I've talked to hundreds of coaches and nearly all of them say the same thing:
They see themselves equally as entrepreneurs and professionals. I'm not surprised.
DEFINITION:
Entrepreneur: Someone who starts businesses for fun. May or may not be successful.
Professional: Someone with professional training & credentials who offers professional services for a fee. May or may not be successful.
Coaches don't just wear two hats. You could say we have two brains, when it comes to running our businesses. One for the entrepreneur (Fun & profit!) and one for the professional (I'll learn everything I can to give the best results and I have credentials that confirm that.)
I love being an entrepreneur. It's loads of fun. I bet you do too. And I bet your inner professional held you back until he/she was convinced you'd done what it takes to be the best you can be. Not always fun - but worth it, if you want to be a professional with integrity. And necessary, if you want to be a professional who succeeds.
You see, to your inner professional, practicing your profession without the appropriate credentials is as terrifying as walking down the red carpet stark naked!
- Or performing brain surgery without being a doctor.
- Or flying a plane without a pilot's license.
There's no getting around this, if you see yourself as a professional. So, if you're a coach who wants more clients and you're trying to do it without training and certification (the coaching profession's recognized credentials), then your inner professional is just trying to save you from disaster and humiliation.
You can thank it for that.
Your inner entrepreneur doesn't get this. It's busy running a cool business and it doesn't have time & money to spend on more training. And anyway, coaches don't really need certification, right?
Actually, according to a number of studies (See Coaching Sherpa), professional coaches without training & certification earn less, become successful more slowly, and/or drop out of the profession after a couple of years.
No surprise, eh?
You've got to get your inner professional and inner entrepreneur talking to each other. They need to work together so you can have the fun, ease and profits you planned on and the integrity you require.
Fortunately for you, there's something that will make both your inner professional and inner entrepreneur very, very happy.
It's called Certification Bootcamp. It's for practicing coaches, only, and it's short on both time and money, long on fun, and high on quality, value and results (Listen, I'm a professional, too).
The premiere edition of CERTIFICATION BOOTCAMP is coming up in a few weeks.
IT INCLUDES:
- 10 TELE-WEBINAR CLASSES
- 4 TELECONFERENCES
- 1 LIVE EVENT
You can customize it and take only what you need.
It's fast and fun and priced so low, even your inner entrepreneur will love it. If you jump in quickly, you inner professional will breathe a sigh of relief and will finally, FINALLY, let you succeed like you know you are meant to.
NO MORE GOING NAKED.
This program is only open to a few good coaches and it's already filling, so if you're at all curious, check it out right now. Your inner professional will thank you.
If you have more questions, call us at +1-877-224-2780
If you're reading this article then, obviously, you spend time online reading about coaching.
And if that's the case, then you must have noticed all those ads that promise that you'll be a master certified coach in two days or 16 hours, or whatever. Sometimes, they also advertise their tuition, which is cheap, cheap, cheap.
You can imagine how those schools are regarded by real professional coaches. Mark Joyella (@CoachReporter), who writes for the Coaching Commons, tweeted about them (I'm paraphrasing), 'Sure and next weekend you can become a brain surgeon!'
I'm thinking those ads mainly appeal three types of people. Those who:
1. Think they already know how to coach (a.k.a. arrogant)
2. Are only interested in coaching for the money (a.k.a. greedy)
3. Are clueless (a.k.a. gullible)
Those who're attracted to us don't fit those descriptions, so I never considered weekend coach training schools our competition.
But I reconsidered that when I heard that one of my most respected competitors, Barbra Sundquist, is closing her 'Become a Certified Coach' school at the end of this year [12-11-09 Update: Barbra isn't going out of business, but simply closing the doors of this particular program. See Barbra's comments in the comments section, below.]. Barbra cited a number of reasons, including rising competition from cheap, highly advertised, schools. That got me thinking...
What if the proliferation of bogus coach training schools drives out most or all of the legitimate schools? Where does that leave the profession of coaching? Will the majority of coaches then be unskilled or disreputable? Will the reputation of coaching drop to the point that real professional coaches quit?
I'm not trying to be an alarmist here. You can't prevent a potential problem if you're not willing to look at it. Coaching has enjoyed incredible freedom in the past 20 years. But the success and freedom of coaching has sometimes attracted people with the wrong motivations.
I admit, 2009 has been a challenging year for School of Coaching Mastery, as well. Several of our students didn't pay their bills. But that forced me to consider just how committed I am to coach training and I realized that if it came down to choosing between my home or my school, I'd give up the house!
So I'm in it for the long haul. But what about you? If you're committed to coaching, then you're probably just as disturbed as I am about the proliferation of schools and coaches who don't cast a good light on this profession.
What do you think needs to be done about it? Do coaching organizations like the IAC and ICF have a responsibility to do anything? Do they even have the authority to do anything? Or do coaches themselves need to take more responsibility for the image of the profession?
There's lots of hang-wringing going on in private forums, but coaching is about action. Do you need to take action?
Please post your views on this in the area below and if coaching is a really important issue for you, please also share this article with the social sharing tools, above.
The first meeting of the IAC North American Virtual Chapter offered amazing insights to members into IAC Coach Certification and what it takes to pass it.
Our guests, Natalie Tucker Miller, IAC-CC, (Lead Certifier for and Past President of the IAC) and Elizabeth Nofziger, IAC-CC, (Certifying Examiner for the IAC)* went through the 9 IAC Coaching Masteries(tm) one by one and pointed out common mistakes and simple solutions to each one. The resulting audio recording is a 'must listen' for anyone who is thinking about qualifying for this highly respected coach certification.
To welcome our 100 new members, I wrote a free white paper called, 'How to Become an IAC-CC'. I based the content of the white paper on observations of how the coaching industry and the role that coach certification plays in it, has changed over the years and I included lists of tips and 'do's and don'ts' that I've compiled in my years of teaching and mentoring coaches to become IAC Certified Coaches.
It's not too late to join the IAC North American Virtual Chapter. Everyone who joins will get links to both the free White Paper and the audio recording of our first meeting.
As an additional gift from School of Coaching Mastery, for a limited time, members of the new chapter can also save on a new 8-hour coach training program with Natalie Tucker Miller, IAC-CC, Elizabeth Nofiziger, IAC-CC, and me, called 'Certified Coach: Master What the Certifiers Are Looking For'.
Join the chapter below to receive the white paper on how to become an IAC-CC, the audio recording of the certifiers, and a coupon code to join the new certification program and save.
* Disclosure: Natalie and Elizabeth are also instructors and certifiers for School of Coaching Master.
If you're one of the many coaches who view coach certification as an critical goal in 2009, this will interest you.
We were planning one of our advanced coach certification weekends this October, but coaches told us they want something else. I invite you to tell us what you want, too, in the survey called, 'Certification in a Weekend?' The survey closes this Thursday. So far, over 50 coaches have told us what they want and how much they want to pay for it. We have every single bit of it, too!
We're offering a special preview recording of 'Master Coach Demos', a new product that we're producing, to everyone who participates in the survey. We'll also provide you with customized recommendations, so you get the certification support you need, not just a pre-packaged product that may not fit your unique requirements.
Take the quick 2-page Certification survey right now
Most of the coaches I talk to fit the following description:
Coaching, But Not Actually Open for Business
They think they're in business, but they're not. Confusion is holding them back. Confusion turns away coaching clients, just like the business in this picture turns away customers.
The reason I know this is that unlike most coaching schools, I (or someone else at SCM) actually talk to the coaches who visit our site. We listen to what they are up to and help them find the resources they need. It's a labor-intensive process that average coach training schools skip. But we're not average.
Our Enrollment Advisor, Donna Miller, commented on this to me the other day. Most coaches are either coaching, but have no business, or they've started a business, but they're not sure how to coach. Those are bad combinations. They send the same mixed message as the business pictured above. The open sign is on, but the security gate is closed.
If your coaching business is struggling, ask yourself if you're actually open for business.
Here's My Stand:
There is (or should be) an enormous difference between amateurs who coach and professional coaches. If you want a successful coaching business, you need to be coaching a whole lot better than your client's best friend, next door neighbor and office mate, because those folks are all "coaching" too (and a most of them are coaching for free).
A good coaching school will give you clarity and clarity creates success. It's not magic, but it feels like magic. Mixed signals will keep you stuck. If you are stuck, get the clarity you need.
One place you can get clarity is in our "How to Become..." free mini-course series. The next one is on How to Become a Certified Coach.
If you're a professional business or life coach who is considering coach certification, you're not alone.
One of the biggest trends in coaching, in 2009, is that veteran coaches are finding for the first time that they need coach certification. For years, prospective clients and employers didn't even ask about it, but that has changed. However, if you've been coaching professionally for a while, you don't want to go back to the very beginning and start your coach training at an accredited coaching school.
And you really don't want one of those embarrassing fly-by-night certifications.
So what are your options? That's what our free 4-hour mini-course on how to become a certified coach is all about. It's led by SCM President, Julia Stewart, IAC-CC. It'll cover some of the pros and cons of various certifications, plus it'll hook you up with some valuable resources that can help you get there faster.
The 'How to Become a Certified Coach' course is taught live via webinar (or you can just access it by phone) on two separate days. Each class is a total of 2-hours long, broken down into 90 minutes of instruction, followed by 30 minutes of Q&A.
You'll come away with clarity, tools and a path to success. It may not take you as long as you might think to qualify for a respected coach certification.
Click here to register for the next free, "How to Become a Certified Coach" mini-course
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of telling SCM coach/student, Brick Saunderson (Dr. Brick), that he's the first ever SCM Certified Mastery Coach!
I'm not sure which of us was more excited! Brick joined the SCM Certified Coach Training Program about a year ago. With decades of experience as Clinical Counselling-Hypnotherapist (RCCH) and Registered Counsellor on Vancouver Island, BA, Canada, Brick already had loads of skill working one-on-one with clients. In fact, he has his own school where he teaches other counsellors how to use hypnotherapy and is clearly is a long-time master in helping others create the lives they desire.
Regardless, Brick says becoming a certified coach is a huge milestone for him!
SCM, on the other hand, is a pretty new coaching school (founded, 2007) and the Certified Mastery Coach designation was only designed a couple of months ago, so we are super excited to have our first certified coach, especially since several more of our coach/students have demonstrated coaching mastery and will be following in Brick's footsteps and getting certified by us and/or the IAC very shortly.
You can visit Brick's coaching site, www.dreamfacilitators.net
And you can visit Brick Certified Mastery Coach page here.
Brick shared some gems about his journey with me in a 19 minute recorded interview right here. If you're wondering about going into coaching or becoming certified and you'd like to hear from someone (unedited) who's just been through the process, maybe this will be helpful to you:
If you'd like more secrets about becoming a certified coach, download the free Seven Secrets of Certification eBook.
Four years ago, I wrote an ebook based on what I had learned from training, mentoring and certifying hundreds of coaches.
Since then, hundreds more coaches have downloaded that ebook and many have used it to become certified, themselves. It's called the Seven Secrets of Certification, because it's about the seven things that I noticed that some coaches were doing, but others were not.
Those seven things are important, because they make the difference between masterful coaching and mediocre coaching AND they make the difference between passing an elite skills-based certification, like the IAC's or SCM's.
Today, I'm re-releasing that ebook. The original sold for $21. The new one is FREE. Version 3.1 includes language that makes it easier to understand when reviewing the IAC Coaching Masteries(tm). In fact, we have links to all nine IAC Coaching Masteries(tm) learning guides, which you normally have to pay to see.
Oh, and we've included a $100 coupon, good for a discount off any SCM Coach Training Program or module.
Are you ready for coaching mastery and an elite coach certification? This ebook will help you answer that question. And if you want to get there faster, we have proven programs to help you, whether you are a brand-new coach or a veteran professional.
Go here to learn about our Fast Track to Coach Certification and to download the free Seven Secrets of Certification eBook
There is so much advice and opinion out there on whether or not coaches need training or certification.
Unfortunately, most of the information is based on what has worked for someone else. If their situation is exactly like yours, their advice may be good for you. But odds are, it won't be.
That's the problem with opinons and advice. It's always about someone else. Not you.
To clear up confusion about coach certification, we did a recent teleclass to help coaches decide for themselves if they really need to become certified coaches. The participants asked terrific questions about becoming a coach, getting coach training and becoming a certified coach.
The truth is some coaches really do need certification and others don't. The various deciding factors include variables such as your personality, whether coaching is a hobby, a sideline or your main source or income, your coaching niche or specialties, your clients' preferences, whether you want to work for yourself or someone else, and much more. You may be curious about the answers to those questions, too.
So if you missed the live call, you're in luck! We turned the questions from the class into a free questionnaire that will help you decide for YOU, if coach certification is a good idea for your coaching career.
You don't need to give your name or email address to take the coach certification questionnaire, but if you want more information from us, you'll have a chance to request it at the end.
Plus, we've added the recording for the class, 'Become a Masterful Coach: Do you need to become a certified coach?', which is at the bottom of this post. I recommend that you fill out the questionnaire first and listen to the recording second. If you have more questions, you're welcome to call us at +1-877-224-2780.
Here is the recording for the 'Become a Masterful Coach: Do you need coach certification?' teleclass:
If you’re
curious why School of Coaching Mastery chose to prepare coaches for IAC Coach Certification, then
you’ll want to read this.
Interestingly,
both the IAC and the ICF were founded by the same man, Thomas J Leonard, who is
often referred to as the Founder of the Coaching Profession. Thomas passed away
suddenly in 2003, but in his lifetime, he did more to raise the standards of
coaching than anyone before or since.
Thomas
founded the ICF in 1995, when the coach profession was still quite young. At
the time, professional coaching was just beginning to establish itself as a
distinct profession, with different skills and deliverables from any other
profession, such as consulting or psychotherapy, two professions that are often
confused with coaching.
Because the
profession of coaching was so new and evolving so fast, it was difficult to
define standards for certified coaching, so instead, ICF certification was
based on the amount of training a coach had and how many paid hours of coaching
he/she had documented. It used a “competency” model and it usually took years
for a coach to achieve ICF certification.
By 2001,
Thomas had grown dissatisfied with the ICF approach to certification. He didn’t
feel that the coaches who were being certified by the ICF were consistently
excellent. It was possible to spend years getting coach training and rack up
thousands of hours of coaching experience and still be an average coach. (Even
though there are many excellent ICF credentialed coaches.)
Thomas
decided that coach certification should be based solely on the coach’s ability
to coach and on their pledge to uphold a high standard of ethics as
professional coaches, because in the end, that’s all that really mattered. By
that time, the ICF was completely independent of Thomas Leonard. The ICF had
its own board of directors and administrators who told Thomas that they weren’t
interested in changing their certification process.
Being the
leader and maverick that he was, Thomas simply founded a new not-for-profit
certifying organization in 2003 that bases its certification solely on a
coach’s ability to demonstrate masterful coaching skills and a high level of
ethics. That organization is the IAC and SCM instructors are proud to have
assisted most IAC Certified Coaches to get certified. In fact, all of SCM's instructors, board of advisors and mentor coaches are IAC Certified Coaches.
Coach Certification, training, ethics and professionalism are becoming increasingly important to businesses and consumers, so although it's technically not necessary that a coach have certification, it's a very good idea. We believe IAC Coach Certification measures what's really important in coaching, which is mastery. That's why we chose it.
Have More Questions About Becoming a Coach?
Download our free Become a Coach eBook. It contains a free 8-hour coach training program, too!
Copyright, Julia Stewart, 2009