CRI听力:China, UK beef up cooperation on leadership coaching

China and the UK have further strengthened their cooperation on leadership coaching, after both sides signed a strategic cooperation agreement at the International Coaching Summit held at King's College in Cambridge.

With the theme of “Bridging China Coaching Culture into the World,” the one-day forum has attracted dozens of Chinese and British professors to conduct thorough discussions on the value and latest application of coaching science, as well as the trend of industry development.

The signing of the agreement demonstrates that the two countries' coaching professions are committed to complying with the core competence standards and professional qualification accreditation system.

"One of the reasons I think it is very important is that we have reached a consensus over the certification standards and system that did not exist in China in the past. China's coaching system and course certification system can be completely consistent with those of the Association for Coaching. Therefore, China's standards can first be based on international standards before developing the characteristics of our own coaches," said Li Jinghong, founder of the China Coach Federation, which organized of the event. 

As a co-organizer of the forum, the London-based Association for Coaching (AC) says it places great emphasis on the opportunities for cooperation with its Chinese counterparts.

"I think that one of the fundamental approaches for AC is that we take collaborative approach to everything. We love to listen, to learn. We have learnt mindset. And I think that's a wonderful thing. I think in terms of partnership's forming and developing we are always about to learn coaching. Cross-cultural experience is taught not one-way, the coaching works," said Darren Robson, a coach mentor at AC. 

In recent years, coaching services have been widely used to support leadership improvement and organizational development. They also play an active role in supporting individuals in their life planning.

"Executive professional leadership coaching is about 25 years old. So, if we think about a millennium of time, 25 is actually a small amount of time. It's really the first year of its growth. So I think the executive professional coaching is a baby, it's a tiny infant. It's going to grow, it's going to develop," added Robson. 

Leadership coaching is a rapidly emerging industry in the world. It originates from the practice of sports coaching. After decades of development, it has formed a relatively complete theoretical system and experience-oriented approach.

Normally through one-to-one periodic service, it effectively enhances the trainees' sense of responsibility, self-confidence and motivation, so as to achieve positive goals such as supporting personal growth, enriching life experience and enhancing team performance.