How Much Is Enough, or Navigating Coaching Training and Credentials
When I am asked what I do for a living, I respond, “I’m a coach, a people coach.” And this is true. If you want to get specific, however, I could just as easily respond, “I’m an agile coach,” or “I’m a life coach,” or “I’m an organizational coach.” All three responses that contain the adjective as well as the noun are just as true. (Although those of you that know me are all too aware that I will never ever ever refer to myself as a “life coach” without a disclaimer.)
Like so many others, I’ve doubled-down on education in 2020. A global pandemic seemed like the perfect time to focus on my skills. Finish a co-active coaching certification? Check. Finish the ORSC training series? Check. It helped that most of the training that I wanted to do was now being offered virtually, meaning that I could bypass travel costs, and more importantly, I could continue to work as the training was oftentimes split into half-day sessions. I could do training in the morning and then see clients in the afternoon. Win win!
But this leads me to the question that I seem to be fielding quite a bit of these days is this: What training or certification do I need to be a coach? What is enough?
An Obnoxiously Long List of Credentials
Most coaches, regardless of what type of coach they consider themselves to be, seem to be in training of some kind or another. We seem to be bullish on self-improvement, knowledge, and growth—all good things. However, this does mean that we have a bit of an alphabet soup after our names. I get this. We've worked hard for these certifications and credentials, and we want to be recognized for them. I consider myself to be among the worst offenders here. If I added each and every one of my credentials, I doubt that LinkedIn would have much room left for my name. So, I leave them off, burying them down further in my profile.
I’m often asked what training I’ve had or what credentials I hold in order to be considered a coach. Here is a complete (completely obnoxious) listing of my coaching credentials:
Agile
Agility in the Enterprise, Professional (ICP-ENT)
Coaching Agile Transitions, Professional (ICP- CAT)
Agile Coaching, Expert (ICE-AC)
Agile Team Facilitation, Professional (ICP-ATF)
Team Transformation Coach
Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)
Certified Scrum Professional (CSP)
Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
Coaching
Organizational, Relationship, and Systems Coach (certified as well as serving on the ORSC faculty)
Certified Professional Co-active Coach (CPCC)
Professional Certified Coach, International Coaching Federation (ICF-PCC)
For aspiring scrum masters, I do recommend the base scrum-master certification, either the Certified Scrum Master or Professional Scrum Master designation. I consider this certification to be table stakes, the bare minimum of what you will need to even be considered to hire into a scrum-master role. For agile coaches, what comes next gets a bit fuzzier. I’m seeing more and more agile coaches to show International Coaching Federation (ICF) credentials, indicating that they are aligning with the standards mandated by that body. And this is a good thing, in my opinion, as it shows that we take the skills and knowledge required to coach well a serious matter. Additionally, I think it more and more common for agile coaches to be expected to have the ICAgile training, but I’ve also met some great coaches who have not done that classroom work. Instead, they attended the school of hard knocks (also known as practical, on-the-job experience). In an ideal world, coaches and scrum masters will have both theoretical knowledge as well as practical experience.
Experience: Still the Best Teacher
I have all of the required credentials and some bonus ones to boot to consider myself a coach. But does that mean that I’m a good coach? Not by a long shot. You see, training or certifications might make it easier for you to knock on opportunity’s door, but experience and practice and application are the only things that will allow you to go through the door and walk that path. This is why I generally advise aspiring coaches to get any experience they can at their current company. Practical, on-the-job experience where you can experiment, fail, learn, and eventually succeed is the best certification available.
Which is why, once I have that initial training, however, I will then go out of my way—repeatedly—to practice that skill, moving ever closer to mastery. Every great coach I know does this. Not only do we continue to apply that new knowledge or skill at our organizations or client sites, but we’ll load up in one of the Agile Coaching Circles session, attend or volunteer to speak at a conference, write case studies to share our knowledge and experience. Practical experience may teach, but we’ll improve more quickly when we collaborate with others.
Things to Try
Buddy up! Yes, find a training buddy, someone similar to you in terms of interests and long-term goals. My friend and fellow coach Dino Zafirakos met years ago in an ICAgile coaching bootcamp, and we’ve been friends ever since. (It also helps that we both like wine and cheese.) He and I have talked about our training goals and what skills we are interested in acquiring. We have a loose idea and timeline of the training that we both want to take, and whenever possible, we’ll take it together. Why? Not because I want to have a friend or partner at the training, quite the opposite. I want to meet and connect and collaborate with new people, learn from others that I don’t yet know. But having a training buddy gives me a built-in accountability partner, someone that wants to practice those skills as much as I do. Plus, Dino and I encourage each other whenever possible. We all need someone cheering us on.
Flip the question! Instead of asking “What training do I need?” ask “Where do I want to improve?” and go from there. For coaches, this might be work in neurobiology or leadership or meditation. Yes, you might wind up doing some unorthodox work, but if that work gets you closer to the level of craftsmanship and quality that you want to exhibit in your work, then more power to you.
Find a mentor! Yes, I talk a lot about mentoring, and you may heard read the sentence “Mentorship is the act of planting trees under which you will never enjoy the shade.” (Hyacinth Loyson said something similar to that back in the 19th century, not me.) It is one of the easiest, most cost-effective methods of acquiring knowledge and skill. Why? Because you’re springboarding off of what your mentor already knows or has tried. The connection and collaboration that are built into this relationship can help you to avoid expensive training that won’t help you get where you want to go.
At the end of the day, there is no single, correct answer for “How much training do I need?” or “What certifications must I have?” There is only you and what is right for you; there is only me and what is right for me. In all likelihood, I will always be in training of some kind or another. I’m happy to share my learning, to practice with you, to tell you what I did and why. Bottom line: I complete the training and certification work that I feel that I need to coach effectively, well, and to the very best of my ability. I won’t accept anything less of myself.
The image used for this blog post, Aiguille Midi in the French Alps, was captured by Linda Nickell. Connect with her on Instagram as @coznlinda, or join in on Wednesday evenings for the Happiness Hour. Details, upcoming presentations, and past recordings can be found on her site.