1) Learn to coach to the certification standards
- In order to remove the self-consciousness factor for you and your clients, get in the habit of recording all of your coaching sessions. An article on how to record is available here.
- Listen to your sessions, share them with a mentor coach or other coach trained in the use of The 15 Proficiencies, triad team, study group or buddy coach.
- Listen to the entire coaching session to ensure it is audible throughout. The certifiers cannot score your session if they can't hear it.
- Check off which of The 15 Proficiencies you used, whether you used them appropriately, and whether the client made a shift as a result of your usage. Use the scorecard here to evaluate your sessions.
- Notice if there were missed opportunities to use a specific proficiency.
- Make note of The 15 Proficiencies that were missing or used inappropriately or ineffectively. Review your study guides or take a class to get a deeper grasp of the proficiency and its use in various scenarios.
- Develop some questions that will help you use the Proficiencies properly in a given situation. The study guides are a great source of coaching questions to use. The Study Guides are available here.
- Design the sessions effectively: Have a beginning, a middle, and an end, within 30 minutes, that results in a shift for the client or some kind of action to be taken before the next call.
2) Prepare the recordings
- For exam purposes choose clients who are: healthy, smart, action-oriented individuals who are ready to evolve and follow through with your coaching. For your certification recordings, the ideal client makes progress as a result of your coaching. Extremely stuck or confused clients may make it difficult to demonstrate all 15 Proficiencies.
- Decide which of your clients you work best with and ask them if you can record their coaching sessions for the purposes of the certification process.
- Make sure you get your clients’ permission to record the coaching sessions use them for certification. You do this by reading the first paragraph of the Wavier of Confidentiality at the beginning of the recording (basically the "do I have your permission to tape this call and use it for my IAC certification" part) and having them sign a hard copy of the Waiver of Confidentiality. The Waiver of Confidentiality is here.
- Collect some good coaching session recordings and select two recordings with two different clients which demonstrate all the proficiencies at a high level between the two recordings.
- Get a second opinion on your recordings to make sure they meet all the requirements.
- Send the recordings (on tape, CD or mp3 files), the signed waivers and the Step 2 fee to the IAC. Relax for 6 to 8 weeks while you await your results.
