About Coaching

What is coaching?

The International Coach Federation (ICF) defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. Professional coaches provide an ongoing partnership designed to help clients produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. Coaches are trained to listen deeply, to observe completely, and to customize their approach to individual client needs. They believe clients are naturally creative, resourceful, and can create both powerful thinking and powerful answers for themselves. They seek to elicit solutions and strategies from the client. The coach's job is to provide support to enhance the skills, resources, and creativity that the client already has. As the International Coach Federation (ICF) definition indicates, professional coaching is an ongoing professional partnership between a coach and coachee. That partnership is combined with a coaching skill set that enables the coach to fully assist individuals and teams to create performance improvements in their lives, careers, businesses, and organizations. This is achieved through a proven learning and performance process (the coaching conversation) that deepens the coachee's observation of his or her own strengths and areas for growth. The coach then helps the coachee to determine how to use this learning to achieve goals, improve performance, and enhance the quality of life.

Why choose to a career as a coach?

Coaching continues to be one of the fastest growing professions in the country. Coaches can create an individual business, join a coaching company, or seek employment as internal coaches. Those who start private coaching practices may, with sufficient effort and confidence, create a successful business that gives them an excellent income, complete control of their time, and a chance to work with clients oriented to growth, change, and achievement. Coaches can also choose to coach part time to supplement an already existing income. In short, today's coaches have the ability to design the career and income they want in a way that best serves them and the life and business they seek to create.

Why choose to acquire coaching skills as an executive, manager, human resources professional, or consultant?

Many already accomplished leaders and professionals choose to add coaching skills to their toolboxes for working with people. They do so because a coach approach creates more powerful partnerships that yield more effective and powerful results. A coach approach improves communication, helps co-workers, subordinates, and clients gain clarity, establish self and group accountability, define breakthrough outcomes, and work in much more satisfying ways. A coach approach creates more inspiration and creativity and greater connectivity with others. Thus, most leaders and professionals find that the addition of strong coaching skills to an already excellent technical or managerial skill set increases the results they achieve personally and professionally.

Are there independent professional organizations and certifications for coaches?

There are no credentials currently required by any governmental entity in order to be a coach. There are, however, several professional organizations and credentials given by those organizations including the International Coach Federation (www.coachfederation.org), the World Association of Business Coaches (www.wabccoaches.com), and the International Association of Coaches (www.certifiedcoach.org). The decision to pursue a professional credential is individual for each coach. As with every professional, you should invest the time and energy necessary to learn about each professional organization, which organizations might serve you, what credentials they offer, and what requirements exist for each credential. You should also check frequently on websites as each organization controls the requirements for its credentials and those requirements can change.

What is the largest and most well known of these organizations?

The ICF is the largest and most well-known professional coaching association. It has a well established and respected credentialing program that has three levels of credentialing: the Associate Certified Coach (ACC), the Professional Certified Coach (PCC), and the Master Certified Coach (MCC). Each level requires progressively larger amounts of training as a coach, experience as a coach, supervision by an experienced coach of your coaching, and an increased skill level as a coach.

Specific information on how these programs prepare you for such certifications can be found on the course FAQ’s page.

1. PCP 450 Proficient Coach Certificate Program FAQs

2. PCP 550 Proficient Coach Advanced Certificate Program FAQs