Why Human Coaches' Emotional Intelligence Capabilities are Uniquely Relevant in an AI World
Learn more about coaching and fast-track ICF-accredited coach training.
AI coaching bots are here, readily available and inexpensive for the consumer. They are available in app stores and by AI coaching company startups. Some are generally clunky, and all are overly prescriptive and devoid of any real caring for their clients—but they are never going to be as bad as they are now. Depending on the sophistication of the coaching bot, they can be available 24/7, have perfect memory of previous conversations, provide education, summarize learning, suggest homework, and simulate empathy well.
However, despite AI coaching bots' advantages, a masterful human coach will continue to be irreplaceable for clients who want a wise, emotionally intelligent person who not only has lived personal experience they can draw on to ground their genuine empathy and support, but also truly cares about the client's well-being.
My view is that human coaches need to grow their emotional intelligence to provide unique value beyond what coaching bots can do.
Download the Free Report
Six Factors to Consider When Choosing Your Coach Training
Privacy: we do not release contact information.
Natural language processing is incredibly impressive and advancements in life-like avatar video capabilities will enable coaching bots to be attractive and comforting, as well as being capable of simulating empathy at a high level. However, the AI bot is not feeling, or empathetically understanding, what the client is saying—it is instead predicting the next word or words that make sense in the context of the conversation.
Considering your own point of view, do you feel that simulated empathy would contribute to trust, in the same way that a caring, mature coach would, in a longer term coaching relationship?
This is an area that will be researched further, but early studies suggest that clients value human presence for emotional connection and safety. A study by Liu showed that humans do prefer a chatbot to simulate emotional support rather than just providing factual advice. Another study by BetterUp, the large coaching company, reported that the majority of coaching clients do not want coaching by a coach bot alone, but prefer a human coach to work alongside a coaching bot support tool, when AI coaching bots are included. AI tools do not have human intuitive awareness, either self-awareness or social awareness, so an AI coaching bot cannot fully assess verbal tone shifts, body language nuances, or the ability to "read between the lines" the way a human can. But AI will continue to improve in simulating its ability to act in that manner, so coaches who have done the emotional intelligence development work to perceive these nuances and integrate them into the coaching conversation will not be replaceable by AI.
The International Coaching Federation's 2023 Global Coaching Study emphasized that coaching clients place high value on trust, empathy, and active listening in a coaching relationship. These characteristics are all elements of an emotionally intelligent connection between the coach and the client. Research by Boyatzis and McKee found that emotionally intelligent leaders foster higher engagement and performance among their teams, and it's reasonable to believe that this observation also relates to how highly emotionally intelligent human coaches bring unique value, connection, and engagement to the coaching client relationship.
Emotional intelligence (EI) is a cluster of characteristics, including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and social management. A coach with high EI is better able to perceive and manage complicated interpersonal and team dynamics, build trust and rapport, and sense, understand, and relate to a client's emotional reactions, blocks, and motivations than a coach with low EI or an AI coaching bot. This highlights the need for human coaches to invest in their own interpersonal development, actively nurturing their self-awareness, self-management, and overall EI development. This includes cultivating insight to balance the use of their EI skills in a manner that fits the client's situation. In a subsequent article, I will discuss specific methods for the human coach to refine their EI capabilities.
Do you want to become a certified coach or certified to administer the EQI-2.0 assessment?
References
- Auerbach, J. (2001) Personal and Executive Coaching: The Complete Guide for Mental Health Professionals. College of Executive Coaching
- Boyatzis, R. E., & McKee, A. (2005). Resonant leadership: Renewing yourself and connecting with others through mindfulness, hope, and compassion. Harvard Business School Press.
- Foster, S. & Auerbach, J. (2015). Positive Psychology in Coaching. College of Executive Coaching
- Liu, P., & Sundar, S. S. (2018). Should Machines Express Sympathy and Empathy? Experiments with a Health Advice Chatbot. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 21(10), 625–636.
