recorded 2/4/03

Graduate School of Coaching Training
Class #2106 The Path to Certified Coach Designation
February 4, 2003 – 1:00 p.m. EST
Anna Dargitz, Instructor 

Anna: Hi; this is class #2106 – the path to the certified coach designation.   This is Anna Dargitz; if you have any questions, you can email me at anna@coachville.com.  We’ve got a full class today, so please keep your phone on mute if you’re not talking.   This is an information-rich call but please feel free to jump in with comments or questions. 

First, I’ll talk about the background of the IACC, the advantage of the Certified Coach Designation, the steps to earning the Certified Coach Designation, how to prepare for the CCD exam, and some other topics. 

The background of the IACC – this is a new professional organization of coaches forming.  This is a free membership for any CoachVille members; however, you can opt out if you want to.  The mission is serving our clients in the highest capacity.  This will be the largest association of coaches worldwide, with 24,000 members so far.  It’s a non-profit organization managed by a Board of Directors.  You can get more information on this at www.certifiedcoach.org 

Also, the details of the exams have been evolving, so you might find that what I’m saying today might change in the future.  You can, however, find the latest on the exam requirements at the www.certifiedcoach.org. site as well. 

Within the IAC there are 4 boards – board of professional review, coaching school accreditation board, coaching information center, and the coach certification board.  Michael Cooper is coordinating the IACC effort, and it’s supported by coaches building out each of the components I just talked about.  If you want to get on the mailing list to get the most updated information, simply email subscribeiaccrd@coachville.com.  Any questions so far on the board and the IACC? 

Okay, let’s start talking about the advantages of going for the coach designation; there are roughly 12 designations available now.  The advantages of this is (1) sophistication and progressiveness, (2) consistency in common meaning, and (3) open architecture design. 

The first advantage - 15 coaching proficiencies on which coaching is based; according to our research, it’s the most sophisticated.  If you’ve had an opportunity to take any of the classes on the 15 proficiencies, you’ll have a chance to observe the subtleties of each of these and can see how powerful they really are. Has anyone taken any of the proficiency classes?  Well, I hope you do.  They’re advanced by design and contribute to a wide range of the most common client situations and ways to coach them. 

The 2^nd advantage - consistency in common meaning.  This attests to the coach’s ability with the 15 proficiencies – this is consistent knowledge and a consistent branding. 

The 3^rd advantage - even as the certified coaches have this common brand, each one still has a significant degree of freedom to use it in their own way.  They can respond to a wide range of coaching needs, and as a result the level of coaching progresses.  

Any questions so far about that? 

XXX: You mentioned the classes for the 15 proficiencies; I’d actually taken some of those.  Are there classes for the other 15’s yet? 

Anna: Yes, there sure are – I’m teaching the clarifiers class, and also with the frameworks and the deliverables.  I’m not sure about the style points; we’re looking at a different way to teach those.  Also, the others have 2-hour classes. 

XXX: Okay, thanks. 

Anna: Anyone else? 

XXX: What was covered at the intensives was mostly focused on the 15 proficiencies. 

Anna:  I’m sorry – what is your question? 

XXX:  To what extent is it sufficiently covered by the intensive, or should you take the classes as well?  In order to qualify you need to have taken the 15 classes on each of the 15 proficiencies, correct? 

Anna: We’ll talk about it later, but let me just say if you know the proficiencies without taking a class, then you will get certified.  The question you want to ask yourself is how well you can demonstrate those proficiencies 

XXX: Thank you very much. 

Anna: Any other questions? 

XXX: Where are those classes available? 

Anna: We’ll talk about that when I talk about the steps for preparing for the CCD – is that all right? 

XXX: Sure.   

Anna: We’re going to talk about the steps to earning the CCD, and then we’ll talk about how to prepare for the exam and then we’ll talk about the timing and availability of the exam. 

1^st step– to score 80 percent  or higher on the written exam.  You can find the link for the exam at www.certifiedcoachtraining.com. It’s not there yet, but I’ll talk about that in a minute.  The written exam is 200 questions from a bank of 1500 questions, including legal and ethical issues.  Any Coachville or IACC member may take this test online at no charge.  If you don’t pass the test, you will have to wait 30 days before taking it again.  There’s no charge to re-take the exam, however; you can take it multiple times.  Any question about that? 

XXX: How do you prepare for the exam? 

Anna: We’ll be talking about that right after the requirements, okay? 

XXX: The legal issues, will they vary depending on what country you’re in? 

Anna: Yes, you’ll have to take responsibility for finding out the requirements in your particular area.  

XXX: Okay, thank you. 

Anna: The 2^nd step – 80 or higher on the coaching proficiencies taped session.  You’ll be audiotaping 3 sessions with your own clients – with your permission, of course – and 3 certifying coaches will be listening to those and scorecard your sessions, especially on the proficiencies.  You’ll then receive copies of your scorecards with comments from the coaches; you’ll likely receive these through email. 

XXX:  3 separate clients or 3 separate sessions? 

Anna: Both – 3 separate clients in 3 separate sessions. 

XXX: Is there a fee for this? 

Anna: We’ll get to that in just a moment.  Any questions about this step? 

XXX: How long does it take from the time they’re recorded until we get them back? 

Anna: We don’t know; we’ll know how long this takes as we proceed further.  Anyone else?

Okay, the 3^rd step – complete a brief interview with 3 certifying coaches to cover any proficiencies that weren’t demonstrated during those 3 sessions you taped.  They may role-play with you on this.  Questions about the interview process? 

XXX: Interview is a telephone interview? 

Anna:  Yes. 

XXX:  3 coaches at one time? 

Anna:  Yes, all 3 will be there.  It’s probably the most rigorous certifying process of any agency.  It will show you know how to demonstrate a high level of communication skills.  We deliberately do not require a set number of hours of experience as a coach - you don’t have to go to a particular school; you don’t have to take any particular classes; or do anything in particular.  We don’t rely on education, we rely on the real-world experience.  If you decide to take some of the coaching classes, there won’t be a specific design of classes you’ll have to take; you just take what you think will help you become proficient.  Keep in mind that we’re looking for demonstrated ability. 

Let’s talk about fees - $200 to become certified, and any Coachville member can take the written exam for free.  The first 500 coaches that will pass the exam will have their $200 waived.  If you don’t pass the written exam, you’ll have to wait 30 days before you take the exam, but there’s no charge.  If you don’t pass the scorecard process with at least 80 percent on each one of the 3, you will be required to pay a $100 re-testing fee.  This is a one-time, $100 fee, though, that covers any sections of the scorecarding you didn’t pass.  

XXX: My heart rate has gone up – is there some kind of support group for those of us going through the process? 

Anna: I see you can’t wait to get to the next section on how to prepare for the exam. 

XXX: On the written exam, is it just the last score that’s recorded, or if you take it multiple times will all the scores be recorded? 

Anna: It’s my understanding that you submit the score that’s above 80 percent, but I’ll check with Susan on this to be sure. 

XXX: How much time would elapse between taking the written exam and doing the 3 taped sessions? 

Anna: That’s up to you; some may wait a while and practice some more, unless you’re ready to move to the next step right away.  If you don’t pass the interview, there’s no cost to be re-interviewed, but you do have to wait 90 days before being re-interviewed and complete the courses that the interviewer recommends.  Also, if you would like a certificate to hang on your wall, there is a $25 charge for that. 

Then, after you pass, you have to complete 20 hours per year of continuing education, but can complete them online and may include updates to the certification process.  CoachVille is just one of the approved training centers; we expect there will be dozens of others.

XXX: In choosing the 3 clients, you just get 3 opportunities to record, rather recording our own and submitting the 3 best?

Anna: That is correct. 

XXX:   Any ideas on how to select the clients? 

Anna: My thought is to just select the clients that you work the best with.  You’re looking for the opportunity to get the types of clients that will allow you to show how you use all 15 of them.  

XXX: Okay, thank you.   

Anna: Anything else about the test?  Okay, let’s talk about how to prepare for the exams.  The key here is to master the 15 proficiencies.  does everyone know where to find the information on the proficiencies?  Okay.  One place you can go is www.certifiedcoachtraining.com  You’ll find info there, as well as one-hour classes on each of these that you can listen to.  Newer classes will also be available soon; Susan Austin is working on them right now.  You can obtain information about them also through Real Audio, through transcripts of the classes, you can attend the 2-day live trainings – called Certified Coach Intensives, or you can go to the conference.  Has anyone been to one of the CCIs? 

XXX: I have.  It was definitely hands-on learning and gave us the opportunity to participate.  

Anna:What was it like being with 200 other coaches? 

XXX: Wonderful. 

Anna: Great; anyone else have a thought about it? 

XXX: I was at the Denver intensive, and it flowed together so well.  It was a tremendous experience being with coaches with a variety of experience and educational levels.  I agree with the previous speaker, being able to see it in action was a good way to understand the value. 

Anna: Yes; Thomas really gives you the opportunity to see the subtleties of each of these, doesn’t he? 

XXX:  I was at the Intensive in London; to absorb the information without the knowing it, then going home and being able to absorb the written information even further was a great opportunity. 

Anna: Yes; thank you for that.  It’s a great way to see how the proficiencies and the rest of the system works together.  If you’ve been to the Intensive, remember, you can access the special site with Real Audio links, and many other special features.  If you’ve been to an Intensive and don’t know about that special site, just email me and I’ll send you the URL and special password.   

There is also a list of coaching critiques available for you to listen to.  This will give you a sense of what the critique coaches will be looking and listening for and give you an idea of what they’ll say.  Also, take the CoachVille tour and member orientation class; you’ll find them at the member page.  Also, there are 101 quotes about coaching that are coming up at the site.  (Reads a quote from the site).  The 3-step training modules are another way to increase your overall coaching capabilities.  You’ll find them at CoachVille’s member page.   Those of you with study groups, are you using any of these 3-step trainings?   These have been really useful in our group.   

XXX: You said that you would listen to the information about the topic? 

Anna: Yes, and then we work with the proficiencies after listening to the information; we divide into separate groups and work on them.  Study groups are a great way to get this training.  Is anyone else doing that? 

XXX: We started working on the 28 attraction principles, and now we do 2 proficiencies per session. 

Anna: Great!  You can go to coachville.com and find out how to start a study group or if there are existing study groups in your area.  If you have questions about that, you can contact Susan for more information.   Also, working collaboratively with your current clients – ask them to help you coach better on the proficiencies.  Send them a list; it’s really worth it.  Also send them the deliverables – let them know what you’re offering them.   Even the clarifiers are really interesting; you can pique their interest and go in-depth with a discussion on one or more of them.   

You can also work with a certified coach or a mentor coach.  It’s a great way to get feedback and further assistance.  The mentor coach process is still growing – we’re working on a bigger program for certified coaches, and those classes will be coming up.  You can, though, search for them at www.coachvillereferral.com. 

Then, my personal favorite – when I work with coaches, I prefer that they be in the School of Coaching to help them evolve and develop. By the end of 2003, we expect to see at least 5 more schools adopt the proficiencies and the certification process.  This kind of training is included in the package of courses, currently at $1795, but set to increase to $4495 later this year.   Does anyone have any questions? 

XXX: When you’re building a practice, getting clients and taking classes, what do you think is a typical timeframe for this?  Would it be a year, 2 years, 6 months - ? 

Anna: It depends on how much time you’re able to give to it.  There is a simplicity to them, though, and if you start embracing them and practicing them something happens to you.  You grow in a lot of ways and it’s this growth that really makes you ready to pass the certified coach exam.   It takes 6 months to really do them well, and maybe a lifetime to master all of them.  Then, the next 6 months might be around learning all the details – the clarifiers, the frameworks, and so on.  You want to give yourself a year if you’ve had some training on coaching.  If you’re brand new to coaching, I think you’re looking at a 2 – 5 year play. 

XXX: Thank you; that takes a lot of the anxiety away.   

XXX: Did I read that you have to have a certain amount of experience before you can be certified? 

Anna: Yes, but it’s not something that you need to document.  The experience is the thing you’re going to bring to the 3 coaching sessions.  If you have questions about becoming a certifying coach – to be a critque coach – you can also get that information at www.certifiedcoach.org.  The requirements are listed on the site, as well as a way to get more information into that opportunity.   If you’re going to be a mentor coach, it would be to your advantage to become a certified coach as well.   

The timing is that we’re hoping for this month to have the written exam ready online, so keep checking back. You can also start scheduling critiquing sessions this month, and there are opportunities for being critiqued.  These are opportunities for you to practice the coaching sessions for you to be critiqued on.  You can turn in a tape and get that critiqued by a certifying coach.  It’s not part of the exam, but it’s an opportunity for you to have yourself critiqued around coaching a client.  If you’re interested, contact Andrea at Coachville.com.  She’ll be happy to set you up.  Questions about that? 

Okay.  Also, you can check our Frequently Asked Questions -FAQ’s – at the www.certifiedcoach.org website. They have a list of questions around the proficiencies and the certification process.  We’re coming to the end of our call – are there any last questions?  Again, you can email me at anna@coachville.com. 

XXX: Is it recommended we coach as many people as possible to gain this experience? 

Anna: Absolutely; some of the free clients I started coaching in my early years have become incredible centers of influence.  Yes, by all means coach wherever you can.   You can also find buddy coaches.   Any other questions? 

XXX: The IACC stands for?   

Anna: International Association of Certified Coaches.  Anyone else? 

XXX: So we are now members of that unless we have opted out. 

Anna: Yes, unless you write to Michael Cooper and tell him you want to be eliminated. 

XXX:  You mentioned www.certifiedcoachtraining.com and www.certifiedcoach.org? 

Anna: Yes, the ‘.org’ will give you information about the IACC, the process, and so on, but the ‘.com’ will give you other information.  

Okay, it’s the top of the hour; thank you for coming to the call.  Have a terrific day! 

end.