Quality of Coaching

I just ordered the 3rd edition of "Co-Active Coaching" by Henry and Karen Kinsey-House, the founders of CTI (Coach Training Institute). I had the pleasure of attending CTI for my coach training (a life changing experience for me) back in 2004 and again in 2006 to get my certification, both six month processes. CTI is one of a few schools that require future coaches to attend face to face class room experiences where deep work is a focus on who we are as humans and how we can bring impact through change with our clients. I got my training in Atlanta and had to go up there every month for six months for three-day weekends where we focused on CTI's principles and foundation. The sessions included having to coach a client on the second night of the weekend, focusing on the learning that was emphasized and practiced for the weekend. I met some wonderful leaders and fellow classmates who to this day I am still friends. During the certification process, I had to commit to weekly phone work for six months, working in pods of eight people from around the world. We had a pod leader, had a pod name - hydrangeas was ours and we had homework every week, had to coach and be coached during our weekly one and 1/2 hour calls. We also had to have five paying clients while we went through certification who agreed to be recorded (for methodology purposes) which were critiqued my senior coaches to make sure we were learning the deeper meaning of our training. At the end of the six months, we were requried to take both an oral and written exam (similar to grad school). The oral exam was actually coaching two senior level coaches on whatever topic they brought to the call for 30-minutes. Very deep work and was imbedded in me.

It's important for good coaches to keep their "saw sharpened" regularly as our industry is changing and we need to stay aware of what changes are occurring in the industry and learning new processes and techniques that may be more relevant to what we originally learned. This is why I chose to buy the newest edition of the book to see what I need to brush up on and start incorporating in my practice.

I believe that CTI coaches are the best trained coaches in the world (a little prejudice here). We have been taught to deeply listen, ask through provoking questions, create a very safe and confidential space for our clients to work on change and help our client move the needle a little to where they want to go. Harvard Business school has created a relationship with CTI because they see the value in what Karen and Henry have created.  It works.

Unfortuantely, there are coaching schools out there who teach people to coach in a weekend or via the internet without any true experience, learning or interface with others. This does not help our community with credibility or effectiveness.  Thank goodness that are organizations such as the ICF (International Coaching Federation) which I am a certified member that creates standards and ethics to adhere to. Another thing I had to learn to be with as maybe they bring some sort of value are people who call themselves coaches who have no training and in fact, use their past experiences in their work or who hear from others that they should be a coach now call themselves coaches.

If you are considering coaching to help you, check out CTI or the ICF. You want to engage with a coach who is aligned to who you are and who can bring you the best value. You want to hire someone who is trained, bottom line.