Many human failures have occurred in Africa that could have been prevented in the areas of business, politics, sports and music if coaching was embraced on the continent. Young professionals and politicians fail in Africa due to lack of proper guidance and some personal wrong choices they make which in most cases abruptly bring their careers to an end.
Leaders both in government and businesses make decisions which result in disastrous consequences both in their private and official capacities. The situation is not limited to government and businesses. There are cases of sports men and women, musicians who made enough money during their prime time and lose everything in a very short period of time due to lack of proper guidance.
Success is measured by material wealth today irrespective of how they have been acquired, the consequence of which young people now want to get rich quick. This is not the Africa in which some of us were brought up. It is true there is poverty on the continent. What is also true is that in the past, success was measured in our society by good name and character and not material things.
Traditionally, young Africans look forward to their elders for wisdom in navigating life challenges. This has changed due to advancement in technology, and urbanisation which resulted in young people migrating from villages to urban centres. They arrive in urban centres without the needed guidance and support. African culture encourages supports for children in their up-bring, hence the saying that “It takes a village to raise a child”.
The vacuum created by this development has been occupied by spiritual leaders who are not properly equipped to guide African youths and untrained coaches who do not have what it takes to be coaches. In the coaching space, Africa has the least number of professional coaches as a continent. Similar to the recent trend where professionals migrate to other countries outside of the continent, qualified coaches now offer their services to people outside of the continent due to low demand and price affordability.
Coaching has not been embraced in Africa because of the general belief that people can handle their own situations without approaching a third party for support. Seeking such help and support is seen as a sign of weakness and failure. Just as it is also believed that therapy is for those who are mentally sick. Unfortunately, coaching is viewed in the same way as therapy on the continent. Also, there is a general belief that men should be strong irrespective of their situation and not show emotions. I spoke to a young professional recently about coaching and he asked me if it involves psycho-analysis which took me by surprise.
For the sake of those who are still not sure what coaching is, it is defined by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potentials.” A coach is trained to partner with the coaching client by holding the space and asking the right questions to enable her achieve her set goals. This is done in a confidential setting in which the coaching client explores and digs deep into the aspect of her lives which she is unable to understand or which she could not go into by herself.
Some of the benefits of coaching include:
A. Improved leadership skills
B. Increased self-awareness
C. Assertiveness
D. Calmness
E. Improved self-confidence
F. Improved communication.
Way forward:
1. Massive awareness campaign is required to sensitive the public on the importance of coaching in personal and professional development.
2. Africa needs more professional coaches as untrained coaches could make the case of coaching clients worse.
3. The cost of coaching is high, which makes it unaffordable to a lot of people who would like to have access to it, and there should be a way to subsidise coaching on the continent.
4. Every African in need of coaching should have access to it.
5. Coaching should be taught in schools to prepare young people for the challenges ahead.
6. Pro-bono coaching is part of the requirements of some professional bodies for which those in need should take advantage.
7. Corporate organisations should include coaching in their annual budgets and make it accessible to every employee.
8. More non-profit organisations such as Traversing Liminality and Boys to Men Africa are needed to support the youth who are the future of the continent.
I believe coaching has got a role to play in Africa’s development. Although, there is no research to back it up, it is my view that there is a positive correlation between coaching and development. Therefore, if the continent is to catch up with the other developed world, more needs to be done to ensure easy access to coaching to as many Africans as possible.
Reference
ICF. (2017). ICF Core Competences. Retrieved June 27, 2020, fromcoachesfederation.org: https://coachfederation.org/
Alhassan, A. (2020). A study to explore what changes my coaching client experienced during coaching. (A. Alhassan, Interviewer)
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