AI vs. Human Coaching: Challenging the Boundaries of Emotional Depth and Effectiveness

Can AI really rival the emotional depth of human coaching? Join us as we navigate this intriguing question, fresh from the Association of Talent Development Conference in New Orleans. We share the eye-opening findings from the International Coaching Federation’s research, which suggest that AI coaching might outperform human-based methods at the 10-month mark. Discover how these advancements could revolutionize the coaching industry, despite the traditional higher costs associated with human coaches. This episode will challenge your preconceptions about the role AI can play in leadership and personal development.

We also recount a riveting conversation with Tim King from Southwest Consulting, where we debated the irreplaceable human touch in coaching. Can AI truly replicate the emotional nuances and connection that human coaches provide? While AI offers scalable and prescriptive solutions, the emotional aspect remains a critical factor. Listen in as we explore how AI can be integrated into coaching practices and leadership strategies without losing the essence of human interaction. Prepare to rethink what you know about coaching in this wild, wild world of AI.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:37

I'm going to call this episode the wild, wild world of artificial intelligence. Recently I came back from the Association of Talent Development Conference in New Orleans, which was fantastic, really well run, a lot of great experts, a lot of great exhibitors. We were an exhibitor, but some of the things that are coming out with AI are just incredible. Then I started to think about what does this do to my business? We have our own AI tools. Where does this position us? What's the next steps? I don't think any of us really know. Now I would tell you, since I got back from that conference, I've really started to do a deep dive into AI and I want to just share this with you. See, I'm a fan of the ICF, the International Coaching Federation, and they did some research. They actually have a whole research committee, which I did not know, and they did a overview of human-based coaching versus AI coaching and some of the conclusions they had were at the 10-month mark. You know, people were starting to have as much, if not more, success with AI than human-based coaching. And the person doing the research said and I couldn't believe that they did this, and it's not a negative thing, I just was shocked, because it really shows how much of a wild world we're entering when it comes to coaching and where AI fits in. The person doing the research said well, at the 10-month mark, what we started to surmise is that the human-based coaching started to take a back seat because, as we all know, human-based coaching is really expensive, and I thought to myself wow, if I was a human-based coach, I would be upset by that, especially if I went and got certified. Now, I don't think that's what was meant. Now, the second thing is one of the things that just came out in a recent article, and I think it was Forbes, who said that AI can create fatigue, that people using AI along with doing their regular jobs being online, that people using AI along with doing their regular jobs being online can create fatigue. I did not even think of it from that perspective. So the wild world of AI is upon us. How are we going to use it?

Speaker 1: 2:54

Now I'm going to throw out a prediction I don't think it's going to take over human-based coaching. I think it's going to fall. At least. With what we do, we teach three types of coaching Direct coaching, one-on-one coaching or group coaching. Number two, we teach motivator coaching, which is really centered around career development. And then, number three, supplemental coaching, which are coaching strategies where the leader doesn't have to physically be present. They scale themselves, they scale their time, and I think AI is going to fall in that category.

Speaker 1: 3:19

I think it's going to become a prescriptive solution for leaders, for companies, to utilize coaching, and so it's just so interesting that the ICF came out with that research, and I was just on a session today with Tim King from Southwest Consulting great company, by the way and he and I were talking about the human-based aspect and how we can read emotions and how people need to be emotional. Are we really going to be like that when we're talking to an AI system? And I thought, well, that's a great point, but on the other hand, we also can trigger other people's emotions too. So it just puts us in a really interesting perspective. What are your?