This is one of the first posts in a new series on the coaching and mental health domains, which is written by the British Psychological Society’s (BPS) global fellow, Dr Matthew Harch.
We all know those five (s) who aspire to top jobs in the corporate world and the many who throw their weight behind them – men, women, all-round people who want a high-powered job and make constant references to “it can’t be worse than this”… and all the rest.
Confidence is an excellent recipe for success in the workplace and the employment industry, but any attempts to ram a “fire sale” narrative on all we see as “unlucky” create a dangerous and polarising tension that often ends in stress, burnout and the quick and easy fast exit.
Clearly there is no silver bullet to the problem, and if we are to escape the corporate machine and live a sane and fulfilling life, then we need to work out the causes of why we end up in the dock rather than the front door.
And when it comes to the coaching profession, there have been many suggestions on how to make it more diverse, particularly from the guys who want to be staff managers but who are too intimidated to question the dogma of their male colleagues. But has there ever been a better time to actually get out there and find out if coaching could actually be good for you and your career?
The questions
So we asked a self-confessed coach, who is also looking to become a business mentor, who saw coaching as having longevity rather than terminal-wave transition for people:
“Career coaching has turned into a big talking point recently, partly because a range of statistics have indicated that what most really seem to lack these days is confidence, or some form of long-term planning, or, most important, a willingness to get out there and do it.
“The statistics on the most likely job title for someone in their 20s are followed up by statistics that show that the easiest way to get to a decision in your first five years is through social media – from friends, connections and just generally via Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. Yet one survey found that one third of us will only spend four minutes a day interacting with our colleagues. Many feel there is no reliable middle ground between being an infant and a petulant teenager. And then there is the phenomenon of MBAs who simply can’t bring themselves to follow any of the advice available.”
Read the full article here.