Cathy Liska More and more often companies are requesting or requiring coaching skills for jobs. The Society for Human Resources lists coaching as one of the expected skills for HR professionals. The American Society for Training and Development lists coaching as a core competency for training professionals. Project managers are expected to ensure a wide range of individuals are engaged and productive. Consultants, including business consultants, financial planners, and attorneys, are increasingly finding that coaching provides a tremendous benefit in their work. Because talent retention, engagement, and productivity are key concerns for employers today, leaders with coaching skills are in demand.
What does this mean? Training in coaching is valued by employers, and application of coaching skills is creating expanding opportunities for individual leaders. Learning to coach starts with an understanding of how coaching is different from mentoring or consulting and continues with the development of the Core Competencies as published by the International Coaching Federation. While there are hundreds of options for coach training, it is essential to find a program that teaches the difference between coaching, mentoring, consulting, or mental health, and that develops all 11 of the core competencies. Choose one based on both quality of content and quality of the training process.
The International Coaching Federation, ICF, lists programs that are approved. The International Association for Continuing Education and Training, IACET, lists authorized providers of CEUs. The Center for Coaching Certification programs are approved by ICF as coach specific training and authorized by IACET to offer CEUs.
