Stellafai Expert Series
Online Coaching —convenience or challenge?
In the world of coaching, the digital era has ushered in a whirlwind of change and debate. Online coaching brings a mix of convenience and challenges to the table. This week, we asked our experts about the pros and cons of this virtual coaching landscape, from building relationships through screens to the ever-present tech hiccups. 👉
🤫 Psst — If you’re in a rush and want a speedy summary of our expert’s wisdom, skip to the end to hear what the key takeaways were!
The shift towards online coaching indeed carries both significant advantages and some challenges.
Pros:
Availability: Online coaching expands the accessibility of services across geographical boundaries, enabling clients to connect with coaches anywhere in the world. This offers greater flexibility in scheduling, eliminates travel time, and opens up a broader pool of coaching expertise to choose from.
Convenience: Clients can engage in coaching from the comfort of their own homes or offices, which can reduce anxiety or discomfort that may come with in-person sessions.
Record Keeping: Online sessions can be recorded and transcripted, which allows for future reference and review, providing an additional learning tool.
Cons:
Building Relationships: Establishing a deep, personal connection can be more challenging online due to the lack of physical presence. Non-verbal cues can be harder to read, and technical issues may disrupt the flow of the conversation.
Technical Difficulties: Dependence on technology means that coaching sessions are subject to the reliability of internet connections, the functionality of video conferencing tools, and the digital literacy of both coach and client.
Privacy and Confidentiality: Ensuring a secure and private environment for coaching can be more challenging in online spaces, especially if sessions are being conducted from shared or public spaces.
The ideal approach might be a blended one, which leverages the advantages of online coaching while incorporating in-person sessions whenever possible to establish and strengthen the human connection.
I think that there is a lot of opportunity for AI to augment coaching, particularly given the sad state of the agile coaching world (far too many wannabees and not enough qualified coaches). People can use narrowly focused AI to get a lot of their questions answered. Similarly, remote coaches can also provide a source to get your questions answered. BUT, you still need on-site coaches who are there observing what’s happening. Observation, then injecting yourself appropriately, is a critical aspect of coaching that needs coaching boots on the ground.
Pro — can offer coaching in smaller chunks to get results in context of existing work rather than needing to dedicate multiple consecutive days to OKRs
Pro — more specialisation, so scaleups get advice suited to them, not repurposed big company adviceCon — zoom fatigue, less non verbal communication, and harder to workshop as a group
When dealing with some of the more human elements of 1:1 coaching, I think there are some cons in virtual coaching. In that it’s harder to read the non-verbal cues that a human can give you in person. But there are ways to adapt for this.
Other than that, I don’t think there are any real pro’s or con’s either way. AS LONG AS, you adapt your methods for facilitation of coaching for the specific needs your dealing with. E.g. if you try to use in-person coaching techniques virtual, they are likely to be less effective virtually. Pick the right tools, be cognisant of the additional effort that some virtual sessions can have & you can have the same impact whether in person or virtual.
I think this is no critical point these days. We are able to do full OKR implementations online, so coaching is just a part of it ans easy to accomplish online. It’s certainly also easier to scale trainings across teams where we are using e-learning. However OKR definition workshops do have another quality when teams do this face-to-face as you interact differently and can read much better between the lines. Many teams we work with are meanwhile using the OKR definition workshop as part of their monthly get-together, as they don’t meet all in one place for the entire quarter. So we should see that as part of the new normal how we work together.
Pro: easier and faster adaption and flexibility
Con: squeezed into other meetings and no interpersonal connection
I believe having a “live” coach will always be important and having an on-line source for questions and recommendations would be very helpful.
Creating a connection and report virtually
Faffing / logistics with IT getting in the way of having the conversation
Pros: equitable access. available anywhere, anytime.
Cons: face-to-face conversations create better opportunities to connect and collaborate in 3d. prescheduled meetings can be formal, and rushed, casual settings, and less background distractions allow parties to focus onthe task at hand. https://envoy.com/blog/meeting-in-person/
✏️ Summary: So what are the Pros and Cons of Online Coaching?
✅ Pros:
- Availability and Accessibility: Online coaching breaks down geographical barriers, offering services worldwide. It provides flexibility in scheduling and widens the pool of expertise.
- Convenience: Clients can engage from their comfort zone, reducing anxiety associated with in-person sessions.
- Record Keeping: Online sessions can be recorded and reviewed for enhanced learning.
- Equitable Access: Coaching is available anytime, anywhere, ensuring equal opportunities.
❌ Cons:
- Building Relationships: Establishing deep personal connections is more challenging due to the absence of physical presence and non-verbal cues.
- Technical Difficulties: Sessions are reliant on technology and susceptible to internet issues.
- Privacy Concerns: Ensuring a secure environment can be challenging, especially in shared or public spaces.
- Formality and Rush: Pre-scheduled online meetings can feel formal and rushed, lacking the relaxed atmosphere of casual face-to-face interactions.
