According to the 2011 DDI Global Leadership Forecast, two of the five most critical skills for leaders in the future are managing change and coaching and developing others. Half of the leaders surveyed rated themselves as ‘ineffective’ at these skills. In the same survey, only 18% of the HR respondents feel their companies have the quantity and quality of leaders they will need to run their companies three to five years from now.
With this in mind, more and more leaders and managers are turning to coaching in order to enhance their skills, whilst helping their organisation achieve its business goals and increase engagement and productivity.
With a plethora of coaching courses and different associations to choose from , however, finding the right solution can be a challenge . Various certifications, accreditations, credentials, memberships, diplomas, workshops and intensives can make it difficult to know the best pathway to take and whether these are recognised by the clients and companies one wishes to work with is another consideration.
Mandy Geddes, General Manager, IECL shared some top tips to help organisations navigate through the minefield of coach training.
1. Choose a training that is internationally accredited
Both the International Coach Federation (ICF) and the Association for Coaching (AC) accredit coach training programs internationally and have rigorous standards that those programs must adhere to. So a coach training that is accredited by one of these will be well regarded by your clients. The ICF accredits around 150 programs throughout the world as Accredited Coach Training Programs (ACTP) and all of these programs adhere to rigorous standards in terms of training hours, quality (and coaching experience) of trainers and alignment with the ICF coaching core-competencies etc (the ICF also accredits short courses as accredited coach specific training hours, or ACSTH).
2. Choose a practical training
Whether you want to work as an external or internal coach, or simply want to take more of a coaching approach in your leadership style, the best coaching training will involve plenty of coaching practice. If you learn only coaching theory you will find it difficult to translate that theory into a coaching session. Choose a practical and experiential training that involves lots of coaching practice so that you have the confidence to coach after you leave the classroom.
3. Make sure you have support
The best training programs will scaffold your learning around coaching with support over a period of time so that you can continue to ask questions, compare notes with peers and subject matter experts, reflect on your learning and deepen your understanding after the classroom days are finished. Ideally your training will also offer ongoing professional development and the opportunity to engage in coaching supervision.
4. Get recognition
When considering a coach training, look for flexible pathways that allow you to study at your own pace and attain the qualifications you want. Most good programs will have a strong foundational program that teaches the basic frameworks, as well as the skills and tools that you need to get started in your coaching practice. If you want to coach in organisations, make sure that your training covers the complexities of the three-way coaching relationship that is common in most organisational coaching (hint: it’s not the same as life-coaching!)
5. Work towards a credential
The ICF and the AC accredit programs and credential coaches. For example, the ICF has three levels of credential; Associate Certified Coach (ACC), Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and Master Certified Coach (MCC). These credentials are recognised worldwide and are worth attaining. You will need coach training – ideally through an ACTP program – and 100 coaching hours to gain the first level of credential (ACC). Because the ICF’s credentialing process is quite rigorous, even this entry level credential is well regarded in the industry (note: even to become an ICF member you need to have 60 hours of coach training, so ICF membership actually means something!)
At the end of the day, the best thing is to ask around among people you know and trust in your industry to find out which programs are both enjoyable and effective.
(click here for the Business Case for Coaching, 2014)
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
