When you’re exploring coaching or coach training, there’s so much you want to know. This blog answers some of those commonly asked questions.
One of the first questions many people have is, do I really have to get certified if I want to be a coach? Interestingly enough, technically, legally speaking, the answer is no, you don’t. A dog can hang out a shingle and say they’re a coach; as long as somebody hires them, they’re in business. Anyone can be a coach. Now here comes the real question. When someone is hiring a coach, do they want to hire a professional who’s going to provide a service at that level who hasn’t been trained? The very fact that someone hasn’t been trained tells you they don’t believe it’s important enough which tells you a lot about their lack of dedication to serving you well. So yes, you do want a professional service provider that you’re confident in, that you know has the knowledge to do what they’re doing, cares about their efficacy, and is going to provide value in the service they give you – someone who is trained to provide the service.
What are the reasons there are so many different places you can get certified as a coach? You have thousands of options. PricewaterhouseCoopers cites coaching as the second fastest growing profession in the world, IT being the fastest. Because coaching continues to grow, yes, many different schools offer coach training.
What’s most important to know about coach training? Be sure it’s accredited. There are many, many coach training programs out there and what you’re looking for is a coach training program that has been accredited. Now there are multiple organizations that do accreditations for coach training. Some focus primarily on health care. The majority is about coaching in all different fields. The gold standard around the world, the largest organization that accredits coach training programs, is called the International Coaching Federation. When you’re looking for coach training, it’s extremely important to make sure the program has been accredited by the International Coaching Federation.
Another question: how come the cost varies so much? When you start looking at different schools, the range is all over the board. You can find schools that are very inexpensive, you can find schools that are very expensive. Of course, as with many other services, when somebody is newer in doing what they do, they often come in at a lower price point so they can get into the market. Schools that have been around for a long time invest in elevating their offerings and raise their prices. You will find a wide range of price options at the Center for Coaching Certification because we work really hard to keep our programs affordable for everybody. Research shows we are priced competitively. We’ve been around for over 15 years now, and our price point is very good; when you look at what’s offered and what’s included, it’s exceptional.
How come the amount of time it takes to get certified varies so much? There are a couple of possibilities: ICF requires 60 hours of training to become a member. In addition to that, ICF offers three different levels of credentialing, and the training hours are 60, 125, and 200 for each of the different levels. That in and of itself impacts how long it takes to get certified or earn a credential. Above and beyond that, of course, is scheduling. Sometimes classes are scheduled on a more intensive basis where it’s a shorter time period to complete the certification. You simply have more classes each week. Do remember that in addition to the time for your coach training, you’re also required to have mentor coaching to earn a credential, and that must be at least three months, and you’re required to log hours of experience. How long it takes you to log the hours of experience also directly impacts the amount of time it takes to earn a credential. Another consideration is whether you are taking segments in an a la carte fashion. You do have options in terms of training schedules. What’s important to remember is that you control your schedule.
How do you decide which class or cohort to take? One of the factors is whether or not you want to join ICF as a member, whether or not you want to earn a credential and become a coach. Specifically, some people attend coach training because they want to develop coaching skills they’re going to use in other roles. As a professional, as a leader, coaching skills will serve them well. For that purpose, taking the initial 30-hour training called the Certified Professional Coach, it’s known as partial hours, continuing coach education, or a la carte hours, can make a lot of sense. It’s only 30 hours and it gives you the skills in coaching that serve you well as a leader and in all areas of your life. The next consideration is if you want to earn the ACC credential or if you want to earn the PCC credential. So, you’re deciding. The ACC credential requires fewer hours of training and fewer hours of experience, which means you can earn it in a shorter time and with a smaller investment.
For somebody who is getting started, sometimes it makes a lot of sense. Get the ACC credential and then decide if you want to continue to the PCC credential. Commonly, when paying out of your own pocket for life coaching, career coaching, etc., ACC works as a great starting point and if you want you can continue later. If you’re coaching high-level leaders and executives in the corporate space, increasingly they expect you to have the PCC credential. If you’re going to do the ACC credential, the Foundational Cohort is the program you want. It includes the Certified Professional Coach, the Certified Master Coach, and the mentor coaching required to support you earning the ACC credential. If you want to earn the PCC credential, the Advanced Cohort is what you want. It includes the Certified Professional Coach, the Certified Master Coach, the Certified Advanced Coach, the Coaching Experience class, and the mentor coaching. Choose which you want based on your circumstances, considering your time commitment and your budget, as well as the level of credential you want.
Becoming a member of the International Coaching Federation is much like saying you’ve earned a two-year associate’s degree. The ACC credential is much like saying you’ve earned a degree. The PCC credential is much like saying you’ve earned a master’s degree. There is a third level of credentialing called the MCC. ICF requires you to earn your PCC credential and hold it for three years before continuing to the MCC credential. That means when you’re getting started, you’re really looking at the ACC credential or the PCC credential levels. Level one is to earn the ACC. Level two is to earn the PCC.
When people do register for a class, they often wonder, what happens if I miss a class or what happens if I can’t continue? It is possible to miss and make up one class. The process for that is to have you listen to the recording of the class and then schedule a call with the trainer to make up the required live contact hours. If you start with one cohort and have to stop, it means you’ll transfer to a different group, a different class, and you can do that. There’s a transfer fee and you simply move to a different cohort.
What skills really matter to effectively coach? The International Coaching Federation publishes the Core Competencies. They also have a Code of Ethics. Learning the competencies and the code of ethics truly serves you as coach and serves your future clients. In the process of learning competencies and ethics, you’ll be learning many tools and techniques for when you’re coaching.
Next week we’ll continue the discussion with What is the difference between life coaching and executive coaching?
You do have options. Come visit us at www.coachcert.com and also at www.coach-123.com.
