Coaching At a Higher Level
We all know that coaching is about change and growth. One produces the other. While it’s normal to expect change and growth in the people we coach, we as coaches first should remain aware of opportunities for development in our own lives. Pursuing coaching credentials is a great motivator.
The International Coaching Federation is the topmost credentialing body for coaches, and it carries a high level of ethics and coaching standards. The three credential levels have been created to encourage continued development. While ongoing training promotes learning, I would like to emphasize two other areas that are equally important for a coach’s development: Observation and Experience.
OBSERVATION
Observation is a two-way street. One way is to watch coaching conversations and apply new learning. Joining a “coaching exchange” to trade coaching for coaching is a helpful way to observe the styles of other coaches. YouTube has a plethora of demo videos provided by skillful, experienced coaches. Personally, I’ve found it beneficial to hire a more experienced coach so I can observe him as he coaches me. This also lets me observe how the coach’s performance affects me, the client. As a result, I am more sensitive to how my coaching performance affects my clients.
The other part of observation is to receive feedback from observers, either in a mentor coach group or one-on-one with an experienced coach. As unnerving as this sounds, the secret is to be teachable, not defensive. In one mentor coach group, I performed so poorly that my good-humored mentor used me as an example of how not to coach. Embarrassing? Yes. Valuable? Absolutely! To this day, I remember what I learned from that experience.
EXPERIENCE
We assume that coaching experience is a given; however, I’ve met some coach trainees who want to read books about coaching and take as many classes as possible. But when I ask them how many hours of coaching they’ve logged, it’s often less than twenty. An accumulation of head knowledge requires practical implementation. Sophocles, the great Greek playwright, said, “One must learn by doing the thing; for though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try.”
Recently, a coach shared with me that when she reached fifty hours of coaching experience, something clicked in her mind. She felt more relaxed and confident, which helped her remain more focused on her clients than on her own performance. There’s a reason why ICF increases the required number of coaching hours from 100 for Associate Certified Coach (ACC) to 500 hours for Professional Certified Coach (PCC). If coaching fifty hours was a turning point for my friend, imagine how well she’ll be coaching when she reaches five hundred!
After I received my ACC credential with ICF, I asked my mentor coach the best way to pursue the PCC level. He advised me to prepare as if I were striving for the MCC credential so I would be over-prepared. At that time, the PCC felt a long way off. I took his advice, and when the time came to apply for my PCC, I discovered my mentor coach was right.
In the words of Henry Ford, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young: “Keep your coaching young and fresh with continued training, valuable feedback, and hours of practice.”
Since 2007, Mary has served as a leadership and team coach, working with more than 500 individuals, teams, and groups. She holds a Master Certified Coach credential with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), trains coaches for Coach Approach Ministries and Converge Coaching, is a certified team coach through the Global Team Coaching Institute, and is certified in The Working Genius assessment. With 28 years of pastoral ministry experience, Mary has held local, state, and national leadership roles within the Assemblies of God, as well as ICF board positions in Michigan and Oklahoma. She lives in Enid, Oklahoma, near her two daughters and six grandchildren.
Coaching Forward