The European School of Coaching has held the webinar “What is Coaching: the cost of conversations that don't happen and the limits of AI”, a session led by Carmen Mellina, coach, trainer and supervisor of coaches at EEC.
The meeting proposed a reflection on how artificial intelligence is transforming the way we work, converse, and make decisions, and posed a central question: What remains deeply human in leadership?
During the session, Carmen Mellina invited participants to look beyond technological efficiency to focus on what AI cannot replace: trust, listening, emotional management, the quality of questions, and the ability to build genuine relationships. As Carmen pointed out during the webinar:
«AI can tell us, it can recommend we talk to our boss, but what AI can't do is dissolve the fear I might be feeling.
This idea opened up a key conversation about the limits of artificial intelligence: it can help us organise information, suggest paths, or speed up certain tasks, but it cannot take charge of the emotions that run through our relationships, nor can it replace the work of conscientiousness needed to converse better.
Throughout the webinar, the impact of conversations we avoid and the barriers that can appear in organisations was also addressed, such as judgment, control, ego, or fear of making mistakes. From this perspective, coaching was presented as a discipline capable of helping to transform these barriers into bridges, fostering more conscious relationships, higher quality conversations, and more human leadership spaces.
One of the core messages from the session was that leading is much more than making decisions. Leading also involves creating contexts where people can think better, converse deeply, and move forward with greater awareness.
Carmen Mellina closed the session with a question to continue reflecting: «What bridges do you want to build? With what tools? With what training?» You can hear his reflection on the small clip we uploaded to our LinkedIn.
With this meeting, the European School of Coaching continues to foster spaces for learning and reflection on the value of coaching, leadership development, and the transformative power of conversations.
One of the «Irreplaceable professions», as Silvia Guarnieri explains, Co-founder of EEC and Academic Director at Harvard Deusto.
For those who want to continue training their conversational intelligence, EEC offers the Executive Coaching Certification Program, a training programme focused on developing coaching skills applied to leadership, communication and supporting individuals and teams.
More information:
Executive Coaching Certification Program
