Earlier this year I had the chance to attend the EMCC Global Conference in Warwick. As a member of EMCC, I wanted to share some of my key takeaways, especially around where coaching is heading. I also followed what was shared at the NYU Coaching and Technology Conference in New York to get a wider view and compare themes between the two events. So, this is a mix — part reflection, part trendspotting, and part nudge to all of us to keep up with where our profession is going.
What really stood out is that we’re living in a time where coaching, tech, and ethics are all colliding, and we can’t afford to ignore it.
One of the core requirements for professional coaches, especially those aligned with organisations such as EMCC, ICF, or AC, is supervision. Supervision provides not only a mentoring relationship but also a structured space for reflection, accountability, and growth. It supports coaches in exploring dilemmas from practice, surfacing blind spots, and strengthening ethical awareness.
Supervision is not about correcting mistakes; it is about staying grounded, learning continuously, and upholding standards in a fast-changing profession. Increasingly, professional bodies are placing emphasis on mentoring alongside supervision, recognising the value of both one-to-one and group formats. Trends for 2025 point to growth in group supervision and peer mentoring circles, especially in hybrid workplaces, where collective spaces for reflection bring shared learning and accountability.
One reflective model I use in my coaching and supervision is Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle. I like it because it simply helps me look at what happened in a session, what was going on for me at the time, and what I took from it. It’s not complicated; it just gives me a way to slow down and make sense of things instead of jumping straight to the next task. The bit that matters most for me is the action plan at the end. That’s where the learning turns into something real. Whatever we’ve talked about in supervision has to show up in my practice; otherwise, it’s just a nice conversation.
It connects quite naturally with Whitmore’s GROW model as well. The last part, “Way Forward”, is the same idea: to be clear on what I’m going to do next and what I’m changing. For me, that’s the part that drives my development.
Change isn’t slowing down — if anything, it feels heavier. For years we talked about VUCA—Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous. But now the reality feels sharper. We’re living in what’s being called the BANI world: Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, Incomprehensible.
It’s not just unpredictability anymore; it’s fragility. Systems crack under pressure. Anxiety is higher than ever. Small events create ripple effects we can’t always predict. And sometimes, things don’t make sense at all.
For coaching, this shift matters. Our role becomes less about neat frameworks and more about helping people pause, reflect, and create meaning in the middle of uncertainty. At the Warwick conference, one phrase stuck with me: coaches as sense-makers in chaotic systems. That’s exactly it—we’re here to create a space where leaders and teams can slow down and find clarity when the outside world feels incomprehensible.
In leadership coaching especially, BANI calls for new approaches. Resilience and adaptability are no longer “nice to have”; they’re survival skills. Somatic coaching and mindfulness are gaining attention because anxiety isn’t only a mindset issue; it’s felt in the body. Leaders need tools not just to think differently, but to be different under pressure.
The takeaway for me is this: we can’t use yesterday’s tools for today’s challenges. Coaching in a BANI world means staying curious, flexible, and ready to adapt our own practice, because if we don’t, we’ll be offering certainty where none exists, and that’s not what clients need.
When I think about being part of a professional body like EMCC, ICF, or AC, it’s not about the letters that follow my name. Letters don’t build trust. What matters is the intent behind them, a promise to keep learning, to stay accountable, and to uphold standards that protect the people I work with. Coaching isn’t a set of tools you pull out when needed; it’s a responsibility that sits on your shoulders every time you work with a client or organisation.
At the conference, ethics kept coming up again and again. What struck me was how it’s no longer just about clear contracting or confidentiality; it’s about how we hold ourselves in new and sometimes messy spaces. Hybrid coaching, for example, blurs the lines between personal and professional, and we need to stay mindful of those boundaries. The conversation around AI was also front and centre. The question isn’t “Should coaches use it?” because it’s already here, but “How do we use it responsibly?” That means being upfront with clients, protecting data, and staying alert to bias in the systems we lean on. For me, the message was simple: ethics can’t be treated like a box we tick once. It must be a live practice, something we revisit as the world and our work keep changing.
Technology makes that responsibility sharper. AI is already in the coaching space, and it won’t be rolled back. The real issue isn’t whether we use it but how we use it. For me, that means asking: does this tool reduce bias or reinforce it? Am I protecting client data or putting it at risk? And most importantly — am I keeping the human connection alive, rather than letting technology dilute the very thing that makes coaching effective?
I plan to explore this further in future BMS Progress blogs, where I’ll look at how AI is shaping coaching, the risks we need to be mindful of, and how professional bodies like EMCC and ICF are beginning to set the ethical boundaries around its use.
The coaching field is evolving quickly. Supervision and mentoring are now recognised as essential, not optional, for professional development. The shift from VUCA to BANI highlights the need for coaches who can help leaders and organisations navigate fragility, anxiety, and complexity with clarity. At the same time, ethics remains the non-negotiable anchor, particularly as AI and digital tools become more embedded in practice.
Looking ahead to 2026, the shifts we’ve been seeing in coaching are becoming harder to ignore. The way organisations work is changing, and so are the expectations they have of us as coaches. Organisations want people who can stay grounded ethically while working confidently in fast-moving, tech-shaped environments. The expectation now goes beyond simply supporting development; it’s about creating the conditions that influence performance, inclusion, and stronger decision-making.
For us as coaches, the focus needs to stay on genuine reflective practice and using supervision as a way to keep improving how we show up. Coaches who keep pushing their own development forward will be the ones who stand out in 2026. When we stay curious, we treat technology as something that supports our creativity, rather than replaces it. We question our own thinking and stay grounded in professional standards, we’re not just adapting to where the profession is going; we’re actively shaping it.
What emerges is a clear picture: coaching cannot remain static. Coaches are called to adapt, to stay curious, and to uphold high standards of responsibility. In doing so, the profession not only keeps pace with change but also plays a vital role in helping people and organisations move through uncertainty with resilience and confidence.
These trends show exactly why professional development matters and why high-quality, up-to-date training, like our Level 5 Coaching Professional apprenticeship, is becoming essential for anyone who wants to coach with confidence and credibility.
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