Coach Training for Internal Coaches

How important is coach training? As with any type of skilled work or service, training is essential. Coaching is a very specific process and is often misunderstood. Some think coaching is part training, part mentoring, part managing - and in reality it is very different. Executive, Career, Business, or Life Coaching is “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” (International Coach Federation)

The American Management Association, in their Global Study of Successful Practices, shared several major findings on coaching programs inside companies, including one on coach training:

Internal training programs are often based on common misunderstandings of coaching instead of being built on ICF’s 11 Core Competencies of a coach.

Specifically, the AMA recommend external training for internal coaches to achieve the best results.

What type of coach training is best?

• Ensure that the training is approved by the International Coach Federation.
  
• Maximize value with coach training that offers CEUs authorized by IACET.
  
• Verify the training is specifically designed to develop the ICF’s 11 Core Competencies of a coach.
  

What are the resources for coach-specific training? In addition to the Center for Coaching Solutions and the Center for Coaching Certification, the International Coach Federation at www.CoachFederation.org provides a list of hundreds of organizations that offer approved training programs.