In short:

A well-done Google search or conversation with an AI can give you a lot of the information you might be looking for in a coaching session.

So why go in a coaching session with a human?

A coaching session is not only about getting an answer to a question but about going deeper or into places you didn’t expect but that are helpful.

One of the most unexpected questions I ask to people is: how do you feel at the moment? Sounds very normal, but when you really go deep, it happens that people tell you stuff like: I’m slowly going into a burnout, but I’ll manage.

These are moments where I like to follow through and ask what the resources the person has to overcome that mental health challenge are.

Google or an AI won’t notice that you look tired and that maybe what you really need is to stop working and take care of yourself.

In some coaching sessions, people ask me questions where they are looking for someone else to make the decision at their place. Instead of answering the question, I help the person figure out what their answer to that question is.

Again, an AI or Google will give you an answer to your question when maybe what would have been best is to not answer your question.

There are experts for everything. That’s why in many of my coaching sessions, I put in touch people with experts I know that can help the person go even deeper in one of the aspects that they are curious about.

I then write an introduction message that makes it possible for these two people to meet as I’m the one assuring both sides that this will be worth their time.

Sure, Google or an AI can tell you with whom you could speak, but they won’t write that email that lands you a spot in the calendar of a very busy person.

I’m using AI for self-therapy, and one thing that AI isn’t great at is sensing the room: I’m the one who has to say: this approach doesn’t work; let’s try this approach instead. That takes a lot of mental energy.

When you are in a coaching session with a human, that human will quickly notice if an approach looks useful to you or not. He can see that from how much notes you’re taking or not, from the way you answer, smile, etc.

First, let’s be clear: coaching can be expensive, so it’s smart that if you are on a limited budget, you try to find answers to your questions by asking friends, Google, your library, or an AI before investing in a coaching session. This is also why I use personal writing and AI tools for “ therapy” like sessions as I can’t afford therapy myself.

But the good news is that there are platforms like ADPlist where you can book time with peers for free for a personal coaching or mentoring session!

And if you join the Master Service Design program of the HSLU, which I’m a part of, most Wednesdays you can book coaching sessions with a dozen coaches, and you don’t have to pay extra as this is part of the program.

This article was inspired by a post shared by Tetyana Kalyuzhna where she prototyped a different approach to the coaching that happens within the Master Design of the HSLU. Thanks, Tetyana, for the inspiration!