In 2019, ICF Global partnered with PricewaterhouseCoopers to evaluate the state of coaching in the world. Efforts to maximize participation in the 2020 study proved very successful. A total of 22,457 valid responses from 161 countries countries and territories were included making this study among the largest in scale and global in reach.

Generation
With the exception of North America, the majority of coach practitioners are in the Generation X age cohort. In North America, the majority of coaches are Baby Boomers. Globally, Millennials account for just under one in ten coach practitioners, ranging from 22% in Eastern Europe to 5% in North America.

Generation X accounts for the majority (61%) of managers/leaders using coaching skills. The remainder are equally split between Millennials and Baby Boomers. Managers/leaders born in the Generation X years are in the majority across all regions, from 53% in North America and Oceania to 69% in Western Europe.

Gender
Between 2015 and 2019, the female share of coach practitioners rose across all regions except the Middle East and Africa. The largest increase was in Asia.

Globally, females account for 68% of managers/leaders using coaching skills, ranging from 61% in the Middle East and Africa to 80% in Eastern Europe.

Training
Nearly all coach practitioners (99%) report that they have completed some coach-specific training. Increasingly, training is through programs accredited/approved by a professional coaching organization.

93% of managers/leaders using coaching skills have received some coach-specific training, including 79% through programs accredited/approved by a professional coaching organization.

95% coach practitioners said they had completed 60 or more hours of training, up from 93% in 2015.

Among managers/leaders using coaching skills who said they have received coach-specific training, almost 78% said they had received 60 or more hours of coach-specific training.

A plurality of coach practitioners (43%) said they have received 200 hours or more training, compared with 25% managers/leaders using coaching skills.

74% of practitioners said they currently hold a credential or certification from a professional coaching organization, up from 70% in the 2016 study.

45% of managers/leaders using coaching skills said they hold a certification/credential, including almost 1 in 3 holding an ICF credential.

Survey respondents were asked what they perceive to be the top three potential obstacles to building a strong coaching culture inside an organization. The top three obstacles identified were:
       —  Limited support from senior leaders (50%).
       —  Inability to measure impact of coaching (42%).
       — Lack of budget for coaching activities (38%).