Do you want coaching accreditation?
People get into coaching because they want to help others.
(Okay, some get into it because they want to earn a shit ton of money in the fastest way possible.)
But you’re here, and I know that you want to serve and help make life better. You genuinely care about people, their struggles, and their potential.
And that also means that you want to do it right.
You want to know that you are not just winging it – or do unintentional harm in the process.
And that’s why choosing the right training makes all the difference.
These are things to pay attention to, to make your decision:
- Does the coaching modality fit you like a glove?
- How much time is there for live, in-the-moment feedback from qualified teachers?
- Is there a focus on skill development or on getting to know frameworks?
- What are the experiences from other students?
- Will you get the time and attention available for integrating the skills that you learn, so you know you can use them with confidence?
- Do you like the way the teaching process is offered?
- What level of experience and qualification do the teaching staff have?
- Is there a code of ethics and a process for lodging complaints?
And an important question: does the training offer accreditation or certification?
With the follow up: and what is that accreditation of certification based on?
Let me take you on a little behind the scenes tour.
You see, I’ve grown up aspiring to be ‘the Good Girl’. Pleasing daddy, mommy and my teachers. Following every rule (except the ‘you are not allowed to smoke’ one when I was 13 and experimenting with the cool kids – sorry mom).
That good girl is a coping mechanism that fits patriarchal structures beautifully:
don’t question rules, just obey them and you’ll get what you want – praise, validation, and eventually, if you work hard enough: success within that system.
And although I’m actively working to change my relationship with my inner Good Girl, I’ve fully taken on her concerns for delivering the best possible work in my professional life.
When I offer coach training, I want it to be great quality, on par with world class alternatives – so that you to get the skills you want.
And – yeay!!! – our clients and participants keep telling us that yes, what we offer is in fact world class.
Even the ICF, the International Coaching Federation, told us.
But, and this is the catch, I chose to step away from them, the world’s most quoted governing body for this field.
And believe me, this was not an easy choice.
My Good Girl just wants to tick the boxes, pay all the fees and jump the hoops they lay out.
So that I can stay in line, and have the stamp of approval for all that we do here.
But then there is the question:
What does the ICF actually accredit towards?
What is valued?
Here is an example of the ICF accreditation process, that tells you a lot about where they are coming from:
They award time spent instructing students – i.e. us telling you what to do,
but not time spent doing exercises – i.e. you in the process of acquiring skills and working out how to overcome your inner hurdles (these will pop up if your training is any good).
When I realised this the first time, I went back to check with the ICF, because surely that can’t be right?
Coaching is a craft you learn by doing and learning from what you are doing.
– unless you think coaching is about following steps in a predictable order.
Which implies that you think the process of supporting someone in a transformational process happens in the same way every time.
When in fact, it’s a dynamic process, like a dance, where you need to learn how to meet what’s happening in the moment in the most useful way for your clients.
Action plans & accountability
Here’s another example.
ICF accreditation means you must create action plans and accountability with your clients as a coach, because the underlying assumption is that without this, change is much less likely to happen.
And while these things can be useful at times, it is an outdated model.
Changed behaviour doesn’t come from action plans.
It comes from enough of our inner desires, resources, and the parts of us that have pushback, becoming aligned.
When enough of your inner world wants to move in the same direction, taking action is just what follows. Why would you not sing when everything in you wants to sing? When your fear or self-consciousness is no longer relevant? (And a fun fact is that not taking action is great: it points to what’s missing.)
We are not our client’s parents or teachers who they have to show they can do it. Clients are well able to be accountable to themselves.
The time and focus on action plans and accountability takes the client away from time spent on helping that inner alignment happen.
It also takes the client away from body, mind & soul integration towards guarding and controlling from the mind.
It’s like doing yummy, all-in dancing to be left with the sobering ‘lights on’ at closing time in the club, where we are brought back to the idea that ‘that’s all there is’. It’s not.
Life is so much more than the 30% that we usually engage with in ourselves.
Does it work?
And a third reason for not choosing for our training not to be ICF accredited anymore, is that I have personally met a lot of ICF accredited coaches that I was not at all impressed by.
That I wouldn’t trust with my own or my clients’ process.
Not because of a personal fit, which is of course always a factor in finding a coach, but because of how they conducted their coaching sessions. And I’m not the only person having this experience. I often hear coaches and coach trainers talk about this.
I have also met quite a few coaches that were not accredited by the ICF, that I would trust with my life.
Which tells me that the ICF accreditation by itself is not that helpful is discerning a good coach.
What is? Good question, worth another post.
So what now, when we want high quality coaches and coach training?
There are more reasons why we chose not to continue with our accreditation. Like the fact that all the while we were accredited, not one participant asked us to send their details to the ICF to claim there rewards. Clearly, it was just the stamp at the entrance that helped them make a decision, but the stamp did not have actual value to their coaching or their coaching practice.
The admin and financial implications are also a significant burden on a smaller Coach Academy, especially when it’s just to stay in line. So when it doesn’t do what it is supposed to do, then where does that leave us?
When the world’s leading coaching federation does not recognise where change comes from, takes away power that we want our clients to have, and is not successful in quality control?
I chose to certify according to other industry standards, those of the International Clean Language community.
This is a solid framework of observable behaviour that does honour where change comes from, and leaves clients in their full power. We also accredit each other’s students, so there is always someone who hasn’t seen the coach in their developmental journey.
Because it is vitally important that the coach training you choose has an objective, relevant and skills-based process for certification in place. One that isn’t just decided on and assessed by the insiders of that organisation.
That would be like a butcher testing their own meat, as we say in Dutch. Sorry for the harsh analogy, but food safety matters – and so does coaching safety.
You are your instrument when it comes to coaching, and quality and integrity matter deeply in a global multi-billion-dollar, mostly unregulated industry, where all sorts of things can happen.
And what do you want?
Maybe this has shaken your worldview a little and taken away the easy path of following the standard outside authority.
That can be annoying or a little rough 😉
I’m sorry. But also, I’m not.
Part of what Soul-based Coaching celebrates is accessing our own sovereignty and power. Which includes becoming more aware of who we grant authority and on what basis.
(And maybe you are a rebel at heart anyway.)
If you feel called to do (more) coach training, then this is where I suggest you start:
🌿 What is it that matters most to you?
🌿 What are you looking for in your coach training?
- Revisit the criteria from the start of this article:
- Does the coaching modality fit you like a glove?
- How much time is there for live, in-the-moment feedback from qualified teachers?
- Is there a focus on skill development or on getting to know frameworks?
- What are the experiences from other students?
- Will you get the time and attention available for integrating the skills that you learn, so you know you can use them with confidence?
- Do you like the way the teaching process is offered?
- What level of experience and qualification do the teaching staff have?
- What accreditation or certification process is in place?
- And is there a code of ethics and a process for lodging complaints?
If you want to learn more about Soul-based Coach training, check out Invoke Your Client’s Magic, our Soul-bases Coach Certification Program.
And when you want to talk to us to find out how Soul-based Coach training fits on your path, book your exploration call.
We look forward to speaking with you.
Image credit: Melissa Finley Scala ~ Wellness Lovely on Unsplash
Love this article! THIS is EXACTLY why I chose to train with YOU back in 2020! I was looking at various modalities and the “Heilpraktiker” (alternative practitioner) certification in Germany – and I simply didn’t want to learn how to classify people into categories of disorders 😂 That’s not how my brain works and it’s not how I choose to see people, as “variations of problems”, and I’ve never once regretted saying No to that!