Originally published by Aaron Hurst on LinkedIn: Are Coaches the Clergy of the Modern World?
I gave a talk at Google a few years ago during my Purpose Economy book tour. Unlike most companies, Google invites members of the local community to join their author events on campus. After my talk, an older woman approached me and shared her story and reflections on my talk.
Early in her life, she realized that she was called to help people find their path. At the time, the opportunities in the working world for someone with her calling appeared slim. So, she trained and joined the church.
After hearing about our research on the science of purpose, she realized that if she were entering the workforce today she would have made a different choice. She shared that she thought that the church had a monopoly on purpose but now realized she was wrong.
Connecting Science and Spirituality
Over the last few decades, we have come to understand the science of purpose and the psychological drivers that predict what will bring us purpose in our lives. It has enabled us to coach and support people without needing to use faith as the basis for the exploration. It enables us to reach across communities to help people find purpose in their lives.
In this time, we have seen religious observation and membership to faith-based organizations decline. Conversely, we have seen an explosion in the number of professional coaches - from life coaches to executive coaches.
Some may see this as a threat to faith and spirituality, but that would be a mistake.
Many of these coaches are people of faith who integrate their spirituality into their practices. They find ways to balance science and spirituality to find ways to help people in a modern world where the traditions of religious institutions have left many behind. Coaching may actually be one of the best hopes for spirituality to grow in our society.
Become a Certified Purpose Coach
Imperative empowers coaches and trainers to use the science of purpose and our breakthrough platform to serve their clients. It is the only assessment and insight platform focused on the most important question in our lives and careers:
What's my purpose?
Visit Imperative to learn how you can transform people in your community into purpose-driven leaders.
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Aaron Hurst is an Ashoka Fellow, award-winning entrepreneur and globally recognized leader in fields of purpose at work and social innovation. He is the CEO of Imperative and founder of the Taproot Foundation which he led for a dozen years. Aaron is the author of the Purpose Economy and has written for or been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg TV and is the author of the Fast Company Purposeful CEO series.