Authors: Dawn Isaac and Raatha Ganesh

Most event sponsors use the mic to sell.
We used ours to listen.

At ICF Hong Kong’s 15th anniversary, we ditched the pitch deck and asked six sharp questions instead.

Then we shut up and handed the mic to 86 coaches.
The responses weren’t polite noise.

They were a raw signal.
Some were bold. Some were hesitant.
But nearly all were hungry - for something better.

This wasn’t a survey.

It was a pulse-check.
And what we heard might just be the clearest signal yet of where coaching is headed next.

🦴 Here’s the chew toy version of what we learned:

So, what’s driving coaching demand right now?

Q1: What’ll spark the biggest increase in coaching in the next 24 months?

• Organisational transformation → 41%
• AI-enabled coaching → 33%
• Career development → 15%
  (Side mentions: cost, regulation, geopolitics)

🐾 Signal:
People don’t hire a coach when the satnav’s working. They call in reinforcements when the road’s closed and Google Maps has a meltd...

By Dawn Isaac, COO at Black Dog Consultants

“Not my circus, not my monkeys.”

I first heard this phrase a few years into being a people manager.
I remember chuckling, smugly relieved that whatever chaos was unfolding - wasn’t mine.

Not my monkeys. Not my mess. I could just sip my coffee and watch the show.

But I was quite proud of my own circus. As an aspiring Greatest Showman, I thought I ring mastered with flair.

My acrobats were slick, the clowns were funny (on purpose) and the whole thing ran on time.

“My circus, my monkeys, 10/10. Move along. Nothing to see here.”

The reason this popped into my head again? A family member sent me a meme about the “fourth monkey” - apparently, modern life has bred a new one. But instead of adding to the troop, it got me thinking about the original three. And then about work.

What are our monkeys?
How many of them are invisible?
And do we even know we’re feeding them?

Monkey One: Seeing Effort (Before It Disappears)

Deadlines met. Tasks ticke...

🎥 We didn’t just talk about transformation - we felt it. 

You can’t fake real connection.
And at this year’s ICF Hong Kong Chapter 15th Anniversary Flagship Event, it was everywhere.

We came. We spoke. We hugged strangers.
Black Dog Consultants were proud sponsors and speakers this year and we loved every minute. 

✨ 18 global thought leaders
🔥 Keynotes that made us pause
⚡ Breakout labs with real a-ha moments
💬 150+ bold, curious, change-hungry humans

From the first handshake to the final hug, this was time well spent. 

We didn’t just show up.
We listened. We learned.
And we left charged with possibility.

🖤 To the ones we met: thanks for the sparks.

Want to work with us? Connect at www.blackdog-consultants.com 

The best teams aren’t built in boardrooms.

They’re built in the wild.

In the mud.

Under the stars.

Where things get real.

Trust doesn’t happen because someone added “collaboration” to a slide deck.

It happens when you’re lost in the woods with a map and a teammate who swears they know the way.

A rope wall can teach you more about leadership than any offsite keynote. Because you either get to the top together or you don’t get there at all.

Rowing around an island. Paddling through uncertainty.

You don’t just see who leads—you see who listens.

Some lessons only happen when the WiFi drops.

When the fire won’t light.

When the tent instructions don’t make sense but you figure it out anyway.

You don’t forget a night under the stars. You don’t forget what you learn when there’s no one else to lean on. You don’t forget who had your back when it mattered.

Because the best teams aren’t the ones who ‘work well together.’

They’re the ones who’ve been through something together.

L...