How to select an ICF approved program

Just as individual coaches are evaluated based on their credentials during corporate assignments, coaching courses that training institutes offer are also evaluated based on their accreditation/approvals. While you can benefit from any coach training program, you benefit the most from attending ICF approved coach training programs, and Meta Coaching approved Coaching Essentials and other courses. And, there are few key elements that you must definitely consider in choosing the most worthwhile ICF approved coach training course. So, we have compiled a list of key elements in this article that will guide you on how to select an ICF approved program that best fits your requirement.

This way, if you are someone who is truly committed to building core coaching skills, and you want to learn more about how to select an ICF approved program, this article will be useful for you.

The intent of this article is to give you useful tips that you can use to select an ICF approved program that will be right for you.

However, before you look for the tips on choosing the most worthwhile ICF program, dive deep into yourself. Assess your readiness and commitment level to attend the ICF approved program, and to become an ICF Certified Coach. The profession of coaching requires a lot of commitment, self-discipline, and integrity. Ensure that you have enough drive to pursue the profession soulfully.

Also, make sure that you have the necessary time to successfully complete the program. We recommend that classroom programs are more fruitful than online coach training programs. Therefore, you should also be willing to find just enough time to participate the extensive program completely.

It is also advisable that you get a basic understanding of the various niche areas of coaching.

To give you a brief, Leadership Coaches usually work with leaders in an organisation, and so do Executive Coaches. They are usually engaged by the organisations. Life Coaches generally work with one to one client on a personal level. Entrepreneur Coaches usually work with Start-ups/Entrepreneurs to help them get better business results. If you have noticed the pattern here, whether a person calls himself an Executive Coach, Business Coach, Life Coach, etc is dependent on the industry segment he/she is working in as a coach.

Those professional coaches who have been certified by International Coach Federation usually brand themselves as ICF Coach.  They can choose to operate in any industry segment. This is one of the biggest myths in the coaching industry that you have to brand yourself as a specific type of coach.  In reality, if your coaching fundamentals are solid, you can operate in any niche, if the client is good, and is ready to get coaches.  Example: You can work in Leadership coach with a corporate client, you can work as a Sport Peak Performance coach with an athlete, and you can work with a client in one to one capacity as a Life Coach or a Wellness Coach.

Some marketers often quote that you must have your preferred (target) audience identified before you enroll in a program. Well, truth be told, it is good if you are clear about your preferred client segment, but it is not a mandatory requirement. You need not have your niche areas already decided or selected before you attend the ICF Coach training program. You can choose your coaching niche during the course. As the course progresses, you can decide which coaching areas you like more, and which type of clients you would want to work with. Accordingly, you can work on building your coaching brand, which is something a person needs to focus on post the program, and getting some coaching hours under the belt.

It should not be a problem also because NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) is one such framework that has tools and techniques to help Leadership and Executive Coaches, Life Coaches, and all other professional coaches alike. A successful NLP Coach has the capability & competence to operate in all niches. When you learn NLP skills, you can also build a generic brand around all coaching niches.

Now, please find below some of the important things you should know on how to do the due diligence to select an ICF approved program:

• Attitude, Skill and Integrity of the Trainer

Enquire who specifically will be the lead trainer. And ask if the trainer works in isolation or with other training associates. This is the most important criteria to select a program.

It is absolutely important for you to know who will train you and for how many hours will these trainers be physically leading the training. Ensure that you do your research well.

With many fraudulent trainers and coaches portraying something or the other on their websites, it is imperative that you run a thorough check on their qualifications, their credentials, their recommendations, their business background, their general education background, etc. 

Most of the trainers are only facilitators, and they generally don’t have coaching skills. Because they have not been coaching, the programs that they facilitate usually lack real-time coaching examples, and coaching tips. So, study their profile in detail and satisfy yourself that the trainer is reputed and professional.

Use the following criteria-

• Has the trainer obtained coaching credentials with a reputed organisation? Who did he/she train with? How long was the training for?
• Is the trainer licensed or certified to train by any renowned institution? Who certified the trainer, and who recognises these certificates?
• What qualifications do the training assistants have? What professional certifications do they hold? Who are these recognised by? What is the overall experience of training and mentoring coaches?
• What is the background of the trainer? How long has he/she been practising?
• Which professional body is the trainer registered with and what assurances does that professional body offer?

 

• Program Approvals

Ensure that the minimum suggested criteria for ICF course content is covered during the coaching training. Cross check the approval of the program.

ICF offers three types of program approval. They are-

1. Associate Coach Specific Training Hours (ACSTH),
2. Continued Coach Education (CCE), and
3. Accredited Coach Training Program (ACTP).

It is important that you know how specifically the course is assessed.

Associate Coach Specific Training Hours (ACSTH) programs usually offer an easier and more cost-effective approach to towards ICF Associate Coach Certification (ACC) as compared to Accredited Coach Training Program (ACTP). 

 

• Program Outline and Inclusions

ICF Coaching Programs range anywhere from 5 days to 10 days . Unfortunately, in some cases even a 10 days program offers much lesser content than the 5-days extensive program. Everything depends on the number of hours of training delivered on any day.

A 7 days intensive program with 9 hours of training during the workshop, along with home assignments will certainly be more effective than attending five hours of training in a 10 days program.

Therefore, look into the program content and structure. Ensure that you are going to get good value from your ICF Coach Program. Check the coaching framework on which your ICF Coach program is going to be based on. And get clarity on the type of process and approach to be used in the training. Clarify whether the mentoring support will be available from senior coaches when it comes to your queries post the program.

Assess the format of the course and verify the following-

• What all certificates will be provided?
• Does the ICF Program cost include training material also? Will manuals and handouts be provided?
• What will the class size be? What will be the minimum and maximum number of participants on the course?
• Will there be any pre-course work or written exam?
• Whether the training make you eligible to apply for membership of any association once you complete the program?
• Will follow up or back up support be offered after the course? What exactly is the post-program support going to be like?
• If needed, will you be allowed to attend the course again? And how much will it cost?

• Investment

 Check if there are any other conditions and costs involved in achieving the certification, apart from the training fees.

It is important to note here that a good program need not always be expensive. And an expensive program may not be necessarily a good one. Price is not what determines the quality of a program.

ICF Coach programs conducted at a five-star venue are usually expensive. Expensive programs do not always translate into the best program. As a participant ensure that you are spending money for the coaching content/mentoring, not on five-star ambiance. If that happens that is bonus. Coach training institutes generally offer a lot of good deals. Often installment options and flexible payment plans are also available.

Summing-up

Above mentioned were a few things to know before you choose an ICF approved program. Now that you know how to select an ICF approved program, take the next steps. It is advisable that you contact the professional/company personally with your queries. Have your list of questions ready to ask so you extract all the information you need to make an informed choice.

Due diligence is of utmost importance, especially because nowadays, anyone can set up a website and fake qualifications. Only a handful of coaching courses get approved by the ICF. Even though the new ones get approved, make sure that you factor in the most important element, the Master Trainer conducting the coach program.

Choose a program where the program content, post program support, and program cost are acceptable to you.

About ICF Approved Program at NLP Coaching Academy

NLP Coaching Academy offers 7 days Integrated Meta NLP + NLP Practitioner and ICF Coach Training Program that provides everything you need to get your ICF ACC credentials (Combo 3 certification package of 7 days program). It is a classroom-based training program that allows plenty of practice and feedback. The program very well prepares you to coach your clients effectively and to get the 100 client coaching hours you need. Thus, it is the right coach training program to take you one step closer to serving your clients in best possible ways.

When you attend this classroom based integrated NLP Practitioner and coach training program, you can pick up some of the most powerful skills that will help you to become a more powerful communicator. You will have access to different tools and resources, and you will understand and practise coaching skills much more intensively. All this will go a long way to help you become a successful coach.

Further, the program will be facilitated by Vikram Dhar, the best NLP Trainer in India. He is an ICF Mentor Coach, and he has attended courses/sessions with world’s top leadership and executive coaches like Marshall Goldsmith, John Mattone, etc. Other than ICF, he is also affiliated with several other renowned global accreditation bodies like International Society of Neuro-Semantics (ISNS), Meta Coaching, American Board of NLP (ABNLP), International Association of Professional Coaches, Counselors, and Therapists (IAPCCT).

To help participants achieve their desired outcomes from the ICF approved coach training, Vikram weaves together the powerful change methodology of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), Meta NLP, ICF core coaching competencies, and ICF code of ethics. He will very well mentor you, and guide you to improve your coaching skills and remain updated with the latest developments.  Vikram is Bangalore based and is very well known to facilitate ICF programs in Bangalore.

To check the dates of Vikram’s integrated NLP Practitioner and ICF Coach Training Program, please click on the link https://nlpcoach.in/event-details/

Should you need any further information, please feel free to write to us on info@nlpcoach.in or call us on +91 9841619669.