As we enter the landmark year 2020, a few key trends have come into focus for the Personal Development and Executive Coaching industries. As high-tech innovations accelerate, so does the opportunity to create better corporate training programs and delivery methods that tackle the most pertinent requests of organisations. Having facilitated numerous workshops in 2019, my colleague Gaj Ravichandra and I want to highlight the 8 of the top training trends we’ve noted over the last year and what you should pay attention to in 2020.
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A fading North Star:One of the most prevalent issues clients in private practice express is feeling lost in their careers. Many clients are trying to navigate a “VUCA” world – an environment that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous – and this creates a lot of opportunity for confusion and distress. Feeling lost is perfectly normal – it is a sign that you are evolving as an individual in spirit and mind – but it also highlights a lack of direction when it comes to your career path, not enough training to perform your job or the job isn’t what you were expecting it to be – all of this whilst the demands of the world around us are changing rapidly. Executive Coaching will include more learning centered around carving out a career path and cultivating a dream life through challenging current thinking and possibilities.
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Fear takes a front seat for women:The key issues that Arab female leaders in the region face are a lack of self-confidence and interpersonal confidence. Women to tend to place little value on having an authentic personal brand so they aren’t visible enough in the local, regional and global business communities. Many women underestimate the importance of personal branding in the office, which generally helps make you more visible to leaders and decision-makers, which in turn boosts confidence.
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VUCA world gives rise to Mental Toughness:Based on the complexity and difficulty with which we all live, there will be more time dedicated as individuals and teams to optimise Mental Toughness. Shifting from Mentally Sensitive to Mentally Tough is the biggest determinant of success for leaders. Some of the most common requests we receive relates to correcting team dysfunction and improving management skills for the team, so the Mental Toughness factors will become a go-to for Executive Coaches in this decade.
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AI goes mainstream in 2020:Artificial Intelligence has been adopted in pretty much all businesses, and coaching is no exception. In 2020, we will see a continuation of eLearning courses being integrated into our development strategies which is more individualized to the learner. VR has been an important element of our training for the last year or so, so this will only become more prevalent as we move into 2020. At Kompass Consultancy, our presentation-based modules simulate a boardroom-style environment with feedback based on key principles for success. Organizations request training that incorporates cutting-edge technology whilst supporting professional development and encouraging employee engagement. Training in 2020 must align to the way we learn in a high-tech world through a more customized approach.
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Tunnel vision is key:A common complaint during training sessions is that employees encounter many distractions that impact their ability to be productive, so helping employees combat distractions and limit social media use during the day (where it’s not your job), will be an ongoing theme in 2020. A popular approach that is assigned in our workshops is called ‘Activation Energy’ and it trains people on how to minimise distractions by making them harder to reach you. This means teaching people to take the initiative to turn off email and phone notifications – and even WIFI all together if it’s helpful – to better concentrate on a task.
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Training future entrepreneurs:A rising trend we’ve noticed amongst younger learners is that they are very interested in how they manage their career from a portfolio and fractional perspective, as they can often have a side hustle outside of their main workplace. For this younger generation, they are keen to partake in training because the goal is to get the most out of the experience during their short time with the company, with a view of potentially doing something more entrepreneurial later. In 2020, people are clearly much more willing to work 80 hours a week for themselves, than 40 hours for someone else. Personal Development is of utmost importance to the younger workers so we expect to see an increase in millennials registering for workshops on innovation, entrepreneurialism and career guidance than ever before.”
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Developing future Emirati leaders:The days of having a shopping list of training courses are gone. In 2020, we will see the continuation of Government and Semi-Government entities hand-picking their local talent and offering them 1:1 Performance and Career coaching programmes. We have seen these entities choosing people who exhibit leadership skills and competencies and giving them tailored training designed to drive their career growth, enabling them to become the future leaders of their respective nations.
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Building a Holistic Coaching Culture:In 2020, we’ll see a continued demand to develop Internal Executive Coaches at the junior and middle-management levels. There will also be a continuation of sourcing Credible Accredited, Certified and Business-oriented Coaches with a proven track record of Corporate experience to enhance productivity, maximize performance, and accelerate growth for Senior Management and C-Suite levels.
What do you think of these training industry trends? Are they here to stay or simply passing fads? Let us know below!
Leila & Gaj
This article appeared in Worldwide Coaching Magazine and Training Journal: https://www.trainingjournal.com/articles/features/professional-development-trends-watch-2020
