We are pleased to share an article entitled “Raising the Bar ~ The transformative power of coach education” written by Cheryl Procter-Rogers.
In a rapidly evolving world where personal and professional development are essential to success, professional coaching continues to emerge as a leading modality for life-changing transformation, and with good reason.
Coaching conversations provide a safe place for individuals or teams to heighten their self-awareness, inspire and lead others through change, and build trust as more effective communicators, among other goals. To deliver on the promise of coaching, it is essential that the coach is professionally trained. Here’s why:
■ PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE: Well-trained coaches possess the necessary skills, knowledge and techniques to effectively guide and support their clients. This competence ensures that they can help clients set and achieve meaningful goals, navigate challenges, and foster personal and professional growth.
■ ETHICAL STANDARDS: Training provides coaches with an understanding of ethical guidelines and standards, ensuring that they conduct themselves with integrity, respect and confidentiality. This is essential for building trust and maintaining a professional relationship with clients.
■ EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION: Proper education enhances a coach’s ability to listen actively, ask powerful questions and provide constructive feedback. These communication skills are vital for understanding clients’ needs and facilitating their development.
■ TAILORED APPROACHES: Because each client is unique, with distinct backgrounds, goals and challenges, well-trained coaches are adept at customizing their approaches to fit individual client needs, thereby increasing the effectiveness of their coaching sessions.
■ HANDLING COMPLEX SITUATIONS: Clients often bring complex issues to the coaching conversation that require a deep understanding of human behavior and psychological
principles. A well-trained coach is better equipped to handle these complexities, providing appropriate strategies and interventions.
Well-trained coaches are better prepared to make a positive, lasting impact on their clients’ lives, fostering meaningful progress and development. So, who is responsible for educating these masterful coaches? Currently, the responsibility lies with accredited education programs, professional coaching organizations, universities, and experienced mentors and supervisors who ensure coaches are equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge and ethical standards to excel in our profession.
Is it time to raise the bar?
CAN THE PAST INFORM THE FUTURE?
Coaching education has come a long way, from the early years when anyone could start a coaching practice with minimal credentials to the significant shift toward higher standards and formalized training as a result of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). Pioneers such as Thomas Leonard were instrumental in this transformation, and organizations like Ernst & Young (EY) embraced the professionalization of coaching through education.
In a recent article by Jonathan Passmore and Woody Woodward, published in the International Coaching Psychology Review (2023), we learn that coach education went through three phases of development from 1990 to 2020.
According to this article, these phases include:
- Pre-profession, reflected in an ad-hoc and non-qualification-based education in Leonard’s program;
- Practice-based professionalism, which saw a growth in small-scale coach providers using professional body competencies; and
- Evidence-based professionalism, which stimulated the growth in university-based coach education programs focused on evidence-based and research-informed training.
Today, the ICF accredits more than 4,000 coach education programs around the world. Consider these statistics from several researchers:
■ The United States coaching market is valued at approximately $14.2 billion, making it the largest market globally, with an expected growth rate of nearly three percent each year.
■ Globally, coaching is projected to be worth $6.25 billion this year.
■ When all related services are combined, the global market is estimated to be as high as $20 billion this year and $27 billion by 2032.
■ It is estimated that more than 10,000 individuals seek coach training each year, and the numbers are expected to grow. With these projections, how do we ensure that the quality of coaching education continues to improve? Is the market becoming more knowledgeable and requiring higher standards for curriculum design? Who is responsible for shaping the future of the coaching profession?
CREDIBILITY & HIGHER EDUCATION
A key indicator of an emerging profession’s legitimacy and credibility is when higher education institutions start investing in research and development specifically aimed at adult learning applications and offerings. A recent study estimated that more than 300 colleges and universities globally offer online and in-person degrees or certificates in various specializations in coaching.
“I’m thrilled to see the expansion of coaching education into higher education,” says Janet Harvey, MCC, CEO of inviteCHANGE and a leader in the coaching field since 1996. “Many universities now offer a four-year undergraduate degree, certificate and graduate programs, and a few offer a PhD program. This is an excellent sign that what started in the early ’90s to try and elevate coaching with a more rigorous curriculum is evolving. We have come a long way since the EMCC and the ICF were formed in the mid-1990s. However, offerings from some of our traditional academic institutions are a little too tipped to the theoretical, which build comprehension [but] limit understanding of how to translate that knowledge into consistent ethical quality in their practice with clients.”
Amy Ruppert Donovan has a similar perspective. She served as a faculty member on the 2005 team that developed the curriculum for the first distance learning executive coaching program in the U.S. that was academically accredited. Part of the Naveen Jindal School of Management at the University of Texas at Dallas, the program was designed to provide both professional certificate and options for graduate-level credit, specifically aimed at busy professionals.
Her experience and observations over the years have led Donovan to see experiential learning and practical applications (including positive psychology), as essential in coaching education.
BLURRED LINES OR CLEAR PATH?
There’s clearly a connection between coaching and mental health, but the challenge lies in distinguishing the responsibilities of a coach from those that require the expertise of a trained professional in psychology. Both Donovan and Harvey have integrated mental wellness and positive psychology into their curriculum for decades.
A mental health and wellness curriculum has always been a part of the coaching education program at inviteCHANGE. “There are four two-hour sessions that explore the difference between coaching and the clinical expression of therapy along a spectrum, from counseling and social services, all the way through to psychiatry,” says Harvey. “The training emphasizes the power in the relationship and how it fosters client autonomy. Coaching is peer-to-peer, and clinical practices are based on a superior-to-subordinate relationship. The clinician retains responsibility for determining what intervention to offer and monitors the progress toward the outcome. The moment a coach assumes they know the answer, they stop coaching, which is unethical.”
Donovan added, “I’ve done it for years. I tell my psychotherapist friends, ‘Coaching is your best friend for business because when people move into action, they slam up against their issues. There is a huge opportunity for us to connect with the psychotherapy field and work with one another. There has been an innate fear in this business about that since day one.”
Zsofia Juhasz, MCC, owner of Coaching Team – who co-developed the Becoming a Masterful Coach Level 3 ICF-accredited coach education program in Australia – is considering adding mindfulness and well-being practices to her program’s curriculum. She advocates for integrating interdisciplinary approaches to coaching, focusing on organizational development, reflectivepractice and neuroscience.
Certainly, integrating psychotherapy and wellness courses into coaching education programs equips coaches with a broader understanding of mental health, allowing them to better support their clients’ overall well-being. This comprehensive approach ensures that coaches can recognize and address deeper psychological issues, refer clients to appropriate mental health professionals when necessary, and apply evidence-based strategies to foster mental, emotional, and physical health.
By bridging coaching with psychotherapy and wellness, programs can produce well-rounded professionals capable of facilitating more holistic and sustainable personal growth and development for their clients.
ARE COACHES PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE?
Coach education students may come from diverse backgrounds, ranging from corporate C-Suite executives to auto mechanics. There are no age restrictions or significant barriers to entering the field, making it accessible to anyone with a passion for coaching.
The value of being trained and holding a credential is recognized by knowledgeable consumers, especially at a time when many seek remote work opportunities, flexibility and meaningful impact. Many are interested in quitting their day job to build their own coaching practices or working as full-time coaches within organizations.
Younger, digitally savvy consumers of coach education expect their coaches to navigate the digital world adeptly – including the collection, use and security of their data. Clients are also embracing artificial intelligence. This evolving landscape presents a crucial role for coach education providers to ensure that their curriculum meets these modern demands.
USE OF DATA & ANALYTICS
Data and analytics are becoming increasingly important for coaches as they are required to embrace more evidence-based approaches, personalize client strategies and track measurable outcomes.
For the coach education provider, what is being measured beyond graduation rates, credential achievements and student feedback? Is it time for accrediting bodies of coach education programs to evaluate the quality of the program and track alumni learning? How do we improve the quality of our coaching education programs to meet future demands?
“We don’t yet have desired quality and consistency for those who earn credentials on the credentialing side,” says Harvey. “Too many people focus on how to pass the demonstration exam by following the markers and submitting a recording. They soon realize they lack understanding for how to embody the professional ethics of partnering for client development and running a business practice. This contributes to attrition out of the field. The educators are responsible.”
Elias Scultori, MCC, co-founder of PRIME Coaching Academy and host of the PRIME SPACE podcast, says, “Gaining a certification with the ICF – including doing all the coursework and checking the boxes – is not the sole indicator of an effective coach or how successful their coach education program is. Is it enough for a coach education program to simply meet the minimal ICF requirements? I hope not. I hope that our coach education programs are surpassing the minimum and that we are graduating coaches who, besides being able to check the boxes, become ambassadors of the revolutionary aspects of coaching, ready to educate others on the transformative value of coaching and the importance of being professionally trained beyond the minimum.”
INTEGRATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
A recent U.S. survey found that 92% of people dedicate at least one hour per month to learning digitally and 62% are or have been a member of an online community.
The average person isn’t afraid of artificial intelligence, either. The same survey revealed that 49% of people have or would consume content they knew was created by artificial intelligence. And a remarkable 78% of people believe artificial intelligence-generated content is here to stay. Few coach education programs currently integrate AI into their curriculum. Is this a missed opportunity? Only time will tell.
If the professional coaching profession continues to grow at or above the current rate, it is estimated that our industry is heading towards an over-supply of trained coaches by 2030. What role can coaching education providers play to ensure that the coaching profession continues to thrive and deliver value to the coach and clients?
“Through coaching education, we need to explore more how coaching can be used in ways other than ‘I get to quit my day job and work from home,’” says Amy Ruppert Donovan, and I concur.
The coaching education provider is uniquely positioned to transform our profession by training coaching professionals in cutting-edge methodologies that scale coaching, leverage technologies and incorporate holistic approaches to drive future success.
By bridging the gap between coaching theory and practice, educators ensure that coaching remains a vital, powerful and credible tool for personal and organizational growth.
As we look to the future, we can expect to see more technology, increased focus on DEI, specialization, data-driven coaching, and collaboration across professions and industries. By embracing these trends and innovations, coach education providers can continue to grow their businesses while improving sustainable student outcomes.
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