The following is taken from David’s interview in 10 Super Coaches.
Would you advise coaches to pursue certification?
Choose a school/training that you admire and respect. And do it to become a better coach. Or do it for the thrill of learning and the good of the profession. But don’t let the ‘piece of paper’ run you. It’s a common myth that a certification will get you more clients. In my experience, it’s simply not true. Try to get certified so you can feel confidend is not the smartest reason.
I got my formal PCC certificatin through the International Coach Federation and I found that it actually wasn’t important at all. I think I may have been asked once in the whole first three years of my coaching what qualification I had, and in that case it was by a magazine that wanted to do a story on me.
I would say to coaches starting out, don’t be panicked or worried by the fact that you may not have a formal certification. Build up your testimonials from clients and let that speak for you.
The following is an excerpt from David’s independent report on coaching training and certification.
Let’s summarize your choices:
A. Forget about accreditation until you have 1,000 hours of paid coaching under your belt (by which time you may not care if you’re accredited or not).
B. Pick a school whose training inspires you and get their accreditation
-If they are rubber-stamped by the IFC – great! At the end of the day you should end up with both certifications.
-If you choose Coachville, then no ICF accreditation (at least yet), but you’ll have a CV accreditation, and an IAC accreditation. (Is this IAC accreditation worth anything? More in the next chapter.)
C. Go the other way around, and set your heart on the ICF accreditation, and pick a school accredited by the ICF – and whose training inspires you – to end up with a school accreditation AND ICF accreditation.
The following is an excerpt from David’s independent report on coaching training and certification.
Given the wide range of quality schools that are accredited with the ICF, or at least ‘aligned’ with their competencies (see ‘How to Get ICF Certified’), why not choose one of these schools? This way you always have the option of either sitting you ICF exam with this school, or one day submitting your training record to the ICF and getting ICF certified.
This approach gives you the option of going for ICF certification when you’re done (and have met the remaining criteria).
The following is an excerpt from David’s independent report on coaching training and certification.
Before you look at training, decide whether you will get certified, not get certified, or keep your options open.
A good reason to get certified is because you believe in the philosophy of the training school you choose, and the value of the association you belong to. And, because you want to continually improve your coaching skills.
A bad reason to get certified is because you think that will get you more clients, or in some way it will make you ‘worthy’ as a coach. Our experience has been that it does neither. A certificate might look good on the way, and it feels good to be able to say it – but few coaching clients bother to ask about your school of training or level of certification.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Rachel Pryor in 10 Super Coaches.
Would you advise coaches to pursue certification?
Yes, yes and yes. There are just too many people who set themselves up as coaches – it is getting increasingly clear that those with certifications stand out.
If so, at what stage in their practice, and through which accrediting body?
Certification requires a certain number of client hours, so that might determine how soon you can become certified. I went straight for the highest certification there is (CCMC with CoachInc, and CMC with the International Coach Federation) because I had more than enough client hours (2500+). I certified after 3 years coaching.
The following is an excerpt from David’s independent report on coaching training and certification.
If you’ve done thorough research, this might not be too important to you. However, you’ll have more peace of mind joining with a company that has a generous refund/cancellation policy if you’re not satisfied with the training and/or service. Often this shows they are confident in their service, and that they have a low refund rate.
If they don’t provide refunds at all – it’s possible that it’s to support your commitment. But you need to satisfy yourself that they don’t have a list of complaints against them by disgruntled students.
In any event, it’s a good idea to view testimonials, and even contact current or former students to have a chat before signing up.
