How Diverse is your pool of Executive Coaches?

Type in the words BAME or Black Executive Coach in the UK into Google and you’ll be hard pressed to find what you are looking for.  It would be easy to believe that there are no BAME Executive Coaches in the UK.

A company I worked with recently called it the ‘blonde bob syndrome’, they felt that all of the coaches that applied to work with them were of a certain age, gender and appearance. I think that we as a community of coaches are more diverse than that. However, just like many organisations, perhaps some cloning is taking place and coaches are being recruiting in the recruiters’ image? Or perhaps it’s the fact that much of coaching comes by word of mouth referral and so people recommend their friends who have similar backgrounds to them? Or is it that like me, sometimes BAME coaches have felt excluded from coaching institutions, or felt questioned about their credibility to be there and so have opted out?

Why a diverse group of coaches is important
Executive coaches can have a transformational impact with leaders and their organisations. If organisations are committed to inclusion and diversity in their organisations at all levels this should include their suppliers too, especially those who come very close to their senior level executives. How often does this happen?

What could be the benefit of a thinking partner who has had a very different life experience, what insight could they provide into their challenges with people very different to themselves?
And …If real change is to happen and more senior people are from BAME backgrounds then don’t we owe it to them to at least have the choice of someone who looks like them?


The Solution

1. A directory of BAME coaches for those who want to have a more inclusive coaching pool.
2. More active encouragement of a diverse group of coaches to be more involved in coaching associations.
3. More conversations about inclusion and diversity in coaching, as a force for good.