Set Yourself Up for Success with Part 2 of Your IAC Certification
Coaches often ask, “What is the most important thing I need to know for IAC Certification?” Well, at the risk of sounding snide, the most obvious answer is that you need to know how to coach. More specifically, you need to demonstrate in the coaching sessions you submit the Coaching Masteries™ at a masterful level.
Not every coaching session is the same. In some sessions, your client will experience a huge shift, in others not so much. Some sessions, by the nature of the issue presented, will focus more on strategizing or problem solving. You may even find yourself in the role of consultant or teacher. All of these situations are normal in the course of a coaching relationship, but do not generally lend themselves to a masterful demonstration of the Masteries.
The distinction you want to be aware of is that for IAC Certification, we are looking for your masterful demonstration of the Coaching Masteries™. Just because your client makes a decision, or tells you they feel great or commits to a new course of action, it doesn’t automatically mean that the Masteries were demonstrated. Don’t manipulate the coaching session by trying to squeeze in all the Masteries. Instead, submit the session in which your use of the Masteries is natural and effective.
Here are Two helpful tidbits to set yourself up for success in Part 2 of IAC Certification.
Record all your coaching sessions.
Get in the habit of recording all your coaching sessions—with your clients’ permission, of course. It is one of the best ways to reduce your performance anxiety which often shows up as forcing Masteries into the session, not listening fully to what the client is saying and jumping to solutions too quickly. Not only will this reduce your anxiety, it will reduce your client’s nervousness as well. Pretty soon the recording just becomes part of what happens in coaching, so isn’t an unusual, nerve-wracking experience.
One strategy is to make this part of your coaching service—clients get copies recordings of their coaching sessions. Not only will you have the chance to listen again to improve your coaching, your clients have the opportunity to deepen their awareness of the shifts they’ve made and what led to them. Plus, if your client ever wonders if the coaching is really going anywhere, they’ll have all those recordings as evidence.
Listen to your recordings before you submit them for certification!
This is a professional certification. Submit your very best work for professional review. If you were taking the bar exam for your law degree, you wouldn’t just write the answers and turn in the paper without looking it over first, would you? No. If you were skydiving you wouldn’t just put your gear on, hope it’s all good and jump. Right?
Treat your recorded coaching sessions the same way. Listen to them and self-evaluate. Use the Masteries ebook and the Note Sheet. Check off the effective and ineffective behaviors. Identify which measures were met and which key elements occurred. Were the effects reached?
Not only will listening to your recordings before submitting help to ensure you are submitting your best work, it will also improve your coaching—nice little side effect.
And one quick bit about the quality of your recordings. The Certifiers often receive recordings of such poor sound quality that we are literally holding our computer speakers up to our ears. And, believe me, we have good speakers. Please respect the process and submit good sound quality recordings. Help the Certifiers have an easy job listening. This isn’t just to make it easier on the Certifiers, it’s to make it easier for them to hear all the things you are doing well!
Nina East is the IAC’s Lead Certifier and the author of PersonalGrowthEnthusiasts.com. As a coach she works with personal growth professionals, helps coaches master the art of coaching and coaches students and their families through the complex and emotional transition into college. Find her on the web at www.NinaEast.com.
Please send your questions on the IAC Coaching Masteries™ and the certification process to certification@certifiedcoach.org.
