Coaching Blog

Become a Coach: Ten Ways to Succeed Quickly

Posted by Julia Stewart

Want to become a successful coach? Make sure your coach training includes everything you need...

Success at becoming a coach depends on your learning style and how committed you are to the process. For best results, combine at least several of the methods listed below.

1. Listen to coaching classes. Passive attendance in coaching classes is probably the most common method that people use to learn to coach and it can work - eventually. Problem is, you’re not really learning coaching, you’re just learning about coaching. (Big distinction.) School of Coaching Mastery has many classes you can listen to and we encourage you to do far more than that, as well. Read on…

2. Listen to masterful coaching demonstrations. Here, you’re getting much closer to learning to coach. You’re hearing what works. (However, sometimes hearing what doesn’t work is even more enlightening and actually practicing coaching is better still!) All our coaching skills classes include coaching demonstrations from some of the top instructors in the field.

3. Practice coaching other coaches. This is a fantastic way to learn, because it strengthens your coaching muscles and gives you a safe space to make mistakes. (To get full value, though, you need to be willing to screw up in front of your friends! ;-) SCM coaching skills Modules always include practice periods where everyone gets a chance to use what they just learned and we encourage you to practice outside classes and give you tools for finding practice partners, a.k.a. “coaching buddies”, easily. Join the SCHOOL OF COACHING MASTERY ON FACEBOOK to find coaching buddies now.

4. Get expert verbal feedback on your coaching. This is one of the best ways to learn. Get immediate feedback from an expert. Some coaches are afraid to experience this, but when done well, it’s inspiring, not painful. You learn what works, what doesn’t, why you got stuck, why you succeeded, and/or why the client resisted and how to do it even better next time. Great stuff! (Why struggle along, not knowing if you’re doing it right?) At SCM you’ll get frequent feedback on your coaching from your instructors in class and private email feedback after class. Without it, learning coaching skills can feel like target practice in a dark room! Click the link for upcoming coaching classes where you can get feedback are here.

5. Listen to recordings of yourself coaching. This is priceless! You’ll be surprised what you hear and what you learn. (Former President of the IAC, Natalie Tucker Miller, MMC, says she still records her coaching sessions for her own learning.) Your SCM classes are all recorded and you’ll receive those recordings by email within 24 hours, so you can hear everything you may have missed.

6. Read expert written notes about your coaching. This is even more powerful when you follow up verbal feedback with reading written notes and listening to the recording of your coaching session. Big “Aha’s” happen here. (As one coach put it, “Now I’m not flying blind, anymore!”) You’ll get frequent written feedback on your coaching if you take our Coaching Groundwork Advanced or Master Coach Training series. We don’t know of another coaching school that does this for its students. Check out upcoming Coaching Groundwork Advanced and  Master Coach Training modules.

7. Listen to your peers coach and take detailed notes. This uses your brain in a whole different way. When you write down what you’re hearing, you’re imprinting what you’re learning. SCM classes use ICF and IAC scorecards to speed up your learning this way and you can use these scorecards to score yourself when you listen to recordings of your own coaching, too.

8. Give verbal feedback to your peers about their coaching. When you articulate specific feedback about what you heard (Not just “It was nice”), you take a stand for what you know and you find out quickly if you’re on the right track. You’ll learn how to deliver excellent feedback in our Masteries Classes. Learning to do this, while being in service to your colleagues' learning, is fun!

9. Meet in study groups with your peers. No “experts” allowed! Without the presence of a teacher or any other “expert”, coaches start to step up and take ownership of what they know. Often, this is a crucial final step to becoming masterful. (Peer-to-peer learning is powerful!) That’s why SCM has ongoing study groups, hosted by coach/students, like you, meeting every month and they’re free. Go here to find out more: Coaching Study Groups
10. Coaching real clients. (What a concept! ;-). This obviously is what you’re preparing for. Coach real people in real situations. Develop ongoing relationships with clients, because that relationship is about a lot more than one coaching session. If you can get feedback from your clients, that’s a hundred times better. This is one of the many reasons why the Coach 100 Revolution has been so successful. Coaches get written feedback from everyone they coach and find out what works from the client’s perspective. The Coach 100 Revolution is included in the SCM Full Coach Training program.

School of Coaching Mastery is the only coaching school that incorporates all of these methods into our coach training programs and that’s why our coaches learn so much, so fast. To get on the fast track to masterful coaching, join us here.

To talk to a real person and ask questions you may have about the school, call 877-244-2780
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Copyright, Julia Stewart, 2007 - 2015
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Topics: coach training, School of Coaching Mastery, become a coach, coaching success, ICF, certified life coach, Julia Stewart, IAC, certified coach, Coaching Study Groups

School of Coaching Mastery First in the World to Get IAC License

Posted by Julia Stewart

IAC Certified Coach

 

 

Last night, Angela Spaxman, IAC President, emailed me that the license for the new IAC Coaching Masteries was finally ready. After a few glitches, I succeeded to buying a license for School of Coaching Mastery and our parent company, Julia Stewart Coaching & Training LLC.

 


I think we are the first!! Good thing! We've been teaching them for over a year and a half!

SCM students probably won't notice any difference, since we've been operating with a verbal agreement all along, but it's nice to have bragging rights!

Personally, I'd like to see more hoops for schools and mentors to leap through in order to become IAC licensees. As it stands, it's a lot easier to buy a license than to become an IAC Certified Coach. That could lead to a lot of disappointed coaches who may study with folks who are clueless about what it takes to pass this tough certification.

Then again, maybe I'm just being self-serving since all of our instructors, mentors and advisors are IAC Certified Coaches, some are founding members of the IAC and some contributed to the establishment of this certification and are or have been Certifiers for the IAC. Collectively, we've taught, mentored or certified most of the current IAC Certified Coaches.

Maybe I just want to crow a little!

Topics: coach training, School of Coaching Mastery, become a coach, Coach Certification, Become a Certified Coach, How to Become a Certified Coach, Julia Stewart, IAC, certified coach

School of Coaching Mastery

Posted by Julia Stewart

School of Coaching Mastery LogoOkay, there it is. The new School of Coaching Mastery logo. Putting it out here on my blog is an announcement of sorts. SCM has been a kind of brain child for several months. Maybe longer. I think it was gestating for a couple of years, while I was saying, "I don't want to start another coaching school, there are too many out there, already."

I didn't choose SCM though, it chose me.

For about a year now, people have been coming to me from all over the world saying, "I think I might want to become a coach. How can I find out? Where should I train? Can you help me?" I felt at a loss, because most of the schools I have direct knowledge of, where I trained and where I taught, I have reservations about and I can't recommend the ones I don't know about. I did have programs to offer, like the beginner-skills Coaching Groundwork and the client-attraction Experienced Coach Program, but these people were looking for more than just a program.

Other beginner coaches would ask to join the Seven Secrets of Certification, which is really for intermediate coaches who are preparing for IAC Certification via coaching mastery. That can work, but sometimes the coach really needs more tools, first.

I've got too many programs with too many gaps between them. That confuses people.

What if I shaped it all into one school? What if that school prepared coaches for IAC certification (and beyond) from the very beginning? Hmmm...

That's the certification that I believe in and that's the only approach to coach training that makes sense to me. Most coach training schools base their training on coaching models that were developed in the 90's. Coaching has already evolved way past that.

Other schools are a little too commercial for my taste and/or they're based on values that aren't that useful for solving 21st Century problems.

Maybe the world really does need another coaching school.

If I weave together the programs I already have and fill in the gaps, I can create that school fairly easily. That's inspiring ~ maybe I've really been designing this school all along.

What would the ideal coaching school look like to me? That question has become a fun toy to play with. Time to invite others to play, as well. Over the next four months, I will be meeting with advisers, colleagues, clients and students to get their input on what kind of coaching school the world really needs, as of 2007, and where this school may need to grow in the future.

What will it look like? I don't really know yet, but I'm thinking small classes and targeted training with a lot of practice coaching from the very beginning ~ a "boutique" approach. Gifted coaches learn fast, when given the opportunity and attention they need.

I'm also thinking the trainers should be genuine experts with a real gift for coaching and teaching. (Right now, that would just be me ~ sorry ~ but perhaps not for long.) So many coaching schools are staffed by students or recent graduates of their own programs. Sometimes the instructors aren't even paid. That's just not good enough. You need excellence to teach excellence. This ideal school will be staffed by a well-rounded assortment of expert coach/trainers.

I think the program needs to be flexible, so coaches can get what they need, without being tied down to unnecessary requirements. That just instills a culture of mediocrity and cynicism and isn't useful in a world that needs inspired leaders who can stay ahead of constant change.

Live training? Teleclasses? Webinars? Practicums? MP3's? Video? Probably all of these ~ and whatever else works best, as well.

In the meantime, I will continue offering the programs I do have, while I design what is next. And I'll get to work on the new website, while keeping an SCM web presence at www.yourlifepart2.com.

Topics: coach training, School of Coaching Mastery, Coaching Groundwork, coaching schools, IAC, coach training school

This Prevents Coaching Success: Are You Suffering From the Kiss of Death?

Posted by Julia Stewart

death Should you get coach certification or fill your practice, first?

I get asked this question a lot by coaches that I'm mentoring, because these are two of my mentor coach specialties (the other is advanced personal development).

I'm a little mystified by this question. Why does it have to be either/or?

Most coaches aren't independantly wealthy, so getting clients quickly is important to them. On the other hand, they know that getting certified is important, too. Not so much because it's important to clients - most potential clients won't even ask if you're certified. The real reason certification helps coaches be successful is because it helps them get past feeling insecure, like frauds, like people who don't quite know what they're doing, yet.

That's the Kiss of Death for coaches who are trying to sell their coaching services!

So, the stamp of approval that certifcation brings is important to the coach, not the client.

However, coach certification can take years of hard work. How do you survive in the process? Well, fill your coachng practice, of course. But hold on! How do you fill your practice if you're still suffering from the Kiss of Death??

That's why the Coach 100 Program is designed the way that it is. To make it easy to sign on clients, even though you're new to coaching. There's something about being part of a program and having made a commitment to coach 100 people that makes it easy to ask people to help you out by letting you give them complimentary sessions. Each session you give is priceless practice for your coaching skills and your selling skills. Long before you finish coaching 100 people, you'll be excellent at both and getting clients and certifications will be a piece of cake. 

Not only that, but you'll get the Certified Experienced Coach designation, too. With 100 clients under your belt, you'll have strong skills and certification, too. No more Kiss of Death!

Hmm, Kiss of Death or Piece of Cake? That's an easy one.

If you don't know the Coach 100 techniques to invite people to complimentary sessions, take Coach 100 classes #1 through #4. (a.k.a. C100 Module 1)

Find out more about the Coach 100 Business Success Program.

Topics: coaching business, coach training, Coach 100, coaching clients, Coaching 100, coaching success, Coach Certification, certified coach

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