How Do I Become a Certified Coach?

Bear in mind that this is not a comprehensive guide to becoming a coach. People often ask how they can become coaches. This question is usually posed by those who enjoy helping others, who wish to pursue personal and professional development, and who are seeking a rewarding career. This type of person often has a wide range of interests and life experiences. All of these attributes provide a good foundation for becoming a coach, but as you might imagine, there is more to it than that. Many people who enter the coaching field come from professions that already involve people skills — such as teaching, consulting, personal training, human resources management, business consultancy, sales, healthcare, journalism, ministry, parenting, and social work, to name but a few. Such individuals can build on their existing skill base through additional coach-specific training. Depending on how ready they are to dedicate themselves to coaching, they may need anything from a weekend workshop to a two-year programme to bring them up to the skill level of a professional coach. In addition to learning new coaching skills, some people will need to 'unlearn' certain habitual ways of responding. For example, consultants often have considerable skill in asking questions and solving problems, but they tend to shift into 'fix-it' mode immediately. They will need to learn how to step back and allow the client to develop their own solutions. Similarly, parents may have a great deal of experience in dealing with the dynamics of their own family, but they need to learn how to keep an open mind when dealing with other people's family situations. Tags: Coach, Personal Development, Professional Development, Coaching Skills