A wave of enthusiasm about coaching has fueled rapid growth of the industry, but the future will be determined by the quality of the research we conduct. We need to reinforce beliefs and popular practices with an intellectual foundation – our intellectual integrity. We also need to stretch and improve coaching processes and practices to prepare people for the future. The Thought Leadership Institute of ICF convened three sessions of conversations among 36 of the leading researchers on coaching from around the world. The thoughts and dialogue were synthesized into a Grand Challenge for the Future of Coaching paper which has been published in the Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences. In this webinar, we will discuss the underlying issues and challenges facing coaching, as well as specific research needs clustered in four themes: desired outcomes of coaching; processes and mechanisms of coaching that work; competencies of effective coaches; and coaching issues within context and for particular populations. We hope to offer these ideas and provoke some active conversation during the webinar, as well as inspire new research and collaborations within the field.