In a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, one thing is becoming clear: our competitive advantage as humans won’t be how fast we compute, but how deeply we connect.

While AI is already reshaping industries—from medicine to marketing, logistics to law—it’s also surfacing a fundamental truth. The tools may be smarter, but success still depends on the human behind the screen. Nowhere is this more apparent than in real estate, a business that lives and dies by relationships, trust, and emotional nuance.

As technology gets better at telling us what to do, coaching will become essential in helping us decide how to do it—and more importantly, who we want to be while we do it.

From Information to Identity

In the past, coaching often focused on skill development and tactical improvement. How to script a call. How to write a listing description. How to close a deal.

But in today’s market, most of that is searchable—or soon will be automatable. A well-trained AI can write listing copy, suggest pricing strategies, and even predict lead behavior. But it can’t tell you how to navigate the fear of rejection that’s stopping you from making that next call. It can’t help you understand why your leadership style isn’t landing with your team. And it certainly can’t guide you through an identity shift when your career is evolving faster than you are.

Coaching fills this gap. It helps people do the real work: aligning their internal world with their external goals.

Data-Driven, Human-Centered

In fact, the data supports this shift toward deeper, more human-centered coaching. According to a 2023 study by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), the global coaching industry is projected to grow to $6.25 billion by 2027, up from $4.56 billion in 2022, reflecting increasing demand not just for advice—but for guidance, clarity, and transformation.

At the same time, Deloitte’s 2024 Human Capital Trends Report found that 81% of leaders believe human capabilities like empathy, self-awareness, and communication are more important now than ever—but only 27% feel their organizations are equipped to develop them.

That’s where coaching steps in.

Real Estate: High Tech Meets Higher Expectations

For real estate professionals, the AI era brings a paradox. While tools can help agents become faster and more efficient, they also raise the bar for what clients expect.

Buyers and sellers can now use ChatGPT to answer basic questions. They can pull comps, get mortgage estimates, and even tour homes virtually. So what, then, is the value of an agent?

It’s no longer about having the answers—it’s about asking better questions. Reading between the lines. Holding the emotional weight of someone’s biggest financial decision.

The role of the agent has become less transactional and more transformational. And that transformation requires personal growth, intentional leadership, and the ability to self-regulate in high-stress situations. All areas where a coach can make a meaningful impact.

The Echo Chamber Effect

AI has another unintended consequence: it can keep us in our own mental loops.

Personalized algorithms learn what we like and feed it back to us—reinforcing our existing biases. This is great for efficiency. Terrible for growth.

Coaching acts as a counterbalance to the AI echo chamber. A coach holds up a mirror. Challenges assumptions. Pushes you to see what you can’t see on your own.

In leadership, this is mission-critical. As Coldwell Banker CEO Kamini Lane recently put it: “If you can’t remember the last time someone disagreed with you, you’re in trouble.”

Without coaching, especially for experienced professionals, it’s too easy to plateau in a sea of validation. With coaching, you’re continually refining—not just your strategy, but your self-awareness.

The Rise of Emotional Sophistication

Success in real estate has always required grit. But going forward, it will require greater emotional sophistication.

Clients are more diverse, more discerning, and more skeptical than ever. Negotiations are complex, team dynamics more nuanced, and personal brand more important. As AI handles the mechanical tasks, what remains are the deeply human ones: managing conflict, holding space for others, and making decisions rooted in integrity.

These are not one-size-fits-all skills. They are deeply personal, and they must be practiced. A coach doesn’t just help you know what to do—they help you become the person who can do it.

Coaching as a Strategic Asset

For brokerages and organizations, coaching is no longer a perk—it’s a performance strategy.

Research from McKinsey shows that companies with strong coaching cultures report higher employee engagement, increased revenue, and stronger leadership pipelines. In a talent-constrained industry like real estate, coaching helps retain top agents, develop future leaders, and foster resilience across the board.

The best brokerages of the future won’t just offer AI tools. They’ll offer human growth. And the best agents won’t just know their market—they’ll know themselves.

The Human Future of a High-Tech Industry

AI isn’t replacing coaching. It’s making it more essential.

As we automate the tactical, the human becomes the differentiator. And in a world flooded with data and noise, the most valuable thing you can offer is presence, perspective, and a deeper understanding of yourself.

That’s what coaching unlocks.

Not just better business—but a better you. And that, in the age of AI, may be the most powerful asset of all.