Empowerment for Change
As an ICF team, we arrive in June very motivated to face the challenges of our times with great energy and joy! We definitely live at a very special moment of our trajectory!
This June, the FIFA Soccer World Cup brings together 32 countries and mobilizes one of the largest audiences in the world. Even though they do not participate directly in the competition, people in the U.S. are the largest volume of ticket buyers at the event, which is taking place in Russia. Look how nice it is! This great event connects us around a lot of passion, competition and fraternization. It can also provoke reflection on our identities and differences. After all, it’s not all happiness. How can we cope with the joys of a sporting event while there are immigrants who have nowhere to live and are in less than dignified conditions? How can we celebrate the union of peoples, knowing that many do not have enough to eat? We live in a world of paradoxes…But we are optimistic that we are constantly evolving. Unfortunately, the speed of this evolution is still not what we deserve!
In parallel, and especially in our professional daily life, we experience a singular moment of inflection in which everything is changing! Technologies in the analysis, processing and interpretation of big data; machine learning; artificial intelligence; genetics and alternative energies are rapidly transforming the nature of work and the workplace itself. Can we be more inclusive or not? Will we live longer and with more quality? We are not sure yet. However, we realize that machines will be able to perform more tasks than humans, complementing the work and will also perform some tasks that go beyond what we imagine we can do. As a result, some occupations will decline, others will grow, and many others will change. While we believe that there will be enough work to go around (except in extreme scenarios), society will have to deal with significant transitions and movements of the workforce and its consequent uncertainty.
As coaches, we offer a huge contribution! For example, people will need to acquire new skills and adapt to “partnerships” with the increasingly capable machines at their side in the workplace. As pointed out by MIT Ford Professor of Economics and Associate Head David Author, work and jobs for the adult population have been growing in the last 125 years despite all technological advances. People will move from declining occupations to escalating and, in some cases, entirely new occupations.
Discussing this future is a daily topic in our agenda on the ICF Board, and we are convinced that the ICF community will make a difference in the changes we so badly need. More than ever, empowerment for change and a lot of coaching are key to success in this endeavor.
It is with great satisfaction that for the fifth consecutive year, we have expanded our partnership with the Human Capital Institute (HCI) to investigate the prevalence and results of strong coaching cultures in organizations, and in particular this year, how organizations are building change management capabilities within their teams and organizations.
To gain insights into change management, ICF and HCI have an open online survey. If you are employed within an organization as a leader, manager, human resources or learning and development professional, internal coach, or individual contributor, you’re invited to take the survey. You’re also more than welcome (and encouraged) to share the link with your network.
We count on your contribution! Get Involved!
José Augusto Figueiredo, ACC
José Augusto Figueiredo, ACC, has more than two decades of multinational business experience. He is currently president for Lee Hecht Harrison in Brazil and Executive Vice President for LHH in Latin America. He also serves as an Executive Coach for CEOs and consultant for cultural transformation through LHH. José is deeply committed to team-building and people integration, reinforced by enthusiasm and motivation, facilitating the pursuit of synergy, timely problem-solving, and positive social and financial outcomes. An ICF Member since 2009, José is past president of ICF Brazil and has served on the regional board for ICF Latin America. He is currently a Director of the ICF Global Board.
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Great read! Thanks for sharing. Good to see the impact you are having in the world.
Thanks professor Terry! You had a great contribution on learning curve! I miss our great time at Columbia.