A "profession" is commonly defined as "an occupation requiring specialized education and/or training." Life experience, a home study program, training in other professions, reading a book or completing an online program does not qualify you to be a professional coach and exempt you from needing training.
While coaching is currently an unregulated profession and it is legal for anyone to call him or herself a "coach," it is my strong position that specialized training is required to become a Professional Coach.
Here are three primary coach training options:
Option 1: Start with a beginner's mind and enroll in a foundational coaching skills training program
Option 2: Enroll in a program designed for therapists and other practicing helping professionals
Option 3: Enroll in a specialty training program
Foundational Coaching Skills Training Programs
These comprehensive programs cover all coaching skills from the ground up and are a must for the aspiring coach who wants to become a professional, certified coach.
There are many schools that provide certificate programs, however we suggest choosing a program that offers as a minimum, at least 60 hours of basic coach training. Anything less will not provide you with the level of training and practice you need to become a professional coach.
Many coach training schools have programs that are accredited by the International Coach Federation (ICF). The ICF is the world's leading member-coach organization, with over 17,000 members.
Their focus is advancing the coaching profession by setting high professional standards, providing independent certification, and building a network of credentialed coaches.
These are examples of some well-established foundational coaching skills training schools:
- CoachU
- Coaches Training Institute
- InviteCHANGE (formerly Academy for Coach Training)
- New Ventures West
- Newfield Network
Keep in mind: while ICF accreditation increases the likelihood of quality training, if you don't need or desire ICF certification, you're free to get your training anywhere you want.
Coach Training Programs for Therapists and Other Helping Professionals
If you're already a helping professional you may want to add coaching to your repertoire without duplicating the skills you already have. There are pros and cons of this path. The pros are it's faster and more focused, because everything is going to be new or leverage your existing training.
The cons are that you may miss out on some perspectives because you're not starting from the ground floor (as you would be with foundational coaching skills training program).
If this is the right option for you, here are some programs that specialize in coach training for practicing helping professionals:
Institute for Life Coach Training
MentorCoach
Hudson Institute
College of Executive Coaching
Specialty Coach Training Programs
As the name suggests, these programs cover a specialized area of coaching. These training programs are viewed by the ICF as "advanced coaching training."
It is important to select and establish your niche, or area of coaching specialty, as that is going to be the cornerstone of your marketing. Coaches who specialize versus being generalists (e.g. Life Coaches) have a much easier time communicating with and enrolling prospective clients.
A specialist can focus their marketing message on their target audience's specific needs, offering solution-based benefits that make client enrollment much easier.
A number of these specialty schools also offer a foundational coach training program in addition to their specialty training, which means you can get all of your training in one place, often at a great price.
If you're interested in pursuing specialty coach training, here are some established, credible organizations that you can consult:
- Specialty: Relationships- [See below]
- Specialty: Spirituality - Success Unlimited Network
- Specialty: Executives - Center for Executive Coaching
- Specialty: Small and Medium Sized Businesses - BusinessCoach.com
- Specialty: Corporations - Corporate Coach U
- Specialty: ADD/ADHD - ADD Coach Academy
- Specialty: Careers - Career Coach Academy
- Specialty: Parenting - Parent Coaching Institute
Many More Options are Available
The above is a small sampling of the hundreds of training programs available to help you become a Professional Coach. To learn more:
- Research your options on the web by keying in the area of specialty you are looking for (e.g. "relationship coach training") or search the International Coach Federation website
- Decide whether in-person or distance learning is best for you
- Identify a program that fits your professional values, goals and style
- Attend an ICF conference and visit the exhibits to review many training programs in one place
- Interview potential schools and ask to speak to a selection of their graduates
Being a Professional Coach is a fun and fulfilling way to make a great living as well as make a difference in the world. If you enjoy helping others and find that your friends, family and co-workers come to you to talk about their goals and challenges, you're probably a good fit for this growing profession.
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