ICF Professional Credentials:
ASSOCIATE CERTIFIED COACH (ACC)
An Associate Certified Coach is a coach who demonstrates a beginning level
of knowledge and competence in their use of coaching skills and also demonstrates a
basic knowledge of the difference between coaching and other professions in the way
they use their coaching skills.
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFIED COACH (PCC)
A Professional Certified Coach is a coach who demonstrates a clear knowledge of coaching skills, but is still somewhat dependent on tools from their coach training and still learning how to fully partner with the client and put all of the tools together in a way that serves the client powerfully. A PCC also demonstrates a firm knowledge of the difference between coaching and other professions in the way
they use their coaching skills.
MASTER CERTIFIED COACH (MCC)
A Master Certified Coach is a coach who demonstrates a fluent and easy use
of coaching skills in a way that powerfully partners with the client and serves the
client exploration and learning.
Credentialing Program
- Establishes and administer minimum standards for credentialing professional coaches and coach training agencies.
- Assures the public that participating coaches and coach training agencies meet or exceed these minimum standards.
- Reinforces professional coaching as a distinct and self-regulating profession.
ICF Credentials are highly recognized coaching qualifications with credibility around the world. If you are serious about building or maintaining your coaching business and care for being part of a well-respected, self-regulating profession, you will be interested in gaining an ICF Credential. The ICF credential is awarded to professional coaches and coach training agencies who validate that they meet or exceed these minimum standards. Learn more...
ICF offers three Credential levels:
Benefits of an ICF Credential:
- Enhances your credibility and reassures potential clients that you are an experienced and professional coach
- Demonstrates that you have high professional standards
- Demonstrates that you stand by a strong code of ethics
- Demonstrates a high knowledge and skill level
- Demonstrates that you take on-going professional development seriously
- Develops you as a professional coach – to further enhance your skills
- Brings personal satisfaction - in achieving a career goal
- Brings personal satisfaction - in gaining a credential from the only internationally recognized independent coaching body
- Reinforces the integrity of the coaching profession nationally and internationally
General Credentialing Information
Everyone interested in obtaining ICF Credentials should read this material.
Requirements for ICF Credentials
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Definitions and Terms
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Core Coaching Competencies
Overview...
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Is Coaching Your Next Career?
Three Steps to Becoming a Professional Coach from the ICF
Lexington, Kentucky, USA - People from all backgrounds and professions become coaches. But where do they begin? If you have decided on coaching as your new career, but don't know where to start, the ICF recommends three important steps to guide you.
First, get trained in coaching skills. "No matter what educational and professional experience you may have or what type of coach you want to become, you should receive coach-specific training," says ICF President Diane Brennan, MBA, MCC1. "Training distinguishes you from those who merely call themselves coaches."
Start by choosing an ICF approved coach training program. These programs are located all over the world, and many offer distance learning through the Internet or telephone. You can start your search for a program through the ICF Training Program Search Service on ICF's Web site, Coachfederation.org.
Secondly, ICF highly recommends that new coaches contract with a credentialed coach as a mentor and undergo coaching themselves. "Put yourself in the client role first," suggests Brennan. "If you are coached yourself, you can go into the arrangement with as many questions as you want answered and you get to see exactly what coaching is and how it's done. This experience will help you relate to your future clients in a more meaningful and effective way."
Finding a mentor coach is made simple with ICF's complimentary Coach Referral Service (CRS) which assists in matching potential clients with an ICF Credentialed coach. To access the CRS, visit Coachfederation.org and click on the Find a Credentialed Coach link from the home page.
Lastly, one of the most important steps to becoming a professional coach is earning an ICF Credential. "Beyond your initial training, credentialing offers credibility and validity to you as a professional and to the profession of coaching," Brennan says. "ICF Credentials are in their second decade of existence. Many coaching clients expect the coach they hire to be credentialed. As you begin your new career, think seriously about becoming credentialed and how it will impact your future success."
The ICF offers three credentials: Associate Certified Coach (ACC) for the practiced coach, Professional Certified Coach (PCC) for the proven coach, and Master Certified Coach (MCC) for the expert coach.
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