Abstract
Technology has become all pervasive in our lives and is impacting coaching deeply. The Digital and AI Coaches' Handbook addresses a wide range of topics and is designed to support coaches in their understanding of digital technologies and its impact. It is edited by Jonathan Passmore from Henley Business School and ENZA, Sarah Diller, Assistant Professor for Organizational Psychology at Seeburg Castle University, Sam Isaacson a CoachTech thought leader and Maximilian Brantl a strategy advisory consultant.
It is a comprehensive volume with 375 pages with over 50 contributing authors. The book is in seven parts:
Coaching practice, which defines digital and AI coaching, the future of work, keeping up to date with technology, the impact of digital coaching and a very useful chapter on marketing in a digital coaching business.
Technologies, that sets out the wide range of options including video-mediated coaching, coaching chatbots, technology for creativity in coaching, systemic coaching and a chapter on using technology in reflective practice.
Critical factors, which includes material on setting up the online environment, building empathy, relational factors, ethics and cybersecurity.
Digitalisation and diversity, which contains important topics such as AI bias, inclusion and digital coaching with neurodivergent people.
The coaching industry, which includes material on the changing nature of the industry, the potential of AI in coaching and the business of digital coaching.
Coaching practice, which examines one-on-one and team digital coaching.
The final part includes a series of case studies from well-known large-scale providers like EZRA, CoachHub, Coaching.com, Sounding Board and AI firms such as Ovida AI and Rocky AI.
The coverage of the book is balanced and informative with useful sections on ethics, cybersecurity and bias in AI. These are particularly welcome in an environment that can be uncritical of the advances and adoption of technology. The chapters are richly referenced and clearly grounded in evidence whenever this is practical.
The book is aimed at coaches, students, supervisors, educators and trainers and provides these groups with an up-to-date range of topics and an in-depth guide on how to work more effectively in a rapidly changing digital environment.
Of particular interest is the chapter on creating media rich digital environments that covers topics such as digital drawing and painting tools, 2D and 3D image-based tools, and online journals for problem solving. It provides an important reminder about the range of tools available, which can enhance our coaching but are not often discussed. The chapter on building the large-scale coaching firm ENZA was also very interesting with a history of the firm, its vision, and the way in which technology rich firms have changed the world of coaching.
Overall, a highly recommended book that is easy to read, comprehensive, up to date and highly relevant for all coaches.