Coaching Certification
Coaching certification is a hot topic in the coaching profession. On the surface it seems as if the conflict is whether you need to be certified. But the real issue is so much deeper than "to be or not to be."
As I mention in most of my articles in the coaching profession, coaching has changed for many coaches. Early on in the coaching profession, coaching was an art, a craft, a healing arts profession. After the ICF ( International Coaching Federation) was created, the focus seemed to shift from coaching being an "art form" to a "science."
With the changes, came the offer of certification from the ICF as well as other organizations. Then there is the question as to which certification do you need? Now the talk is " board certified" coaches. What is the real story.
Again, this is only my opinion, I believe that coaching is still an art form, and the methods, tools and skills are the science. So when you "test" someone who wishes to be a coach, you need to separate the science from the art.
How can you look at an artist palate and say he put on too much red or should have used more green. It is a masterpiece reflecting on the artist. If his art sells and is in demand, he is considered good and if not, well, he may need to perfect his painting skills.
When it comes to coaching, I am asked over and over from new coaches if I think they need certification. I am never asked by experienced, non-certified coaches if I think they need to get certified.
As many of your who read this know, I am also a licensed massage therapist. Over the years, the same exact progression took place with licensure of massage therapist.. The same argument was made that massage is an art form, a healing art, yet the massage organizations wanted certification and licensure. Today, most states now require certification and licensure, and this has turned into big business for the massage organizations and for the states.
I believe that one must attend professional coach training in order to coach professionally. If you are a manager and wish to use coaching skills in your business, you can attend a one day coaching class or take a coaching class on line and you should be able to help your staff, improve productivity and improve the work place environment.
If you wish to coach professionally, you need to take a coach training program. You will learn more than how to coach a client, you will learn how to build up a business, how to handle complaints and problems and you will gain experience coaching fellow students.
Now back to the question, do you need certification and if so, which one.
Clients do not generally ask about certification, clients generally hire you because they believe you can help them. They believe you have the skills to help them see the real issue or conflict.
I often say, if you could hire Joel Osteen, leader of Lakewood Church in Texas as your Life Coach, would you care if he was certified? If you could hire Tony Robbins, would you care if he was certified? Of course not, you would be hiring them because you believe if anyone could help you, they could.
That's my belief in coaching. I believe all coaches need to be affiliated with an organization, I started the USLCA ( U S Life Coach Association) for that very reason. You can belong to a reputable organization, yet we don't test your artistic skills, we only require you to adhere to a strict code of ethics. We verify that you have the proper training to be a certified life coach.
As I have recently announced, I am starting the National Coaching Association, which will welcome all coaches as member, no matter what specialty, even sports coaching. I believe in unity, all coaches need to stand together.
If you are a new coach, you may wish to be certified, so you have the credentials to hang on the wall and list on your website, but this alone will not bring you clients. It most certainly will give you additional confidence that you have what it takes to be a coach. If you are an experienced successful coach, you most likely do not have certification and do you have interest in attaining one.
Personally, I think many new coaches use "certification" as a crutch to becoming successful. Many coaches say, once I am certified, then I will be ready to coach. The truth is, most new coaches would be better served if they spent their time writing, going out and letting people know what you do for a living, instead of studying for a coaching exam.
Life Coach Marketing offers " coaching registration" which is a method to join our list of coaches that we recommend, the USLCA offers coaching membership and certification and Life Coach College offers professional coach training.
So no matter what your coaching plans are, we are here to help you.
If you would like more information on coaching certification, please contact me directly at Jeff @ LifeCoachMarketing.com ( please cut and paste and delete the spaces on either side of the "@" symbol.)
Thank you for reading and I hope to meet you in the near future.
Jeff Wasserman
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