How to Become a Coach

We are often asked what the best way is to start working as a coach. How to Become a Coach? There are a variety of different offers out there, there are independent coaches, coaches who are members of professional coaching organisations, coaches that clarify their professional qualifications and accreditations and coaches that don’t.

As a professional coach training providers, we must emphasise that in order to professionally practice as a coach, you must possess a professionally accredited qualification. This is required in order for you to practice ethically and in line with professional coaching practice standards. Whenever we hear that people are interested in acquiring coaching skills, we are happy. It means that more people now are striving to improve not only their own lives but also lives of others.

Every person taking the first steps on the path to become a professional coach will find a lot of information online. It could be as helpful as confusing.

• What should you look for?
• What should you expect from the college or a training provider that offers a course?
• What should a professional coach training program cover?
• What organisation should the course be accredited by?
• How to recognise the one that ticks most of the boxes and is going to have the most positive impact on your personal and professional life?
• Which one to choose?

Start with yourself and ask yourself the following questions 

• What is your purpose and what are your intentions?
• Why do you want to get a coaching diploma?
• What knowledge and skills will most impact your life?
• Where and how are you planning to use them in the future?
• What exactly do you want to learn on this course?
• What change or transformation do you expect to experience as a result of this new learning?

Answers to these questions will help you better understand your own motivation. A professional coaching course is an investment of time, money and your own effort. It is very important that you make a well informed decision that is going to bring the results you expect.

• Do you want to become a professional coach and open your own practice?
• Are you looking for new skills to improve the quality of your current job?
• Do you want to offer coaching in addition to the services that you already offer e.g psychotherapist, mentor or a consultant?
• Do you want to learn coaching skills simply for your own benefit and for your own personal development?

Each reason will be equally valid as long as its right for you and that it will support you in maintaining motivation throughout the course. Clarity in terms of your own intentions is vital because the course you are going to choose will impact the future shape of your life and the direction in which your career might go.

Gain professional qualifications

Coaching is now recognised as a profession all over the world. There are professional coaching organisations that you can be a member of such as: International Coach Federation,  Life and Business Coaching Association of Ireland or Association for Coaching. Those organisations provide guidelines and professional standards for coaching practice. They will support professional coaches in developing knowledge, growing coaching businesses and coaching ethically. A coach that has a diploma that is accredited by one of those organisations understandably becomes more credible and trustworthy. Accredited courses require high standards of learning, extensive knowledge, commitment and what’s most important hours of coaching practice and ability to consistently demonstrate the skills.

It is important when choosing a coaching course to pay attention to the qualification, diploma and accreditation that you will walk away with at the end. Choose only the best schools and the best facilitators. Start as you intend to continue. Expect only the highest standards of the training programs that are meeting the requirements of the accrediting bodies.

What should you expect and what to pay attention to when choosing your coach training provider:

• High standard of learning materials and training programs that meet current market standards
• Clear expectations from students in terms of commitment,  knowledge and dedication in demonstrating high standards of coaching skills
• Qualification that are recognised
• A coaching program that is accredited by a professional coaching body
• Understanding and support offered to students throughout the course and after qualifying
• Professional and fully qualified facilitators
• Years of experience on the market and many succesful past students who graduated already

Give yourself time 

If you are convinced that a professional coaching qualifications is the right choice for you, give yourself time. A professional, accredited coaching course is an investment that requires commitment and effort. Find and choose the offer that is going to be the most suitable for you. Assess and compare to make sure that your final decision is based on a solid foundation and verified information. What’s most important is make sure that the course you are going to choose is fulfilling your own needs and expectations.

Many schools and training providers offer “Open door” events where you can get familiar with the environment , ask questions about courses, get to know facilitators and find out more about accreditation. If you can, attend one of those meetings. We organise them regularly in Dublin and in Cork. Find more information about the next ones here.

A coaching course, apart from offering a professional coaching qualification, more than anything else means  a significant change in your own life. It leads to a positive transformation and your own personal development that is necessary in order for you to become a professional coach. Before we offer our services to clients we must use the strategies and techniques on ourselves. It is also an important element of learning coaching skills that you want to be aware of and be prepared for

Enjoy your research!

Learn more about the Accredited Diploma in Executive and Life Coaching with us

Positive Success Group