Coaching Blog

After fifteen years in the  business of coaching and coach-training, I've seen my share of fake online schools. So when I stumbled across a "new" online school with a few tell-tale signs, I intuitively knew it was bogus. Just to be sure though (like any good coach), I checked to be certain. Yup, I was right the first time.

Unfortunately, there is seemingly no limit to the number of people who will spot something popular on the web and will try to scam the unsuspecting into sending money. Don't be fooled!

If you're wondering if a coach-training website, or any educational website, is legit, here's what to look for...

7 Clues a Coach-Training Website is Fake:

1. The site doesn't clearly indicate who owns it or runs it. This new site that I found just states, in the "About Us" section, that it's a membership site for people interested in positive psychology. Pretty sketchy.

2. It claims to be a university or graduate school, but the web address doesn't end with .edu or .org. Read number 4 for more about this. In the United States, there are specific laws about who can claim to be a university. Generally, a university offers many topics and awards degrees based an specific requirements. This one claimed to be a US organization, but didn't seem to fit the definition.

3. It claims to be a college or university in the United States, but it gives out diplomas. In the US, you get a diploma when you graduate from high school. If you go on to post-secondary school, such as a college or university, you earn a degree, certification, or certificate of completion, not a diploma.

4. It claims to be accredited by an official-sounding not-for-profit organization that is approved by the United States Department of Education, but the web address doesn't end with .edu (only educational institutions with this type of accreditation can use .edu addresses). This one made such a claim, but the address ended with .us. Curious whether there was any validity to the claim, I went to the Department of Ed. website and searched their list of approved agencies. Nope, not there.

A hallmark of fake schools is the claim of being accredited by official-sounding organizations that don't exist.

By the way, Department of Ed. approval is the gold-standard in university accreditation. However, legitimate coaching schools that claim accreditation are generally accredited by the International Coach Federation (ICF), which is not approved by the Department of Ed. ICF is a good organization. In fact, it is the oldest and largest such organization in the world. This type of approval or accreditation is the gold standard in coaching. You can trust coaching schools that are approved or accredited by the ICF. Just check the ICF's site to be sure.

5. Information about the courses and topics taught is scarce. This new site shares basic information that anyone can find with a quick web search on positive psychology and copy & paste it onto a fake site.

6. There are no trust marks or confirmation links on the site. Trust marks come from third-party organizations, such as the Department of Ed, or the International Coach Federation, or the Better Business Bureau. They usually include links to the accrediting site that confirm the school's claims and may even rate the school on trust and best practices.

7. Here's the scariest red flag: to join this new "organization" that I discovered, you're instructed to copy & paste their payment form into an EMAIL with your name, address, credit-card number, security code, and expiration date! No legitimate organization will EVER ask you to put sensitive payment information into an email.  Email is just not secure. My conclusion is that this site is designed to steal identities from people who are interested in positive psychology and that if you are foolish enough to "join", you will soon discover that your credit card has been maxed out. And because of the tell-tale "diplomas" mentioned on the site (#3 above), it is likely outside the United States, even though it claims to be "American". It's difficult, if not impossible, to catch international scammers, such as these.

So How Can You Find Trustworthy Coaching Schools?

There are many good coach training schools, but Google isn't the best way to find them. Use the ICF's Training Program Search Service (TPSS). They have a huge number of approved and accredited coaching schools to choose from that they have already vetted for you.

Looking for an ICF Approved Coach Training Program?

The Certified Positive Psychology Coach® program approved for 125 ICF hours. Check us out at the ICF TPSS under the following name:

Or go here:

Curious about positive psychology coaching?

If you're looking to make a positive change in your career and you're curious about positive psychology coaching, you're in luck, because a new free eBook called, Become a Positive Psychology Coach, answers most of your questions and can point you in the direction where you can learn more.

The free Become a Positive Psychology Coach eBook even includes comments from practicing positive psychology coaches, from around the world, who represent a variety of coaching niches within the general specialties of life, business, and executive coaching.

More...

• In a nutshell, you'll learn how much fun it is to help clients reach their goals and flourish.
• Plus, knowing that the tools of positive psychology coaching have been tested and researched is a huge confidence builder for all coaches, especially when they are new.
• In addition to confidence, positive psychology and related sciences help positive psychology coaches fine tune their tools, so they know who, what, when, and how to introduce them for greater effectiveness.
• And that scientific background lends credibility with skeptical potential clients.
• The world is changing quickly and evidence-based coaching is changing with it.
• Coaching is advancing as a profession and positive psychology coaching seems to be the next phase.
• Training programs like the Certified Positive Psychology Coach Program, here at School of Coaching Mastery are assisting new coaches to become certified professional coaches.
• The International Association of Positive Psychology Coaches has formed to certify these new positive psychology coaches.
• This is the next big thing in coaching and you can get in on the ground floor!

To find out whether you should join the pioneers of positive psychology coaching; download the eBook for free:

Why does your coaching need Appreciative Inquiry?

First of all, if you went to a good coaching school, you might be using some Appreciative Inquiry (AI) tools without even knowing it, because many of the tools that the ICF Competencies refer to as, "Powerful Questioning" and "Creating Awareness", as well as some of the actual language included in the IAC Masteries is taken directly from Appreciative Inquiry.

AI is baked right into most coaching, but not knowing that could cost you.

First of all, if your coaching school neglected to disclosed the sources of their awesome material, that's a little dishonest. Second, if you don't understand the basic theory behind the tools you use, you may have a harder time using them effectively. Third, you're more susceptible to magical thinking, when your training isn't grounded in evidence-based material, because alhough great coaching works "like magic", there are very real reasons why. Finally, not fully understanding how your profession works leaves you unable to improvise when unexpected issues arise during your coaching sessions.

So back to Appreciative Inquiry.

It's initially based on research done by David Cooperrider in the early 1980s at Case Western University. That puts it years ahead of the "invention" of professional coaching in the 1990s. It's also well ahead of the formal launching of positive psychology, as a field of research. However, positive psychologists are more upfront about their sources.

Cooperrider noticed that organizational outcomes improved, often dramatically, when people focused on what was already working, instead of mainly on what was wrong. His observations are influencing people around the world and as it turns out, individuals also experience dramatically improved outcomes when the apply the approaches of AI.

If you'd like to know more about Appreciative Inquiry, here is a video of the recent class called How to Use Appreciative Inquiry with Your Positive Psychology Coaching, led by me, Julia Stewart, along with Marcus Mottley, PhD, CPPC, a clinical psychologist, Certified Positive Psychology Coach® and expert on AI.

Would you like more ideas on how to have a happier holidays?

Get ten more ideas for having a happier holiday updated for 2021 with our new free eBook: How to Have Happier Holidays by Julia Stewart. These are simple ideas that anyone anywhere can use quickly and easily to have a stress-free, happy holiday, regardless which holidays you celebrate. Download it for yourself or for someone else who needs it. These ideas and practices are all based on positive psychology research and you can find references to learn more at the back of the book.

Simple ideas can make a dramatic difference in your life and the lives of others.

The first step is to commit yourself to living a thriving life. When you make a commitment, you start the wheels in motion. When you take action on that commitment, everything starts to change. If you need help with this, consider hiring a positive psychology coach.

Find trained and certified positive psychology coaches at Find a Coach Here. The right coach can help you change your life! Contact three and ask each for a complimentary coaching session. Choose the coach who is the best fit for you!

Are you interested in becoming a positive psychology coach, yourself?

Consider joining the Certified Positive Psychology Coach Program and study to become an evidence-based coach who can help others flourish. Join the positive psychology movement!

Graduation from this online coach training program will qualify you for the Certified Positive Psychology Coach® credential from the International Association of Positive Psychology Coaches (IAPPC).

Classes begin monthly. Some are live and others are recorded so you can take them from where ever you are.

Positive Psychology is the future of coaching!

Get your free How to Have Happier Holidays with Positive Psychology eBook here:

I found this great video on how to coach masterfully at the Institute of Coaching's website.

In this 30-minute interview with Google's Director of Executive Coaching & Leadership, David Peterson, PhD., discusses what it means to be a masterful coach, how it is nonlinear, goes way beyond asking powerful questions, and how nearly everyone at Google is shifting to a coach approach, so those who call themselves, professional coaches, need to get really good at what they do to stay credible.Hence, the discussion on coaching mastery.

Peterson also says that as the world moves exponentially faster, it's more critical than ever to be able to establish rapport quickly with clients, facilitate change rapidly and show results. A few years back, we posted a short video with then Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, in which he says, "Get a coach," was the best advice he ever received and how he believes everyone needs a coach. Apparently Peterson and his team really are getting those great results! Watch for more insights:

If you're thinking about becoming a masterful coach, consider studying positive psychology coaching, because evidence-based coaching is often preferred by large employers such as Google. And positive psychology is a natural fit for coaching. There are only a handful of positive psychology coaches who can claim to have reached mastery, so you will be able to distinguish yourself from the thousands of others who call themselves coaches. And there is still time for you to become one of the first to be certified by the International Association of Positive Psychology Coaches.

Get Master Coach Training in positive psychology coaching. Check it out below:

Coach Certification: The Great Debate

The ongoing debate about coach certification, coaching qualifications, and the profession of coaching was raised again today by Kerryn Griffiths, who runs ReciproCoach (an organization that has formalized the old laissez faire practice of buddy coaching, as a method of gaining practice for coaches) in an article called, "Where is coaching regulation headed?" Her article, which is only available to members of ReciproCoach, offers the rather alarming proposal that currently certified coaches might not be allowed to coach, anymore. While I disagree that this is a legitimate worry, I share some of the questions raised by Kerryn, as well as by the authors of a research paper liberally quoted by her: "From Competencies to Capabilities in the Assessment and Accreditation of Coaches (Bachkirova and Smith, 2015).

The process of certifying coaches based on competencies dates back about 20 years and it has been challenged many times. Does it really measure quality coaching? Do certified coaches really coach any more effectively than those who aren't certified? Which certification process is best? What does the research say?

I've been grading coaching sessions using coaching models invented by me, or by Thomas Leonard, or by the ICF, or IAC for over twelve years. What I can tell you is that none of the models I've used is perfect. They all miss possible approaches to coaching, because coaching is a process created in the moment by coaches and their clients and coaching models are all based on past experience.

Also, the coaching models currently in use by the ICF and IAC are not based on research, mainly because they were created before much research had been done on coaching. However, some recent research supports the skills the IAC and ICF advocate. For instance, asking is indeed usually more useful than telling and asking, "how?" tends to be more useful than asking, "why?".

My main complaints with both ICF and IAC certification models is that they really are both styles of coaching; they do not represent all good coaching. If you sent me two recordings of coaching sessions, one that passed ICF certification and the other that passed the IAC, I'm pretty certain I could tell you which was which. (Come to think of it, please don't send me any coach recordings. I'm busy enough, thanks.)

Also, competency-based coaching (the IAC calls their IP, "masteries", but the certification is still competency-based) has a way of limiting options and it encourages a tendency toward perfectionism in both coaches and certifiers. Perfectionism is fear-based (fear of being found flawed) and leads to constriction, limitation and less innovation; hardly good qualities for coaching.

In my opinion, there are at least a thousand styles of coaching that could be effective with the right clients in the right circumstances and most haven't been invented, yet.

A few years ago, I started telling my students who sat for certification, "Surprise me. I'd love to learn something new from you." And a few of them have, indeed, opened my eyes to new possibilities. Most coach certifications aren't like that.

But research has its limitations, too. Findings are sometimes only valid within a very narrow set of conditions and sometimes researchers miss or confuse what's really going on. In the end, all we ever have is our best guess. That doesn't mean we shouldn't investigate, only that we need to hold our findings lightly.

So is it worthwhile getting certified? I think it is. For one thing, most coaches want to be certified for some great reasons. Plus, if you can shoe-horn yourself into one of these coaching styles, you probably have many coaching tools in your tool belt and you know how to use them. Don't worry if every session you do wouldn't pass. Do remember that these coaching styles represent less than 1% of what may be effective. A few years ago, I suggested Tony Robbins couldn't pass ICF or IAC certification. What's the difference? Here's a brief comparison of ICF and IAC certifications.

New certifications and certifying organizations may come along. They might be better. Bachkirova and Smith offer an interesting model based on capabilities. I'll need to hear it in action before I jump on board. Presumably, they will research it, first.

My personal opinion is that most certifications focus too much on the coach and not enough on the client, where the evidence of success can be observed. Does the client open up to more possibilities, have insights and increased clarity that lead to enthusiasm, growth and solutions, plus action plans, supportive infrastructures and next steps? If clients are revisited days or weeks after the coaching, will certifiers find that they followed through on plans made during coaching and their lives are indeed transformed? If so, who cares how the coach got them there? The ICF and IAC do look at these, but I'm suggesting they mostly look at client outcomes, rather than coaching behaviors. I'm guessing researchers will be looking at both.

When enough research has been done, maybe - this is a BIG maybe - coach certification will be perfected.

In the meantime, the ICF is the main game in town. The IAC offers an alternative, but needs to certify a lot more coaches to stay competitive. I've heard a suggestion that they let their licensees start certifying coaches for them and that may be a great solution. In any case, if coaching is ever regulated in your country, being certified by the ICF or IAC will likely grandfather you in.

Coaching schools, such as School of Coaching Mastery, often offer their own coach certifications.

Are you interested in getting coach certification?

Have you ever wondered what coaching is?

We've written about what is life coaching before. Here's a cool little video (under 2.5 minutes) that the ICF just released called, "What is Coaching?", that covers all related types of coaching, such as business coaching and executive coaching. Athletes have always had coaches, but we're talking about a different type of coaching here. 

Have fun with the video. It'll help make coaching clear to you:

Interested in becoming a coach? Get the free Become a Coach eBook below:

One of the most common questions we get about the Certified Positive Psychology Coach® Program is, "How do I apply?" In the past, application was made primarily by telephone interview, so we could determine, along with the applicant, whether the program was the right fit and whether the coach qualified for advanced placement. It's still possible to apply this way, but it seems to take too long, so we're streamlining the process.

You can now apply to the Certified Positive Psychology Coach® program via an online application. It's currently free to apply and only takes a few minutes.

A few other important questions about becoming a Certified Positive Psychology Coach®:

- Is this program approved by an internationally recognized coaching association?

Yes, the Certified Positive Psychology Coach® Program is Approved by the ICF (International Coach Federation) for 125 hours and it's licensed by the IAC (International Association of Coaches).

- Will I be prepared to coach professionally when I graduate from the Certified Positive Psychology Coach® program?

Yes, this is a training program for professional coaches that integrates advanced coach training with positive psychology from start to finish. 

- Do I have to wait to join?

No. New modules start every month, so we have rolling enrollment.

- What is included in this program?

Everything you need to graduate and get certified is included: classes, recordings, written materials, tests, certificates, research papers and articles, study groups, business tools, and your Certified Positive Psychology Coach® credential. We also recommend a variety of related books and other media, but you're not required to buy anything extra.

- I live in Europe (or Africa, Asia, Oceania), do you have classes I can attend?

Yes, our courses are taught via live interactive webinars and you can access them via any internet-connected device or via telephone (we have "local" phone numbers for 18 countries). If you miss a class, you can watch the recorded video. Our class schedule is between 10am - 10PM Eastern/NY Time and our students literally are from all over the world! That said, classes are small and students get to know each other well and become good friends. View upcoming classes here.

- How much does the program cost?

Current tuition is listed here. You can save 10% if you choose to pay your tuition in advance.

More FAQs about this program are here.

Want to apply to become a Certified Positive Psychology Coach®? Click below:

Life Coaches and their colleagues (such as business coaches and executive coaches) need empathy, that sense that you can identify and even feel what another is experiencing. It's an important part of what leadership coaching and emotional intelligence expert, Richard Boyatzis, calls "compassionate coaching", the type of coaching that's been found to be most effective.

Have you ever wondered how we know what someone else is feeling? 

Neuroscientists tell us that we have something called mirror neurons that cause us to experience what others experience, both physically and emotionally. You're even more likely to feel what someone else is feeling, if you're closely bonded to them. That's one of the reasons that connecting with a client is so important.

Why does it matter that life coaches have a strong sense of empathy with their clients?

A tremendous amount of information passes between a coach and client during a coaching session. We think about six times faster than we can talk (Rock, 2006) and we feel almost instantly, so if we over-rely on the content of the client's words, we will understand only a thimble full, compared to the volumes of information we can glean via empathy. Of course, we need to be sensitive to that information and accurately interpret it, while checking in with the client, in order to stay on track. This can take considerable practice.

So why should life coaches never get botox?

The concept of mirror neurons doesn't really describe the complex wiring that goes into empathy, which is an evolutionary enhancement that many animals don't have. The more social a species is (think: reptiles, to mammals, to primates, to us: the world's most social animal) the more sophisticated our emotional wiring must be.

As Stephen Porges, author of The Polyvagal Theory (2011) tells us, all animals have something called the vagus nerve, a conduit for a host of smaller nerves that connect the face, throat, chest and abdomen, and communicate between our organs, facial muscles, and brain. It is this collection of nerves that is the seat of emotion. That's why you feel emotions in your torso, throat and/or face.

In reptiles, who experience little or no emotional bonding, emotions are simply about survival. Reptilian vagus nerves enervate the gut and produce "gut feelings" that signal danger, while the reptilian brain (analogous to the human brain stem) signals a "fight, flight, or freeze response." Humans and other mammals also possess this primitive wiring, which Porges calls, "the vegetative vagus". 

It's official; your gut feelings are real.

But mammals are more social and need more complex emotional wiring to navigate relationships. We also possess the "smart vagus" that enervates the heart and lungs. This is the vagus that has gotten a lot of press lately, since scientists discovered that the vagus delivers oxytocin, the "love hormone" that triggers much of what we call bonding between humans and other animals.

Hold on, I'm getting to the botox part.

In primates, and especially humans, vagal nerves also enervate the throat and facial muscles which communicate so much to empathic others via our facial expressions and also via our voices, which change slightly according to muscle contractions in the throat. This is why we can intuit what someone is feeling when we talk to them on the phone. In turn, the listener experiences minute contractions in their own face, throat, chest and abdomen. It's those contractions that tell you what someone else is feeling, because you are then feeling it too!

The most highly empathic people respond to tiny, almost invisible contractions around the eyes, rather then just the mouth. In fact, people who are autistic, and therefore are not usually highly empathic, tend to avoid looking at eyes and so miss important information.

When you talk to someone face-to-face, or on the telephone, you intuition is highly influenced by the minute contractions around your own eyes and other parts of the face and throat. According to Porges, if you've had botox, you will be cut off from that information. Plus, others will have a harder time reading your feelings. Less empathy all around. Bad for your relationships. Super bad for your coaching.

Botox literally cuts you off from your complex and subtle ways of knowing.

Would you like to learn more about the science of coaching? Consider joining the Certified Positive Psychology Coach® Program or simply take the modules you're most curious about. All are ICF approved and IAC licensed. Click below for more information.

The business of life, executive, and business coaching grew up with the internet and is almost always high-tech. In fact, many coaching businesses boast an international roster of clients. So coaches need to master the basics of technology in order to feel professional and avoid frustrating our clients and ourselves.

So what are the 10 technologies every coach must have? Do you need a slick website? Expensive client-management software? You might be surprised what you actually need, and what you don't.

Here are 10 Technology Requirements for a Successful Coaching Business:

1. At least two separate telephone services. Yep, two. Why is that? A telephone is probably still the most important technology you need to run a service business, such as coaching. And no technology is always reliable. As a professional, you need to invest in a backup. You could have one old-fashioned land line, or VoIP service, plus one mobile phone. I prefer two services from different companies, because in this age of cyber warfare, you don't want your entire business vulnerable to one company that could crash.

2. At least two internet service providers. Same reason. Internet providers go down all the time and running out to Starbucks to connect your business wastes time and could compromise your clients' privacy, not to mention your own. Not professional. Today, many smart phones can double as wifi hot spots in a pinch. You have plenty of options. Make the investment.

3. A laptop. Tablets and smart phones are fine for people who don't own businesses, but you'll likely get more work done on something with a real keyboard, so a desktop or laptop computer is useful. The rule of thumb in business is to replace your laptop every two years, before it has a chance to break down. In the meantime, back up your data regularly and keep your browsers up to date.

4. Internet Security and Firewall. Speaking of privacy! Don't even consider going online without security. Even Mac owners need to be concerned about this. Yes, internet security is inconvenient. But it's no where as inconvenient as getting hacked or losing all your data. Some hackers actually will shut down your device and demand ransom to give it back to you. That's painful if you lose family pictures, but it's dangerous if you lose access to your business.

5. Secure storage for your clients' info. If your identity is stolen, that could cost you thousands. But if your clients' identities are stolen and it's traced back to your negligence, it could cost you millions. If you're confident of your device's security, you could store info on it. If not, check #9 below. Not all security is high-tech, though. You may want to store client info offline under lock and key and be extremely  careful to keep it out of the hands of others.

6. Excellent passwords. You've heard this before. It goes double when you own a business, because your livelihood and your clients' data are all at stake. Never use the same password twice. Change it every three months and use extremely long passwords that are case sensitive and include other symbols. How do you remember them? You can use a reputable online password service, or paper and pen - under lock and key.

7. Profiles on major social media sites. Depending on whether your business focuses on your local area or the world wide web, you may or may not need a huge online presence, but social sites are a free and easy way to spread the word about your services, so put up engaging and thorough profiles on social sites. LinkedIn is particularly important, especially if you're a business or executive coach. Learn more about social media for coaches with this free ebook.

8. A business checking account. Keep your business' money and your personal money separate. It'll help  give you clarity about what's coming in and going out and it makes tax time easier. Learn more about money and your coaching business with this free ebook.

9. A fast and easy way to accept money from your clients. Accepting checks is slow and international checks are expensive to process. Help your clients make their payments instantly and easily with an online service or a business account that accepts wire transfers. Choose one that offers fraud protection for you and your clients and can convert international currencies. PayPal is one of many services for small-business owners. One of its benefits is that it handles credit cards and checks, so you don't have to be responsible for them.

10. A door. Yes, a door. It's low-tech and you need one. For your office. Whether in your house or an office suite, make sure you have privacy and quiet while you're coaching. Both you and your clients will enjoy far more valuable coaching sessions when you feel quiet and secure. Don't make the mistake of trying to run a successful business from a corner in your living room or an office corridor. Coaching must be private to be successful.

So What Don't You Need for a Successful Coaching Business?

1. A web site. At least not right away. Most new coaches rush to get a site launched and wind up with something that doesn't represent their business. If you do it right, you'll most likely need a year or two to fully identify your niche and specialty. Until then, your LinkedIn profile is fine.

2. Client management software. They tend to be more trouble than they're worth. Client management is easy, unless you have hundreds of clients and you probably won't. Don't waste your money.

3. Skype. If you love Skype, go ahead and use it, but there are many alternatives that are more stable. Video coaching doesn't equal better coaching results, so your phone is probably fine. Use what works best for you.

Did I leave out something important? What would you add or subtract from these lists?

Learn more about the business of coaching with Coach 100: