI hasn't figured out how to do that.
What I've learned as a career coach – more than anything else – is that success almost never comes in one giant leap, but almost always as a result of small steps. It takes perspective and experience – and those traits still belong to us humans alone.
Don't let AI be your career coach.
