My Adventure to Becoming a Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
The past few weeks I have had a few people ask me about coaching and how I became a coach. Subsequently, today I thought I would share that in a timeline as it has been an adventure to becoming a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF).
What is Coaching?
The International Coach Federation (ICF) refers to coaching as –
“partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”
Another definition of coaching from Anthony Grant includes –
“A collaborative, solution-focused, results-orientated and systematic process in which the coach facilitates the enhancement of performance, life experience, self-directed learning and the personal growth of people from normal (non-clinical) populations.”
Coaching recognises the client as the expert in their own world (personal and professional) and knows every person is creative, resourceful, and whole.
Basically the coaching process is about identifying where you are now, where you would like to be and then close that gap. The coach does this through –
- discovering, clarifying, and aligning with where the client wants to be,
- encouraging self-discovery and trust within themselves,
- eliciting client-generated solutions and strategies,
- keeping the client accountable and ensuring they are taking responsibility for themselves
- providing support to the client.
Coaching is not –
- a quick-fix, one size fits all approach for your current challenges (as we are all unique),
- therapy or counseling (please seek a licensed medical professional if this is what you need),
- about giving you advice (you are the expert in your own life),
- financial advising or estate planning (again please seek a licensed practitioner if this is what you require).
How Can a Coach Help?
The ICF has recently put together this great video that answers this question, so please watch it below –
My Interest in Coaching
Seriously, my interest in the space of coaching started when I was a young girl. Growing up, I would have friends share with me experiences about their life. As I was a curious child, I would ask questions and listen. Over the years, this curiosity for life grew and even though I was coaching tennis from a young child, I enjoyed the social aspect of coaching the most as I was genuinely interested in what made people tick and wanted to create.
My life continued to evolve as I became a professional athlete. Then after I did my double undergraduate degree, coaching was mentioned again, however was quite focused on teaching by that stage.
Fast forward a few years and whilst I was working in a National Mental Health and Wellbeing initiative called MindMatters (now BeYou) I had people asked me to support them and their growth. By that stage, I had consciously started my own healing adventure and was exploring a number of professions and training.
I explored counseling, completed some training and did some counseling for a while. In my undergraduate degree, I had also done some psychology, however it didn’t resonate.
Even though I had several sports coaches since I was a young person, somehow I knew that was not my calling. Then life coaching literally found me and that is a story for another day. Now I have had coaches and mentor coaches (in the area of life and career) since around 2006. I have found them invaluable and continue to grow in to the space myself. And yes, for me it is about (un)learning, which is why I am grateful I had the experience of other modalities like somatic education, mindfulness, self-compassion etc.
What Training Did I Do to Be a Certified Coach?
As coaching is an unregulated industry, I have chosen to align with the International Coaching Federation (ICF). The ICF is the leading coaching body that is –
“dedicated to advancing the coaching profession by setting high standards, providing independent certification and building a worldwide network of trained coaching professionals.”
Subsequently, the training I originally completed was –
- February 2011 – Certificate IV in Life Coaching with the Life Coaching Academy (LCA).
I have since gone on to complete the following training –
- February 2016 – Diploma in Life Coaching with the Life Coaching Academy (LCA), and
- March 2018 – Advanced Certificate in Nutrition and Health Coaching with Cadence Health (now Well College Global). I did this training with Well College Global as my insurance provider didn’t acknowledge previous training (i.e. my degrees) as enough to coach in the space of Nutrition and Health.
My Adventure to Becoming a Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
Following is a bit more detail to my adventure of becoming a Professional Certified Coach (PCC).
Member of the ICF –
In July 2004, I became a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF).
Click here to read more about membership.
Associate Certified Coach (ACC) –
August 2004, I became an Associate Certified Coach (ACC). My Certificate IV in Life Coaching was part of the ACTP Pathway and then I was also required to document at least 100 hours (70 paid*) of coaching experience with at least eight clients following the start of my coach-specific training and complete a knowledge assessment.
You can read more here about the ICF Coach Pathways.
Professional Certified Coach (PCC) –
July 2020 – I became a Professional Certified Coach (PCC). In order to become a PCC, I completed over 125 hours of coach-specific training through an ACTP with the Life Coaching Academy. 10 hours of Mentor Coaching over about four months with my mentor coach. Over 500 hours of coaching experience with more than 25 clients following the start of my coach-specific training.
You can read more here about the ICF Coach Pathways.
Over to You…
I hope this has helped give you some insight in to a pathway of becoming a Professional Certified Coach (PCC). My intention to completing this credential was to continue to provide consistent, high quality and excellent value to my clients.
Yes it taken a number of years, however throughout that time I also completed a number of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) as I am committed to growing / (un)learning in order to be of service to my clients and community. I also found out along the adventure, what pathways didn’t resonate with me and that has also been a wonderful (albeit sometimes very uncomfortable) (un)learning experience in itself.
If you have any questions, please leave them below or contact me here.