Introduction
We congratulate you on taking a decisive and inspiring step to embark on your journey of ‘becoming a coach’ and ‘being a coach’. This journey will most likely transform your career and your life.
The first important milestone in this journey is selecting an ICF Coach Training Program. You must take into account the important factors that will help you make the selection.
There are many coach training institutes and many coach training programs that you can choose from. It can be very confusing. So we will help you cut through the clutter and make a choice that is right for you.
What is the International Coaching Federation, exactly?
International Coaching Federation is a non-profit organization that is the gold standard in coaching and coach training. It acts as the body that certifies, credentials and prescribes the code of ethics that govern the certified coaches. ICF ensures high quality, credibility and an ecosystem to the coaching industry. It is the BEST Coach Training Methodology, accepted globally!
Questions to Ask when choosing an ICF Coach Training Program
Here are some questions that you may have or ask when selecting the best coach training program. We hope our answers will prompt you to choose the ICF Coach Training Program as it is globally acclaimed and the most reputed one at that.
Q1: Why do I want to learn how to coach?
It would help if you were clear about what your motivation for becoming a coach were. A simple answer like, “I want to be able to coach others,” will not be enough. You must go deeper to understand what drives you to want to coach? What do you want to get out of it? It is essential to know this so that your choice of where you get your coach training and the kind of coaching you get should fulfill your needs. Here are a few reasons for you to consider:
- I want to see others grow and play at their full potential
- I have been promoted to a leadership position, and I think coaching my team members will help them perform better.
- I want to have better relationships with my team members.
- Coaching will help my team perform better and ensure that I am seen as an effective leader.
- Coaching Certification will be a stamp of approval for the knowledge and experience I already have
- I want a develop a new career as a coach
- I want to make more money
- I want to train leaders to adopt a coaching style in their day to day interactions to embed coaching as an organizational culture.
- I want to train internal executive coaches to create an internal coaching function.
Once you have thought through what you want from your Coach Training, it would be a great idea to write it down.
Q2: How would I like to receive ICF Coach Training?
Ask yourself what the best way that you like to learn is. Consider your past experience.
In what way did you find learning most enjoyable? Here are some learning methods for you to consider:
Do I learn best when I am:
- In a classroom setting, with facilitator-led training?
- Learning online, or with the learning materials at my own pace?
- Through personal guidance and mentoring?
- Together in a learning group?
- Which platform suits me the most? The computer, the phone, or face-to-face?
- If I go for face-to-face training, does location matter to me?
ICF Coach training can be provided through all these means, be it face-to-face or using virtual learning mechanisms, with equal ease.
Regal Unlimited, being an ICF approved coaching institute provides 1:1 batch training (both physical and virtual mediums) and one-to-one mentoring. Also deploys adult-learning methodology to ensure that the learning is smooth and effective, aligned with your learning style. The alumni community of RegalCoaches support you throughout the journey and beyond.
Q3: Whom would I want to coach?
Have you thought through the kind of people you want to coach? Here are a few situations for you to consider:
- I want to coach as a professional in an organization, or is coaching a personal enterprise?
- I enjoy working with people who take up challenges or those who are aiming for higher achievements?
- Would I like to coach individuals or teams?
- I would want to work with people at which levels of their organizations?
Again, it’s time to put the pen on the paper and capture your thoughts, for they will help you choose the right coach training program.
Q4: What should I be learning when I receive coach training?
It is essential to know what you should be learning, when you receive coach training. Firstly, your values and philosophy should be aligned with those of the coach training provider. Secondly, coach training should help you develop three things: a coaching mindset, a coaching skill set, and a coaching toolset. To elaborate on this:
- Coaching mindset: A coach does not provide answers but helps the coachee/client find their own solutions. Here are a few more:
- Letting the coachee discover is far more powerful than telling them what you know, you think you know!
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- Change from within can transform and produce lasting impact compared to change that is externally imposed.
- Your coachee is more important and not you.
- Coaching Skill Set: For those who are used to talking, offering solutions, and sharing their experience, the biggest challenge is to stop talking. They find it difficult to ask questions as they think they know all the answers. Coaches use these skills in their practice:
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- Active listening to encourage others to express deeply.
- Asking powerful questions to elicit deep insight.
- Prompting self-assessment that helps avoid being defensive.
- Encouraging action steps to help realize value.
- Following-through to ensure outcomes.
- Coaching toolset: Coaching is not the same as training. Therefore, training tools cannot be used in coaching. Different tool sets need to be used. Some of these are.
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- Learning through 2- way conversations.
- Discovery sessions to identify the most relevant topic to the coachee/client.
- Coaching the person, for solving their problems, not solving it for them
- Methods for identifying and challenging the self-limiting beliefs.
- Goal setting, deeper exploration and action-planning for the coachee/client
- Action planning tools. Regal@60 is our flagship tool; a game-changer for personal and professional alignment
Regal unlimited ensures an end-to-end support in equipping the learners and leaders with all three; the coaching mindset-coaching skillset-coaching toolset, diligently adhering to the ICF coaching certification framework.
Q5: What kind of certification would I like?
For your coaching clients to take you seriously, certification is essential. It ensures that you are seen as a professional at coaching. A certificate, therefore, becomes critical. It is crucial to choose a coach training program that has the most reputed coaching association accreditation. Coaching being an unregulated field, it is essential to select carefully from where you would get your coach training. The world’s largest professional coaching association is The International Coach Federation (ICF – www.coachfederation.org), which is the most reputed organization in the field of coaching. They are the source of ICF certified coaches who could provide you ICF Certified Coach Training.
Regal Unlimited is the Coaching school for the world, having regal coaches across the globe. Be it in India or overseas, we are committed to deliver effective and exceptional coaching and coach training to our coaches. Regal Unlimited is a pioneer in ICF Coach certification in India attracting Coaches and Corporate leaders (across functions and levels) to set out on a fulfilling journey. We have been setting best-practices and new benchmarks in professional coaching in India.
Q6: What kind of coaching would I do?
Are you going to be doing coaching as something that adds to your leadership skill and improves your leadership style to help your team members develop and get better performance from them? Or are you planning on becoming a full-time coach, who will be helping individuals and leaders develop their potential? In any case, it is an excellent approach to build a strong foundation with an ICF Coaching Certification.
Q7: How will I receive the coach training?
Having decided to go for an ICF Certified Coach Training, you need to determine how you will receive it. If you are from India, it may be useful to learn from ICF Certified coaches in India as they are likely to be culturally more ‘attuned’ to you and your background. It is essential to be clear about your medium of learning. Would you prefer an online or offline course? Do you like attending webinars? Will there be a classroom part of the training? Is it a blend of both online and face-to-face?
Having asked these questions and clarified all these points, you will be in a strong position to select the coach training that is right for you. If you are in Bangalore, ICF Coach Training in Bangalore is available. ICF Coach Certification in India is now a growing trend. Be a part of the exciting and satisfying journey towards coaching.
For more on coach training and certification by Regal Unlimited, pls visit www.regalunlimited.com
Q8:How will I Receive the ICF Coach Training- Online or Offline?
If you are from India, it may be useful to learn from ICF Certified Coaches in India as they are likely to be culturally more ‘attuned’ to you and your background. It is essential to be clear about your medium of learning. Would you prefer an online or offline course? Do you like attending webinars? Will there be a classroom part of the training? Is it a blend of both online and face-to-face?
At Regal Unlimited, we offer hybrid coach training for individuals. We have a blend of online and offline training to maximize the learning experience of our learners.
Corporates enter into an engagement with us for coach training too. These in-house coach training programs are completely offline.
We provide 1:1 batch training and 1:1 mentoring. We deploy adult-learning methodology to ensure that the learning is smooth and effectively aligned with your learning style.
Q9:What is My Budget?
The budget is another determining factor in the equation while choosing a Coach Training Institute. There are many coach training institutes that offer programs at a very low cost that you can consider if you are looking only for an ICF credential (although, this is discouraged by ICF themselves), but, if you are looking to be one of the best professional coaches in the industry, you must be willing to invest that amount in yourself to reap the benefits.
ICF Credentialing is a marathon. And marathon becomes memorable if you have complete handholding, a good company to keep and experienced trainers. All of this is relevant to your coaching journey
Do you look at the budget as an expense or an investment? Your answer to the question will determine your journey and your destination.
Q10:Is the ICF Program Accredited?
The Coach Training Programs that Regal Unlimited offers are ICF certified and accredited. You can see the Regal Unlimited’s accreditation on the ICF website. Click here. (Just search for Regal Unlimited in the Accredited body section)
Q11:Are the Trainers for ICF Program Credentialed?
Our USP is that other coach training institutes employ ICF ACC and PCC trainers. Our trainers are Master Coaches (ICF MCC). Master Certified Coaches have gone through the exta rigor of clocking over 4000 hours of coaching, hence they are well aware of the practical nuances and challenges of Coaching a wide range of individuals from diverse backgrounds.
It is imperative that you get trained with a Coach who is MCC Credentialed. For our learners, we offer the training from a minimum of TWO MCC Credentialed Coaches. This is our commitment of giving our learner coaches the BEST in the category. Your training decides the trajectory of your coaching profession. Don’t settle for less!
Q12:Is Mentoring Included in the Quoted Price or Is There an Additional Cost?
Mentoring is included in the quoted price at no additional cost.
Q13:How Much Time Should You Commit?
An often repeated question aspiring coaches ask is, how much time will it take to become an ICF Credentialed Coach? Can they pursue coach training while they are doing their 9 to 5 job?
The answer is – Yes. Many of our learners are getting trained to become Coach while they are in a full time role in their organization.
The total time commitment, on an average is 10-12 months.
The first 4 months, we complete the Coach Training, the next 3 months we encourage our learners to complete the Mentoring and then nudge them to clock the 100 hours of coaching (with due support) in the next 4-5 months. Finally submit the recording and write the ICF Credentialing Exam in the last one month. We take pride in providing complete handholding (throughout the journey, be it 12 months or more)
Q14:What about the After-Training Support?
Many Coach Training Institutes offer certification and that’s about it. Nothing else. However, we at Regal Unlimited firmly believe in the Golden Triangle of Coaching. Becoming a Coach, Being a Coach and the Business of Coaching.
Our regular engagements with our 300+ alumni is a testament to that. Our programs – Regal MuseArt (Webinars to explore new concepts in leadership, mentoring, etc. led by experts), Coach Accelerator (Regular connects to help generate business for our alumni) and Coaching Unlimited (3 days getaways for a small group of successful coaches for their CCEUs with a focus on high-quality coaching) are some of the examples of that.
Q15:How Will You Benefit from this ICF Coach Training Program?
1. Regal Unlimited is the leading Leadership and Transformation Coach Training Institutes that aims to empower individuals, teams and organizations to bring out the best in them by unleashing their true potential.
2. Our differentiation lies in our extensive work experience in the corporate world and the coaching industry. The Mentors and Coaches at Regal Unlimited are:
a. ICF- ICF is the gold standard in Coaching and Coach Training. As members, they support ICF’s initiatives to advance the art, science and practice of professional coaching. Also, they are part of local ICF chapters as volunteer-leaders.
b. EMCC- They are members of EMCC that exists to develop, promote and set the expectations of best practices in mentoring and coaching across Europe and beyond for the benefit of the society.
c. inviteChange, ICA- As alumni of these prestigious Coach Training Organizations
d. CoachSource- As empanelled Executive Coach
e. EMCC Mentoring Award 2016- ‘Highly Commended’
3. We provide world-class Coach Training Programs in India under the visionary leadership of Subash CV, who is an INSEAD Alumnus and an MCC (ICF) with more than 21 years in the corporate and business world.
4. We are one of the best institutes for obtaining ICF Certified Professional Coach Training. We have trained over 300 coaches (Out of the 50,000 certified ICF Coaches worldwide) in the ICF Credentialing journey.
5. Our flagship thought leadership in the domain of Executive Coaching and Coach Training is well established. We conducted a first of its kind research on the Coaching Landscape in India wherein we interviewed over 260 coaches of India. Here is the link to view the ICF research (as an aspiring coach, this research will answer many of your queries)
Q16:Do They Overpromise to ‘Sell’ You?
Many of the Coach Training Institute promise you that they can craft your ‘BRAND’ as a Coach. That you can start earning millions overnight because of the niche brand that they will help you get!
While building a brand as a coach is critical, it is also time taking and complex for the following reasons!
- Coaching is a highly unregulated market. Research shows that the entry barriers to this industry are extremely low. Literally anyone can call themselves coaches!
- 80% of the Coaching business comes from Referrals. Building brand can help… but more important than that is training to become a Good and True Coach. Overpromising to ‘sell’ you is akin to putting the cart before the horse.
- To build a Brand requires consistency (from the website, to the newsletters to the content you put out as a coach) It doesn’t happen overnight
- They overpromise you about getting the clients. In our opinion, its only a crutch… Coach has to be self-reliant and shape his/her BRAND
Tread with caution, and not fall for towering promises of overnight successes as a Coach!
Conclusion
We hope these answers will help you in making your choice. Meanwhile, you can hear from our alumni about their experience of Coach Training with us. Write to us: info@regalunlimited.com
