Having worked in the public sector in primary schools at a leadership level for 18 years I am now working as an independent consultant. Have done some work with private and voluntary groups and am doing lots of work with a local fe college. Feeling a bit frustrated at the moment as £s are just keeping me going and challenge and reward are not really there. Was known as a people person" and my skills are in staff development - personal and professional - performance management and raising aspirations of communities of people. Have been researching training programmes and feel drawn to the Coaching Academy as the methods of learning are flexible and varied and there is just so much more credibility about the organisation. Anyone have any first hand knowledge of them? Any advice or info would be useful. I really need to develop my professional confidence as well as get some structure and focus into the work I want to do. I have been "coaching" without calling it that but want to raise my professional status and self belief before I can take any more steps. Thanks.
Jane Smith
8 Responses
My views on Coaching Academy
Having been in a similar position to yourself 18 mths ago – I am glad that I chose Coaching Academy. I now can say that I am a Qualified Coach – and increasingly clients are looking for some form of credentials. It is professional, and fits in well with working, and you set the pace! Be aware, they have a very good selling technique, so be VERY clear as to what you want out of it.Good Luck! PS – There are lot of ‘timewasters’ on the course that you have to work around, but easy to do if you are focused on your aims.
Coaching Courses
I don’t have experience of the Coaching Academy but I would recommend the Centre for Coaching – they are affiliated to the Centre for Stress Management who I trained with – visit their website at http://www.associationforcoaching.com
Helen
re coaching courses
Hi Jane
It is a very rewarding career.
I can highly recommend the School of Coaching at the work foundation
http://www.schoolofcoaching@theworkfoundation.com – their courses for coaches are very in-depth and are accredited by the University of Strathclyde’s business school.
Fluency with a number of approaches
Your background contains a fair amount of experience and expertise going in to this, as opposed to ‘complete beginner’. Also, you’re looking for ‘a job with heart’! My background was similar so I hope this helps.
So .. you may want to go into the topic a bit deeper than the ‘learn to coach in a weekend’ route, or the ‘we have one powerful model’ route (not that any of those providers have been mentioned here).
If you get only ONE coaching model or process, however powerful, you risk becoming ‘a coach with a solution in search of a problem’(David Megginson). More eclectic, with clear values and purpose, is best – in my opinion.
This means a qualification which offers a good view of ALL the major and influential approaches, so that you can develop the fluency and ability to use the right tools/approaches at the right time with the right people.
Pull it together via the values and beliefs that attracted you to this field in the first place, and you get the chance to create YOUR unique approach to coaching, as opposed to someone else’s … however good that may be.
All the above is available plus blended learning and choice of distance / attended module delivery, from the Oxford School of Coaching and Mentoring – whose advanced Diploma I’m doing at the moment. Biased eh!
Kind regards
Nick McBain FCIPD
Nickmcb@globalnet.co.uk
http://www.nickmcb.co.uk
Suggest you also look at what buyers want in a coach when select
Hi – I suggest that you read the CIPD report “Buying Coaching Services” (on their website or easily found via GOOGLE). This report gives advice on what to look for in a coach in terms of skills and qualifications. This may help you decide what kind of coaching training is best for you.
In the back of the report is a useful table about the different coaching accreditation bodies and also a list of training providers.
I am currently working towards ICF (International Coaching Federation accreditation.) If you want to talk about this route and the training provider I am using (ITS), email me with your telephone number.
I hope this helps.
Coaching Skills
You could try the new qualifications in coaching which CIPD are offereing – check out the CIPD website or ask your local CIPD branch for names of providers
Professional Qualifications accredited externally to the coachin
Lots of qualifications are accredited from within the coaching community. Suggest more important to find some that are externally recognised such as those provided through Institute of Leadership and Management. If you want more information contact me at Rob@businesswork.plus.com or phone 01292 260393
The Coaching Academy?
Hi Jane,
I did do my coach training with The Coaching Academy & would say that as a basic course it’s quite good and has given me a fair grounding into coaching. Though much of the other reading & practice I’ve done since has been more beneficial. Also you will find that there is a lot about marketing your business, or just marketing the Coaching Academy, involved in the course. I also work at Oxford Brooke University, where we do a PG cert/PG Dip or MA in Coaching & Mentoring, run alongside the Oxford School of Coaching & Mentoring. Again it’s good, if a little academic. The problem with coaching is that it is not regulated, so anyone can practice in theory. Therefore courses are vastly different in quality & structure. So organisations such as the ICF (International Coaching Federation) have been established to address that issue. I would suggest you decide what you want out of the training. Is it a qualification? Is it to get the basics, theory & skills? Is it to help you get employment. If the first, go academic. If the second, go Coaching Academy or equivalent. If the third, look at ICF accredited courses. The Coaching Academy course is primarily about life coaching, though you can do some of the ‘insight workshops’ to look at things like business coaching.
It all depends entirely on what you want to achieve. If you’d like to talk about it, please email me on eflatley@brookes.ac.uk – I’d be happy to help coach you through your decision.
Thanks
Esther