best icf accredited coaching programs
ICF Accredited Coaching Programs Bring the Rigor
If you’re new to coaching, you’re probably wondering what the ICF is and why you might want to attend an ICF accredited program—or if you even need to. Let’s break down these component parts so that you can make the best decision about which training program you choose.
What is the ICF?
The ICF is the International Coaching Federation. Coaching is not regulated and so there is no governing body for coaches the way there is the Board of Behavioral Sciences for therapists. The ICF’s intention is to standardize the training process for coaches, which means that they accredit coach training programs, and to award individual coaching credentials to coaches who have graduated from a training program.
What is ICF Accreditation?
This is where unfortunately things get tricky—because there are coach training providers out there calling themselves “accredited” by the ICF, when they are not truly accredited.
The ICF awards a Level 1 or higher distinction to a program that is truly accredited (like CLCC). When you have a Level 1 or higher accreditation it means the ICF has rigorously reviewed every aspect of the program: the curriculum, the facilitators, how much personal time and attention is given to participants, etc. To run an ICF Accredited program you have to have an ICF credential.
Be careful, because there are programs out there that are calling themselves “ICF Accredited” when they really only offer continuing education (more on that, below).
What is an ICF Credential?
The ICF awards individual credentials to coaches who have graduated from coach training. The credential options are the ACC, PCC, and MCC. Most coaches start with their ACC and later get their PCC. The differentiation between each type of credential indicates additional hours of training and additional hours spent accruing coaching time with clients.
What are CCEs or CEUs?
CCE stands for Continuing Coach Education and CEU stands for Continuing Education Unit, both terms that have been used to describe coaching education. Notice the use of the word “continuing,” because it means something, here. CCEs and CEUs are intended for existing coaches who are already graduated from a program, have an ICF credential, and need “continuing” education to renew their credential.
There are programs out there that are calling themselves “ICF Accredited” when their programs only include CCEs or CEUs.
(Our hot take? They’re betting on you not looking too deeply into this—which should raise some red flags for you, if you’re considering their programs).
What do the Best ICF Accredited Programs Offer?
The best ICF Accredited programs root themselves in core coaching competencies. You need a strong coaching foundation that includes ethics, how to build trust and rapport with clients, your professional coaching presence, and more. Our program believes that this must include personal investment and getting to know you as a trainee in our program, giving you personalized feedback on your coaching.
Why CLCC is the Best ICF Accredited Coach Training Program
We combine coach training with a personal growth mastermind.
Not only is our ICF Accredited program one that includes depth and nuance in exploring the craft of coaching and teaching the core competencies, we also believe that the best coaches do their own personal growth work. This is one reason why our participants review our coach training program as “life changing.” For you to be a powerful coach, you need to know what it’s like to undergo the process of change and navigate that. You’re already empathetic, curious, and open—growing as a human yourself helps you to see what the process of change is like for your clients and how to support consistent forward progress.
Our coach training program also includes marketing training.
You need to know how to find clients, how to talk about what coaching is, and how to set up a business. We offer marketing training—included in your tuition—because our commitment is to helping you find success as a coach not just from the fulfillment of the work, but also financial success. Our marketing training is evidence-based and doesn’t involve slick marketing “tactics.” We want you to feel authentic and confident in talking about what you do.
Also included in our ICF Accredited training: Business Assets
We give you sample client contracts and business assets to help you get up and running, so that you can spend less time on admin and more time on growing as a coach. These business assets are often upsells with other training programs; with us they’re part of how we set you up as a coach.
Learn More about ICF Accreditation
The video below shows you more about what ICF Accreditation actually means and how to consider its benefits as you are selecting your coach training provider.
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