Welcome to the Coach Training EDU Student Coach Portal!
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We are Thrilled to Welcome You to Our Global Coaching Community!
In the Coach Portal, you will find everything you need to experience success throughout your program, including course information & materials, opportunities for coaching practice, the CTEDU blog, and policies. For the best Coach Portal experience it is recommended that you not use phones or other mobile devices.
Wondering where to start? You’ll certainly want to jump directly into the Coach Portal Tutorials link below to learn how to navigate your coach portal.
*Advanced Classes include: 2.0 Advanced Coach Training, Group Mentor Coaching, Health & Wellness Coaching (Health Board), Relationship Coaching, Business Coaching, and Wellness and/or Executive Self Study Courses.
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NEXT LEVEL COACHING RESOURCES
Coaching to Flourish Live
Join the conversation. Our Live weekly Q&A is the perfect place to learn more about coaching. It’s a great resource for new coaches to get their questions answered and join the conversation about all things coaching. It’s also a great supplement to your coaching education toolbox. Submit your coaching questions to support@coachtrainingedu.com or message us on Facebook.
The Coaching to Flourish podcast is currently available on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Radio Public and Anchor.
Coaching Pods Program
The Coaching Pods Program is an opportunity for our coaches in training to practice coaching outside of class, receive coaching from peers, build confidence as a coach with different clients, and log paid coaching hours towards your ICF credential.
Power Hours
The best way to improve your coaching skills is through practice. At Coach Training EDU™, we integrate practice into each class and also encourage coaches to connect with other practice opportunities outside of class to further enhance their abilities as coaches.
Power Hour sessions are weekly meetings that provide coaches an opportunity to learn, connect, discuss, and practice all things coaching. These are open to the entire CTEDU community, including coaches-in-training and alumni.
You can join these sessions to make up a class (see the “make up a missed class” tab on your class page) or as bartered (paid) coaching hours for your ICF coach-client log. If you are utilizing Power Hours to make up a missed class, you may not count that time as bartered hours because that time would be considered training hours under the ICF policies.
Practice Client Program
Practice Coach Clients are an integral part of your CTEDU Life Coach education, and is a necessary part of becoming ICF certified. However, we understand it can be difficult to find someone who fits the parameters, whether ensuring they are not a family member, or finding someone who would like to be coached Executive versus Wellness. This is why we are creating a database of alumni, current coaches, or friends and family who would be willing to participate in coaching sessions.
Advanced Coaching Courses
Coach Training EDU™ offers a variety of ICF-Accredited advanced coach courses designed to grow coaches professionally and further niche related education.
Each of our elective courses also meet ICF Continuing Coach Education (CCE) requirements. Your ICF coaching credential is valid for three years, at which point it will need to be renewed. During those three years, you will need to keep up with the advances and changes in the coaching industry through CCE’s.
CTEDU BLOG
Life Coaching Meets Inspiration and Positive Psychology in the CTEDU blog.
CTEDU NEWSLETTER
Stay in the know with the latest news within the coaching community.
CTEDU EVENTS
A list of upcoming events for CTEDU alumni, friends and happenings open to the public.
Coach Training EDU™ Graduate Stories
We’re grateful to have a community of inspiring, curious leaders changing the world every day. Let their stories inspire you.
FAQS
Coach Training EDU’s learning philosophy includes a composite of positive psychology concepts aimed at allowing students to make continuous progress and meet predetermined standards. Assessment is viewed as feedback for improvement rather than a judgment of suitability or talent. Student-centered and integrative learning form the core of CTEDU’s curriculum design. The foundation of our learning philosophy includes four key factors and six positive psychology concepts.
Four Key Factors:
- Quality education provided by certified trainers. Each trainer completed a rigorous coach training education, including 1.0 and 2.0 coursework, group mentor coaching, and a train-the-trainer program.
- Clear instruction and expectations. Students will receive a customized coaching guide written by CTEDU trainers to help them study and utilize core concepts introduced throughout a 24-week curriculum.
- Actionable and usable feedback. Assessment opportunities offer insight and provide clarity. Trainers offer beneficial tools, including specific steps to take and skills to develop to become an effective coach. The assessments are scheduled at pivotal points throughout the course to celebrate progress and identify standards that need to be met.
- Proactive learning. Students are encouraged to lean into the coursework by applying the knowledge and developing essential skills for life coaches. The courses are hands-on, interactive discussion about the material is encouraged, and students are given plenty of opportunities to communicate with peers and trainers. All feedback is intentional and constructive so that students graduate with all the necessary tools to flourish.
Based in Positive Psychology
Spaced Model. Research has overwhelmingly shown that spaced-out learning models lead to better memory retention and recall. And these findings have been consistent for more than eighty years. CTEDU’s program breaks coaching modalities into bite-sized pieces, encouraging participants to work with new coaching tools and concepts one at a time. This allows coaches to learn and practice a tool before building on their learning with a new tool. By spacing the material, new coaches are more likely to retain and recall coaching tools and concepts in a coaching setting.
Growth Mindset. According to Stanford University psychologist, Carol Dweck, a growth mindset means that a person believes that their capabilities can always be improved. People with a growth mindset naturally assume that their natural talents are fluid and that developing new skills or abilities is possible at any time. In this excerpt from our 1.0 Coach Training Guide, we dive deeper into the intricacies of growth mindset:
“Individuals with a growth mindset are more likely than those with a fixed mindset to continue working and putting in effort, even in the face of challenges and setbacks. From the perspective of a growth mindset, talent is simply the starting point, and failure and success are feedback for continual improvement… The effectiveness of coaching relies on a coach’s ability to help clients shift toward a growth mindset as they take on increasingly challenging goals.”
CTEDU’s program teaches the history of the growth mindset and actively encourages new coaches to adopt this mindset as they complete their coach training program.
Hope Theory. Hope Theory was originally coined by Dr. Charles Snyder, who proposed Hope Theory as a cognitive process by which we choose and accomplish our goals. The following excerpt from our 1.0 Coach Training Guide provides a bit more context for Hope Theory in Coaching:
“C.R. Snyder offers the following definition of Hope Theory: ‘Hope is a positive motivational state that is based on an interactively derived sense of successful (a) agency (goal-directed energy), and (b) pathways (planning to meet goals).’ Agency is defined as one’s belief in their ability to learn the required knowledge and use or gain the required skills to achieve a goal… Pathways are routes you map to reach your goals, and they go one step further than traditional action plans. With pathways, it’s important to think about the effort you want to put into achieving the goal and develop pathways that are worth your time and energy… Goal-oriented thinking includes three different stages: Preliminary decision-making, action step analysis, and reflection and learning.”
Every CTEDU course utilizes Hope Theory to help coaches and their clients develop the tools and skills they need to achieve their desired goals.
Learn Be Do. This model has been adopted as a way to categorize questions into an organized framework that allows coaches to identify the most impactful questions. It consists of three distinct parts, Learning, Being, and Doing, as outlined in the excerpt from our 1.0 Coach Training Guide below;
“Over the past decade, Coach Training EDU has adopted a Learn-Be-Do model of categorizing questions. Learning points primarily to the insights clients have about who they are and what they are capable of achieving… Being refers to the characteristics your client already has or wants to develop. Being also includes the energy a client brings to a project, assumptions about their abilities, and assumptions about what new achievements might mean for their identity… Doing refers to action steps taken toward the goal, and the systems a client puts in place to work toward that goal.”
A strong coaching session has a blend of all three questions, with more emphasis placed on the learning and being questions.
Learning to Mastery. Coach Training EDU believes that learning is based on performance, not how long someone spends trying to learn. With a Learning to Mastery (https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/wk/acm/2015/00000090/00000011/art00020) model, CTEDU is able to help coaches focus on repeated practice that implements continuous assessment and feedback. Because feedback is an opportunity for growth and further skill development, coaches are safe in their ability to continue their practice and work toward mastery.
Structured Improvisation. Improvisation has two primary rules: Accept what is offered and add value. These two rules are also essential in coaching, where coaches do not know what might happen but must demonstrate flexibility in their ability to accept what their client offers. By trusting yourself and the client, you’re more likely to lean into your training and offer more value to your client.
Meaningful Learning
CTEDU relies on the three basic aspects of meaningful learning to ensure the success of our coach graduates. These aspects are based on Ken Robinson’s definition of creativity, which combines idea novelty with connection to what already exists:
- Concept. Learning is first initiated when a new coach becomes aware of some form of information, such as an idea or an emotion, that they want to know more about. In this case, it might be coaching in general or a particular coaching concept.
- Context. From this awareness, the concept is then placed into a larger context. In life coaching, this context is a person’s life. A question you might ask yourself at this stage is, “How does coaching/this coaching concept have an impact on my life?” or “What will learning this concept do for my coaching journey?”
- Importance. Once you’re aware of the concept and have identified that concept’s place in your life, the next step is to assess the meaning and importance of the concept. Throughout the program, your trainers will encourage you to dig deep into your learning and growth to help you further solidify the impact the program has on your coaching skills.
These three aspects help keep you in a learning zone, where the emphasis is on identifying what’s unknown to us and then developing pathways to obtain that knowledge. CTEDU’s programs are low-risk, exploratory places for new coaches to play with novel concepts and ideas in a safe and supportive environment. CTEDU trainers are highly skilled and provide ongoing feedback that encourages reflection and practice. Mistakes are welcomed and embraced as a function of the learning and development process.
While there are dozens of benefits in coaching, the research shows that there are four key benefits across all coaching niches: self-awareness, confidence, well-being, and resilience.
Self-awareness
Self-awareness is the ability to see both strengths and areas of improvement through perceiving how others see us and how we see ourselves. It is a critical element in the coaching process, as it is nearly impossible to pursue meaningful goals without the self-awareness of one’s true desires. The research posits that there are two types of self-awareness: internal and external. Internal self-awareness consists of how well you know who you are and external self-awareness consists of how well you know others’ perceptions of you. These two self-awareness types can overlap with one another, helping to create the four self-awareness archetypes further explained in the Harvard Business Review article linked at the beginning of this paragraph.
According to the research, coaching increases or partially increases self-awareness, regardless of the type or style of coaching. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
Effectiveness
Self-awareness is at the heart of Coach Training EDU’s definition of coaching as it’s an essential piece of helping clients achieve their goals. Below are some of the ways self-awareness becomes an effective tool in coaching:
- Help identify goal-related barriers (6)
- Provide accurate self-evaluation (7, 8)
- Help mold effective leadership (9, 10)
Perception
Self-awareness opens up a consideration of other perspectives and a perception of others’ mental states. This can lead to higher levels of self-control and self-esteem (11, 12).
Confidence
Confidence, or believing that one can achieve something or is good at something, goes hand in hand with one’s agency. When a client believes in their ability and sees a clear pathway toward achieving their goal, an abundance of benefits are bound to follow.
Coaching correlates to increased confidence (13):
Agency
One of the main benefits of confidence is its ability to create a sense of agency (18). This ability to create agency may be why confident people have a higher sense of persistence in professional (19) and academic settings (20).
Wellness & Well-being
Wellness, in general, can be considered an indicator that things are going well for someone. The Illness to Wellness Continuum shows that wellness lives on a spectrum, from signs and symptoms of disability or death to awareness, education, and growth toward achieving high levels of subjective well-being. According to the continuum, wellness is an ongoing process and something we strive to achieve every day of our lives.
Research shows that coaching supports wellness and well-being (21) by:
- managing physical (22) and mental health (23, 24, 25)
- Reducing burnout and enabling cognitive hardiness (26, 27)
Longevity
Well-being contributes to our longevity in a variety of ways including:
- Well-being is inversely related to high mortality (28)
- High subjective well-being could add 4 to 10 years of life (29)
- Subjective wellness could predict mortality of various health conditions such as coronary heart disease, cancer, and mental illness.
Life Satisfaction & Well-being
Dr. Eric Kim and his team of researchers recently found that those who have a higher sense of life satisfaction have a:
- 26% reduced mortality risk
- 46% reduced depression risk
- 25% reduced physical functioning limitations risk
- 12% reduced chronic pain risk
- 14% reduced sleep problem onset risk
- 8% higher chance of engaging in frequent physical activity
- higher physiological wellness on optimism, positive affect, life purpose, and mastery.
- Lower results in feeling lonely, hopeless, and experiencing perceived constraints and negative affect
Effectiveness
When people operate from higher levels of well-being, they are more likely to build and expand their social connections and resources. Here are some key benefits on the effectiveness of wellness and well-being:
- Well-being allows people to effectively use their time in whatever way they choose (30).
- Well-being and wellness correlate directly with higher employee retention (31, 32, 33)
- Wellness correlates with higher levels of effectiveness in the workplace(34)
A recent survey of the research on subjective well-being and happiness, De Neve and his team found the following benefits flowed from higher levels of well-being:
- Reduced Inflammation
- Improvements in cardiovascular health
- Decreased stroke and heart disease risk
- Enhanced recovery time
- Enhanced longevity
- Higher rates of productivity
- Better performance
- Increased attendance
- Enhanced creativity
- Enhanced collaboration
- Increases in income
- Better financial management
- Increases in giving back
- Better social connections
Resilience
Resilience is the ability to adapt and bounce back despite the circumstances.
Research shows that coaching:
- Strengthens resilience to stress (35, 36)
- Increases resilience in a work environment or with working professionals (37, 38, 39)
- Supports resilience during organizational change (40, 41)
- Provides resilience in leadership situations (42, 43, 44)
People who demonstrate resilience often display a survivor’s mindset and self-compassion, which allows them to problem solve and exhibit healthy emotional regulation.
Stress and Well-Being
Resilience serves as:
- A protective factor against stress (45, 46)
- A mechanism for fostering hope, happiness, and optimism (47, 48)
The COVID 19 Pandemic, which added pressure to global medical systems and the individual’s ability to manage new routines, serves as one example of how resilience partially mediated subjective well-being and stress during the initial portion of the pandemic.
Mental Health
Resilience may be a helpful tool for offsetting the risks that could increase poor mental health, as resilience is associated with:
Question: What are some of the benefits of coaching? Get the Answer Video.
Here are a few tips and tricks for being successful and getting the most out of your training experience:
Come prepared. Be sure to read and listen to the necessary material ahead of class. Your Coach Portal is full of supplemental audio, video, and PDF files. Take full advantage! You will get so much more out of the training if you come to class with questions and thoughts from the reading and recordings.
Don’t hold back. Your practice sessions during class are an opportunity for you to play, take risks, and experiment with your coaching.
Start looking for a practice client early. Week 6 will come sooner than you think, and it is helpful to start looking for a practice client early on. Tap into your network, and begin to see what options you may have sooner rather than later.
Connect with your fellow coaches. Although you may be hundreds (or even thousands) of miles from your fellow coaches, technology has an amazing way of bringing people together. Do not hesitate to contact your classmates outside of class to arrange additional practice sessions or simply to discuss the work you all are doing. Being connected to others who share your passion and are in your same line of work is invaluable and can enhance your training experience.
Coach Training EDU™ identified 7 Essential Coach Qualities that professional coaches should embody and infuse into their work. These qualities form the foundation of CTEDU’s curriculum and align with standards set by respected coaching organizations such as the International Coach Federation (ICF).
Professional
A coach sets ethical coaching agreements with clarity and cultural awareness. The central aspects of this quality are establishing clear expectations with the client, maintaining confidentiality, designing an alliance, and addressing accountability.
Skill-check Questions:
- “How well did the coach clarify expected outcomes or address accountability on a client’s recent action steps?”
- “How well did the coach use the TIME Model when setting a strategic or session agenda?”
Empathetic
A coach actively listens empathetically, using imagination and intuition while staying curious and attuned with a client to pick up on even subtle shifts in a client’s emotion. An experienced life coach asks questions designed to provoke insight.
Skill-check Questions:
- “How well did the questions provoke new insights for the client, as opposed to seeking information or implying solutions?”
- “To what degree did the coach recognize subtle shifts in a client’s energy, tone, or perspectives?”
Empowering
A coach sees the client as the expert in their life, inviting the client to be proactive and craft both the coaching session agenda and following action steps. A coach offers expert knowledge with curiosity to empower the client and adapts coaching tools to fit the client’s unique situation.
Skill-check Questions:
- “How well did the coach focus on the client, not the problem?”
- “How well did the coach balance expert knowledge and information with empowering the client?”
- “How well did the coach adapt the client’s language and adjust standard coaching questions and tools to the client?”
Curious
Coaches continue to stay curious, even when clients experience strong emotions or realize epiphanies. The quality shows in a coach’s skill to dig for a deeper agenda in the TIME model, asking clients to give a name to an empowering perspective or new insight. A coach uses Powerful Questions which are short and open-ended (usually start with what, why, or how), and the coach invites the client to do most of the work of uncovering insights in a coaching session.
Skill-check Questions:
- “How well did the coach ask short, open-ended questions using a balance of learn-be-do questions that address a client’s agency and pathways?”
- “To what degree was the coach willing to lean into intuition while staying curious and holding space for the client to explore?”
Courageous
A coach creates a safe space and demonstrates connection and vulnerability while also, at times, being fierce, even if that means sometimes asking uncomfortable but priceless questions.
Skill-check Questions:
- “How well did the coach address prickly points, ideas, or observations, either directly or through sharp questions?”
- “To what degree is the coach willing to take risks and share intuition and ideas without attachment to being right?”
Confident
A coach shows confidence in the client’s abilities by inviting the client to explore ideas and emotions in a coaching session. A coach trusts the coaching process and embraces silence while holding space for the client to arrive at useful action steps. Strong coaches are confident their clients can be accountable and self-aware.
Skill-check Questions:
- “How well does the coach demonstrate trust in the coaching process and comfort with pausing and silence during a coaching session?”
- “To what degree does the coach trust that the action step will come from the client if sufficient learning and insight happen?”
Inspiring
A coach inspires clients to take bold actions between coaching sessions and designs ways to help clients stay accountable and follow through on action steps.
Skill-check Questions:
- “How effective was the coach at helping the client develop inspiring Well-Designed Actions?”
- “To what degree does the action (pathways) also include aspects of learning and being (agency)?”
Hope Theory excels in its ability to explain the efficacy of the coaching model from the coach’s and client’s point of view.
Several theories have had a profound influence on the ideas that form the foundation of coaching. Drawing from pieces of humanistic psychology, the number of theories about human decision-making and goal achievement is vast. These elements offer a strong foundation for the efficacy of coaching.
The model also aligns neatly with the Learn-Be-Do categorization of questions that has been a key concept Coach Training EDU has woven throughout its coach training courses for the past decade.
C.R. Snyder offers the following definition of Hope Theory: “Hope is a positive motivational state that is based on an interactively derived sense of successful (a) agency (goal-directed energy), and (b) pathways (planning to meet goals).” (p. 287)
He split motivation into four different aspects: agency, pathways, goals, and obstacles.
The first aspect includes the assumptions you have about who you are and what you can learn. In terms of Hope Theory, this aspect is called agency. One of the characteristics that distinguish a seasoned coach from an inexperienced coach is the degree to which the coach uses challenges and setbacks to explore what the client is learning about themselves and what character traits the challenge is addressing. In other words, an experienced coach asks about a client’s agency.
In Hope Theory, agency is defined as one’s belief in learning the required knowledge and using or gaining the required skills to achieve a goal. Many life coaching exercises, from the Future Self to the Inner Critic, apply tools to help clients take different approaches and develop a deeper sense of agency.
The second aspect is what action plan you think is worth the effort to achieve the goal. In Hope Theory, this aspect is referred to as a pathway. Pathways are the routes you map to reach your goals, and time is the landscape on which you map your pathways. Snyder explains that time is a continuum of past, present, and future, and we tend to think about time as a line. To construct a pathway, someone links sequential actions from their present toward their cognitive construction of a future goal. Hopeful people tend to be confident in their pathways, and their pathways tend to be well-articulated. If one pathway doesn’t work, hopeful people can construct another one to reach their goal.
On the other hand, people with low hope levels struggle to identify clear pathways. Because the pathways aren’t clear, it is hard to commit to them fully. If they don’t work, it’s easy to throw in the towel.
The next element of Hope Theory is goals. This includes three different stages. The first stage is the preliminary decision-making process of which goals to consider and the value of the possible outcomes. This stage includes the learning, assumptions, and past experiences mixed with hopes, dreams, and fears of the future. The next stage occurs during the action steps. During this stage, actions are measured by the degree to which they achieve desired results. This leads us to stay engaged, increase our engagement, take a break, or disengage.
The final stage is reflection and learning, and it is marked by the absorption of experiences that happen when the results tumble in. This final stage feeds back into ideas and assumptions about agency and possible pathways, completing the cycle and starting it anew.
Goals can range from lofty (such as introducing and cultivating coaching concepts in the way we learn, work, and live) to simple (such as completely cleaning the office desktop). We can consider goals through agency, pathways, and the value of the outcomes over decades or in the blink of an eye.
The final element of Hope Theory is the obstacle. Borrowing from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow Theory, obstacles are necessary for the process of optimal experience. Without some kind of challenge, one can’t slip into the optimal experience (“flow”), where one’s skill set matches the challenge at hand, envelops awareness, and is intensely satisfying. When obstacles confront us, Hope Theory helps us look at how ideas and emotions about our agency and pathways interplay to increase or decrease our engagement.
Hope Theory as a Unified Theory of Coaching
The magic begins when you consider the interplay between agency and pathway in all stages of motivation and coaching elements. Coaching excels at helping clients make better decisions and improve the quality of the decisions they consider. Clients explore their ideas and assumptions about their expectations, perspectives, skills, limiting beliefs, and mindsets during coaching sessions. They mindfully craft action steps and accountability. When working with a skilled coach, clients learn to address their empowered assumptions about agency and clarify options and insights about possible pathways to reach their goals.
Over the past decade, Coach Training EDU has adopted a Learn-Be-Do model of categorizing questions, giving coaches-in-training a framework for the kinds of questions that are useful while coaching. This framework aligns well with the aspects of Hope Theory. Indeed, each framework gains depth when combined with the others.
Learn-Be-Do is the coaching model CTEDU uses to remind coaches how to balance learning, being, and doing questions.
Learning
Learning points primarily to the insights clients have about what they are capable of achieving and the strategies and action steps required to achieve a goal.
Potential Learning Questions include:
- What are you learning about yourself (in this moment or current situation)?
- What new skill is this challenge requiring you to develop?
Being
Being refers to the characteristics your client already has or wants to develop. Being also includes the energy a client brings to a project, assumptions about their abilities, and assumptions about what new achievements mean to their identity. When meshed with Hope Theory, Being lines up with agency, goals, and obstacles.
Potential Being Questions Include:
- What would this accomplishment mean to how you think of yourself and your character traits?
- What strengths do you need to leverage to achieve this goal?
Doing
Doing refers to the action steps taken toward the goal and the systems a client puts in place to work toward it. Usually, toward the end of a coaching session, a client will design an action step to implement before the next coaching session. The coach and the client then co-design how best to help the client stay accountable and incorporate the insights gained from the coaching session into their implementation of the action step(s). When applied to Hope Theory, Doing lines up with pathways, goals, and obstacles.
Potential Doing Questions Include:
- Based on everything we covered in our session, what are a few action steps that come to mind that you want to take in the next two weeks?
- When do you want to get started?
What
The Coaching Pods Program is an opportunity for our coaches in training to practice coaching outside of class, receive coaching from peers, build confidence as a coach with different clients, and log paid coaching hours towards your ICF credential.
Aligned with some recent International Coach Federation (ICF) clarifications on “bartering” coaching hours*, Coach Training EDU provides a connection service for our coaches-in-training to coach one another outside of class. The ICF will accept these hours as paid coaching hours since there is an exchange of coaching between each party (meaning you coach them and they coach you), which satisfies compensation requirements.
Why
There is a strong desire within our community for more opportunities for practice. We have intentionally designed our curriculum to include practice with coach colleagues during class and this program expands that practice to include our entire community. Coaching Pods also serve as a great networking opportunity.
How
Coach Training EDU current coaches and alum are encouraged to sign up for a Coaching Pod by completing this form – https://campus.coachtrainingedu.com/coaching-pods/. Coaching Pods
are created on a quarterly basis and registration is accepted on a rolling basis.
Once you have registered, you will be assigned to a group of 3-5 coaches within the CTEDU community. We do our best to match coaches based on time zones and specialties; however, perfect matches depend purely on who registers each round.
At the beginning of the quarter following your registration, you will receive an email introducing you to your podmates. You will then work as a group to design an alliance on how you will work together. There are three main structures for Coaching Pods. For the sake of examples, let’s name our
coaches John, Amois, Ashley, and Andrew.
- The entire group meets once a week for whole group coaching. In this structure, John would coach Amois while Ashley and Andrew observe. Then, Amois would coach Ashley while John and Andrew observe, and so on until everyone has been the coach and the client. This structure requires longer coaching sessions to get everyone in (at least two hours) and gives
the opportunity to observe other coaches for continued growth. - The entire group meets once and determines the cycle of coaching. For example, John coaches Amois, Amois coaches Ashley, Ashley coaches Andrew, and Andrew coaches John. After the initial meeting, the pairs work independently to schedule sessions that work for them. With this structure, you limit the interactions you have with the entire group and you have greater flexibility and ease of scheduling because only two people are matching
schedules at a time. - The entire group meets once to meet one another and everyone coaches everyone else in the group on their own schedule. For example, John would coach Amois, Ashley, and Andrew. Amois would coach John, Ashley, and Andrew, and so on. With this structure, you have greater ease and flexibility in scheduling because you are only matching two calendars per pairing and you are maximizing the number of coaching hours you accrue through your
pod. This structure also requires more of your time in order to have this many individual sessions.
As you can see, there are pros and cons to each structure. CTEDU does not play a role in determining which structure your pod chooses. It is important that the entire pod meet whole group initially to have a conversation about which structure the group would like and how you will work together as a pod.
With any structure, you will only count that time in which you served in the capacity as a coach. You do not count the hours that you served as the client or the time that you may have observed.
Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Pod
● Utilize your first conversation to Design an Alliance as a group. Some questions to consider include:
○ Why did we each choose to participate in a Coaching Pod?
○ What are we each hoping to gain through participation?
○ How do we want to structure our coaching sessions?
○ How do we each best receive feedback?
● Communicate regularly with your podmates on times you are available to meet, what’s working, and what’s not working.
● To include coaching sessions on your ICF client log, it is recommended that individual coaching sessions be between 30 – 60 minutes each.
● Observing your podmates is helpful as it allows you to have an opportunity to learn from others’ coaching styles and to provide helpful feedback to podmates. Please note that time spent as an observer does not contribute to your ICF logged hours.
● Someone from the CTEDU leadership team will be connecting once a month for the duration of the pods. The purpose is not to manage the logistics of the Coaching Pods, but rather to offer support where needed and seek feedback for continued improvement of the program.
Logistics
● It is encouraged that coaches meet using the Zoom Video Conference app. Zoom offers free, unlimited 1-1 video conferencing and free group conferencing for up to 40 minutes. Those who use the free account to meet in groups can end the meeting at 40 minutes and rejoin for the conclusion of the session.
● For easy communication between sessions, we recommend email or WhatsApp.
Extra Assistance
If at any time you would like extra support, please connect with the Dean of Program Development at support support@coachtrainingedu.com.
*Per ICF Requirements, paid hours can include “hours of coaching for which the coach receives payment from the client (payment
may be in any amount, or barter of goods or services, including coaching in exchange for coaching).” Learn more on the ICF website
here
The best way to improve your coaching skills is through practice. At Coach Training EDU, we integrate practice into each class and also encourage coaches to connect with other practice opportunities outside of class to further enhance their abilities as coaches.
Power Hour sessions are weekly meetings that provide coaches an opportunity to learn, connect, discuss, and practice all things coaching. These are open to the entire CTEDU community, including coaches-in-training and alumni.
You can join these sessions to make up a class (see the “make up a missed class” tab on your class page) or as bartered (paid) coaching hours for your ICF coach-client log. If you are utilizing Power Hours to make up a missed class, you may not count that time as bartered hours because that time would be considered training hours under the ICF policies.
Power Hours are a great way to connect with CTEDU alumni and other coaches in training.
Again we are happy to share this resource with you and encourage our community to take advantage of this opportunity!
Join us on Zoom. https://coachtrainingedu.zoom.us/j/98673323475
There are requirements for both certification and graduation; the specifics below will help ensure you’re on the right path for your goals.
The primary method of assessing your progress is completing at least three coaching overviews and earning a passing score. To prepare, you will need to record a 20-minute coaching session. You are encouraged to send in overviews you feel represent your best coaching. During the overview, you and your trainer will listen to the recording together. Then your trainer will share constructive feedback. Overviews are typically an hour long and conducted via Zoom. The purpose of feedback is to help you strengthen coaching skills that you’ll need throughout your career.
Certification Requirements
To pass a 1.0 class, complete all three overviews and earn a “Meets Standard | Associate Level.”
To pass a 2.0 class, complete all three overviews and earn an “Exceeds Standard | Professional Level.”
You are allowed as many attempts as necessary to meet the requirements. After the fourth overview with a trainer, you may schedule additional overviews for $75 per overview.
Your trainer will evaluate your coaching sessions using the following areas of emphasis:
Professional. A coach sets ethical coaching agreements with clarity and cultural awareness. The central aspects of this competency are establishing clear expectations between the coach, client, and sponsor (if present), maintaining confidentiality, designing an alliance, and addressing accountability.
Empathetic. A coach actively listens empathetically, using imagination and intuition while staying curious and attuned with a client to pick up on even subtle shifts in a client’s emotion. An effective life coach asks questions designed to provoke insight rather than gather information for the coach’s sake.
Empowering. A coach sees the client as the expert in their life, inviting the client to be proactive and craft both the coaching session agenda and action steps. In this sense, a coach is a guide, empowering the client’s leadership. A coach offers expert knowledge with curiosity to empower the client as well as adapts coaching tools to fit the client’s unique situation.
Curious. An effective coach continues to stay curious, even when clients experience strong emotions or realize epiphanies. This competency shows in a coach’s skill to dig for a deeper agenda in the TIME model or asking clients to give a name to an empowering perspective or new insight. A coach uses Powerful Questions which are short and open-ended (usually starting with what, why, or how), and the coach invites the client to do most of the work of uncovering insights in a coaching session.
Courageous. A coach sets a safe space and demonstrates connection and vulnerability while also at times being fierce. Even if this means sometimes asking uncomfortable but priceless questions. Effective coaches model courage during coaching sessions to set the stage for their clients to do the same.
Confident. A coach is confident in the client, inviting the client to explore ideas and emotions in a coaching session. A coach trusts the coaching process and embraces pausing and silence while holding space for the client to arrive at useful action steps. Strong coaches show confidence that their clients can build appropriate accountability.
Inspiring. An effective coach helps clients discover inspiration within themselves and use it to power their journey of self-development. A coach inspires clients to take bold actions between coaching sessions while balancing learning with action steps. They do this by designing ways to help clients stay accountable and follow through on their chosen action steps.
Course Graduation Requirements
Attend 22 of 24 classes. If you miss more than two classes, you will need to make up the needed hours outside of class:
- Watch the class recording and attend a Coaching Power Hour. The Coaching Power Hour is held once a week. Each power hour combined with watching the class recording equates to attending one class OR
- Watch the recording of your class, submit three takeaways to your trainer, and then schedule a 40-minute coaching session with a fellow class member. Only four missed classes can be supplemented with this option.
Complete three overviews.
To pass a 1.0 class, complete all three overviews and earn a “Meets Standard | Associate Level” in each of the standards.
To pass a 2.0 class, complete all three overviews and earn an “Exceeds Standard | Professional Level”
Certification Requirements after Graduation
To earn your certification at either the associate or professional level:
Meet the course graduation requirements. If you received a letter of completion, you have already accomplished this step.
Attend seven of eight group mentor coaching sessions.
Log ten hours of coaching (hours can be with a paying or practice client).
There is an “Apply for Certification” link on your course materials webpage that will guide you through uploading your coaching log and confirming the address where you want to receive your certificate.
Once you meet all of the certification requirements, congratulations!
Learning more about Continuing Coach Education (CCE).
Your life coaching career starts here.
Whether your ultimate goal is to work with students, help people lead healthier lives, or coach executives, there are a few helpful tips to keep in mind when choosing your life coaching niche.
If you’ve decided to start a life coach career, it’s most likely because you want to help people. Life coaching tends to attract people who want to contribute and do some good in the world. If you want to join a community of people making the world a better place, look no further than Coach Training EDU. We’re also committed to helping others and making the world a better place.
The desire to help can’t be the only driving force, however, understanding strategy, marketing, and utilizing beneficial systems taught by trainers also play a role in building a successful career.
Essential elements of a coaching career
Still not sure where to start? Use the checklist below and start your life coaching career with confidence.
- A coaching credential. Currently, the International Coach Federation (ICF) is the most respected life coaching organization in the world, the standard for coaching credentials. The non-profit certifies individual coaches as well as coach training programs. A significant step to take while becoming a professional coach is continuing your education and earning certifications.
- An initial target audience and niche. New coaches benefit from identifying a specialization early in their careers. Picking a target audience, like students or executives, is a smart step when establishing your coaching practice. Focus on creating marketing campaigns and training programs for the audience you want to serve. Knowing your target audience will allow you to stand out significantly and grow your clientele.
- A support system. Having a support system is essential on your coaching journey. Share your personal mission with your family and friends. Invite people in your network to workshops and ask for constructive feedback. Reach out to a Coach Training EDU advisor. They’re well aware of how daunting the first few months of coaching can be and they’re here to help you grow a coaching business with CTEDU.
Coach Training EDU™ offers three levels of ICF accredited coach training programs. Each program builds on the previous and provides the most advanced, multifaceted coach training for establishing and enhancing your coaching career. The course specializations cover Wellness, Academic, or Executive Life Coach training.
Associate Training
The Associate training program includes the 1.0 training program, which is incorporated into all three specializations and covers the ICF’s gold standard foundation for life coach training. The program delivers cutting-edge skills, tools, and practice, along with the materials you need to successfully launch yourself into the professional coaching world. In addition, this program offers the ten Group Mentor Coaching hours required by the ICF, as well as materials for building your own coaching business.
The program is six months and meets once per week for two hours. Successful graduates qualify to earn the Associate Coach Certification (ACC) from the ICF.
Professional Training
The professional training program is ideal for coaches wanting to establish a full-time practice or get hired as an in-house coach. This program includes the 1.0 training program and the advanced 2.0 training program, which offers more in-depth tools and research to boost your coaching skills and launch your professional career. In addition, coaches can study a second specialization or join the live business building course.
Some qualified coaches with previous training may acquire a Professional Coach Certification (PCC) by completing the professional training program.
Master Training
The third and highest certification offered at CTEDU is a Master Certified Coach (MCC). To qualify for this certification, you must successfully complete 200 coach training hours. You will complete the first 125 hours by taking the 1.0 and the 2.0 courses. You can complete the remaining 75 hours by taking an additional 1.0 course and/or any combination of our elective courses, including:
- Biz Launcher
- Relationship Life Coach Training
- Team Coach Training
- Inclusion Coach Training
- ALC Sport Coach Training
- Health & Wellness Life Coach Training
For more details on the levels of accreditation, visit the ICF’s website here.
Areas of Specialization
Executive Coach Training
Executive Coach training is beneficial for people who want to coach professionals, teams, and entrepreneurs. It is a versatile coach training program, offering the most flexibility for students who can apply the foundational coaching tools to any specialty niche in the coaching profession. The primary focus is corporate and entrepreneurial coaching which emphasizes action and accountability. This path is for people serious about building a coaching practice with a clientele of professionals from various backgrounds. Executive Coach training is offered as an online coach training program. Learn more here.
Wellness Coach Training
Wellness Coach training is beneficial for people who seek opportunities to help others improve their health and overall wellbeing. Wellness coach training combines an accredited coach training program with customized texts and materials designed for the wellness industry. Students in the program will learn specific concepts and philosophies about the benefits of exercise, diet, sleep, and stress management in correlation with total wellness. Wellness Coach training is offered as an online coaching training program. Learn more here.
Academic Life Coaching
Academic Coach training is beneficial for staff and faculty who want to provide coaching resources to students as a part of a larger strategic initiative to improve educational experiences and outcomes. Coach training is also an excellent avenue for administrators and guidance counselors who want to incorporate life coaching concepts and theories while working with students. Academic Life Coaching combines the coaching program with skills and tools specifically designed to work with students. The program optimizes teaching techniques proven to help students thrive academically, manage stress, develop sustainable resilience, and hone interpersonal skills. Learn more here.
Program Format
Class will meet once a week for two hours, at your designated class time. Each class is broken into three main parts. The first part of the class is an open discussion about the material you reviewed in preparation for your class, and your coach will answer any questions you have about the material. The second part of class includes a live coaching demo, where your coach trainer will demonstrate how to use the skill or tool you reviewed for class. The final third of class is dedicated to in-class practice with your fellow coaches and concludes with reflection.
To learn more about specific courses click here.
To learn more about upcoming course schedules click here.
Earning your life coach certification is a significant accomplishment and makes you a better, more effective coach. You ensure that your skills have met high standards. You establish your credibility. You can implement change in your organization or get a boost in launching your business.
Coach Training EDU’s certifications serve as a streamlined pathway to earning your credential from the International Coach Federation (ICF).
As an ICF accredited program, Coach Training EDU™ offers life coach certification and support through the ICF credentialing process.
3 Levels of CTEDU Certification
Coach Training EDU™ offers three levels of life coach certification. The first is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC).
You qualify for this certification by completing a 1.0 Coach Training Course and a Group Mentor Coaching course. In addition, this CTEDU certification sets you up for an ICF credential through the ACSTH path.
The following are the available CTEDU specialties for this certification.
- Associate Certified Academic Life Coach
- Associate Certified Wellness Life Coach
- Associate Certified Executive Life Coach
The second is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC). You qualify for this certification by successfully completing a 1.0 Coach Training Course, the 2.0 Advanced Coach Training Course, and a Group Mentor Coaching Course. This CTEDU certification sets you up for an ICF credential through the ACTP path and is the most streamlined path toward an ICF credential.
The following are the available CTEDU specialties for this certification.
- Professional Certified Academic Life Coach
- Professional Certified Wellness Life Coach
- Professional Certified Executive Life Coach
The third and highest CTEDU certification is a Master Certified Coach (MCC). To qualify for this certification, you must complete a 1.0 Coach Training Course, the 2.0 Advanced Coach Training Course, the 3.0 Relationship Coach Training Course, and a Group Mentor Coaching Course. This CTEDU certification sets you up for an ICF Master Credential through the ACTP path.
4 Certification Requirements
These are the four steps to certification. The difference between each level of certification above is the quantity of each requirement below.
Successfully Complete Coach Training Hours.
The first step is completing a coach training course. The 1.0 and 2.0 classes meet for 2 hours, once a week, for 24 training sessions. To become a certified coach, you must attend 22 of these 24 training sessions.
Work with a Practice Client.
Coaches typically begin working with their practice clients around week 5 of their 1.0 course. Working with your practice client will help you gain firsthand experience as a life coach and give you the chance to practice the skills you learn in your training sessions.
The CTEDU ACC certification requires ten coaching hours, the CTEDU PCC certification requires 20 coaching hours, and the CTEDU MCC certification requires 30 coaching hours with a practice client.
Complete Coach-Client Overviews and Group Mentor Coaching.
The next, and sometimes most underrated, step toward becoming a certified coach is Mentor Coaching. Mentor coaching is meeting with a Coach Mentor one-to-one to listen to a recording of you working with a client.
In your coach-client overview, your Coach Mentor will listen for certain elements in your coaching and give you helpful feedback. The CTEDU ACC certification requires ten mentor coaching hours, the CTEDU PCC certification requires 13 mentor coaching hours, and the CTEDU MCC certification requires 17 mentor coaching hours.
For more details on all things certification related check out these pages.
A practice client is someone you agree to coach, usually pro bono, with the understanding that you will be trying out different coaching concepts as part of a training program.
The following gives information and tips on how to find and effectively coach a practice client.
Real World Practice and Application
Working with a practice client is one of the best ways to take the skills you are learning in your coach training and apply them to working with actual clients. Reading about tools and skills is important and necessary when you are first learning about coaching. However, you gain so much value from applying what you are reading about in class to actual clients in the real world. This process will begin to show you the depth and usefulness of the life coaching skills you are learning, and you will develop more and better questions during class and when certain situations arise.
It can also be easy to get used to practicing your coaching skills within your training program with the other coaches. However, the real world of coaching can be much different from what goes on in your training sessions. Working with a practice client allows you to see what it is like to work with someone not necessarily familiar with coaching concepts.
Tips on Finding a Practice Client
The first step in finding a practice client is knowing where to look. It is not recommended that you coach your friend, family member, or someone else that you know fairly well. This means that you need to look a little further to find someone to work with.
Depending on which 1.0 Coach Training Program you are in, certain places may be better than others to find a practice client. Here are some potential ideas and places to look:
- Your fellow coaches. No matter which 1.0 Coach Training Program you are in, EVERYONE in your class will need to find a practice client. Let the other participants know if you have a son, daughter, friend, or colleague who you think would be interested in working with a coach from your training program. Additionally, don’t be afraid to ask the people in your class if they know of anyone who you could work with.
- Friends, friends of friends, and everything in-between. Use your network, and share what you are learning in your training with the people in your circle. You never know, Susie from down the street might have a friend from church whose daughter really needs some help getting through the end of the school year. Or, you just might bump into Kathy at the gym who has a friend that is struggling with her current weight loss plan and does not know what to try next.
Ironically, when people are offered something for free, they often do not take it as seriously as when they pay for it. However, sometimes practice clients do take it seriously, even if they are not paying for it. The difference seems to be how a coach initially pitches freelance coaching and how much the client wants to do the coaching program for themselves. Here are a few tips for talking about coaching and asking someone to be a practice client:
- Avoid asking for a favor. You are providing a great benefit to your practice client, and for them to understand that, the opportunity should be framed as just that: an opportunity. Let your potential practice client know what you would charge if they were paying for the service, and reiterate the value they will get out of the coaching.
- Treat your practice client like any paying client. Although your practice client will not be paying, it is important to maintain the same level of professionalism and use the same type of process for following through on leads as you would with any paying client. Once you have a lead on a practice client, do an introductory interview and follow the same initial steps as you would with any client. This will make the practice client feel like they are experiencing coaching and increase the likelihood of continuing with you.
- Talk about the problems you solve, not what a life coach does. This applies to any client, practice or paying, but it is one of the most important things to remember when encouraging someone to sign up for coaching. Trying to explain what a life coach does or what life coaching is will not benefit you when talking to clients. Instead of explaining what a life coach does, explain to your potential client what types of problems you can help them solve.
Using Practice Client Sessions for Overviews and Mentor Coaching
It is helpful to work with your practice client through a set number of sessions. For those coaches in the 1.0 Academic Life Coach Training Program, we recommend that you work through the ten-session Academic Life Coaching Program and Workbook with your client. For coaches in either the Executive or Wellness 1.0 Training Programs, you must complete at least ten sessions with your practice client.
Once you have started working with your practice client, you will need to record AT LEAST three sessions for your coach-client overviews and to complete the certification requirements for your 1.0 Coach Training Program. If you participate in additional mentor coaching, you will need to record more sessions with your practice client or with additional clients. It is recommended that you record all, or close to all, of your sessions with your practice client. That way, you can choose which ones you would like to go over in your coach-client overviews or mentor coaching.
Coach Training EDU’s (CTEDU) Step by Step Guide to the Coach Client Overview Process.
Overview Guide for 1.0 and 2.0 Coach Training Programs.
What is a Coach-Client Overview?
A Coach-Client Overview is an hour-long one-on-one meeting, usually via Zoom, with a Coach Mentor who gives you feedback and scores your call according to specific criteria.
Part of your training as a coach – and course completion requirements – includes recording yourself working with a practice client and reviewing that recording with a Coach Mentor. The review session with the Coach Mentor is the official coach-client overview, usually shortened to “overview.”
To complete the course, you will need three coach-client overviews with your assigned Coach Mentor.
The first overview of the 1.0 program is designed to look at only a few necessary elements of an outstanding coaching session and focuses on agenda setting using the TIME acronym. It is graded only on completion.
You and your Coach Mentor have an opportunity to evaluate your overview with individual scores; however, the overview is not comprehensive and does not evaluate the entire coaching skillset, so a total score is not assessed for completion. It is designed to give you an idea of how well you are developing your coaching skills and helpful feedback to improve your coaching.
The second and third Comprehensive Overviews in the 1.0 courses are your opportunity to earn a passing score and look at CTEDU’s complete coaching standards that also meet the requirements of the International Coach Federation (ICF).
For the 2.0 course, all three overviews will be comprehensive and will receive an aggregate score.
If you have any questions about the process, please email your trainers at support@coachtrainingedu.com.
Why are Overviews important?
Overviews are designed to give you an idea of how well you are developing your coaching skills and useful feedback to improve your coaching.
Overviews also count toward the coach mentor hours required for an ICF credential. The ICF requires that each overview is at least one hour in duration.
How do Overviews work?
You and your Coach Mentor will listen to your coaching session and record feedback on a shared Overview Rubric stored in your student folder during your overview. The first overview of the 1.0 course is designed to introduce you to the process and doesn’t look at the complete coaching standards.
What score do I need?
Coach Training EDU™ takes a growth mindset approach in our courses and educational philosophy. The scoring system is designed to deemphasize the usual judgment and instead focuses on useful feedback to improve your coaching. It also ensures that you meet the standards required for certification by Coach Training EDU™.
Each overview is scored on a ten-point scale, but the first overview in the 1.0 course is slightly different. It is designed to introduce the overview process and reviews the first two Essential Coach Qualities of Professional and Empathetic.
In alignment with our educational philosophy, the first overview in the 1.0 courses does not receive a score. By not receiving a score, you can focus on gathering as much helpful feedback as possible to be prepared for the subsequent overviews.
Only the 2nd and 3rd overviews in the 1.0 course receive overall scores that count toward your earning a passing score for the course.
For the 2.0 course, all three overviews will evaluate all seven of the Essential Coach Qualities. To pass a 1.0 class, you need to complete all three overviews and earn a “Meets Standard | Associate Level” in each of the standards in either overview two or three.
For 2.0 Coach Training, you need to complete all three overviews and earn an “Exceeds Standard | Professional Level” in each area on at least one of the three overviews. If you earn a passing score in an earlier overview, you must complete the remaining overviews. However, the additional scores are only for your information. You are encouraged to send in overviews which you feel represent your best coaching.
You may complete a fourth overview at no charge if you have not yet met the necessary standard.
If a coach in training has not received a passing score on the fourth overview and is seeking certification through the program, they can request additional overviews for $75 an overview. They can also request a different Coach Mentor for subsequent overviews.
* For more information on these guidelines, please refer to the student agreement.
The scoring rubric is as follows:
- Not Yet: You need more work in this area and have not yet reached the standard. It may be helpful to review previous chapters and coaching demonstrations. You most likely can hear the coaching opportunities to meet the standards in this area. It’s now a matter of recognizing the opportunity to demonstrate the standard while coaching. This score corresponds to a 6.9 or lower out of 10.
- Meets Standard | Associate Level: Yea! You’ve completed the benchmark, and you have successfully demonstrated the necessary coaching skills to meet the rigid standards required. This score corresponds to a 7 to 7.9 out of 10 and the Associate Certified Coach credential of the ICF. You need this score or higher to pass a 1.0 coach training course.
- Exceeds Standard | Professional Level: You’re meeting the standard with ease, and there is a sense that you are confident in your coaching skills and comfortable in a coaching session. This score corresponds to an 8 to 8.9 out of 10 and the Professional Certified Coach credential of the ICF. You need this score or higher to pass a 2.0 Coach Training course.
- Mastered Standard | Master Level: Coach Training EDU™ views mastery as learning and demonstrating the standard with so much ease and knowledge that you could teach it to others. This score corresponds to a 9 to 10 out of 10 and the Master Certified Coach credential of the ICF.
When are Overviews Due?
Overviews are due on the following schedule:
- Overview 1 – Between weeks 5-7
- Overview 2 – Between weeks 11-13
- Overview 3 – Between weeks 17-19
You’ll find your Coach Mentor’s short bio as well as a schedule link on your class page. Once you have a satisfactory coaching session recording, book a time to meet one-on-one with your Coach Mentor and review the guidelines below to prepare. You will need to send a recently recorded coaching session with timestamps and notes to your Coach Mentor at least two days before your scheduled overview.
Benefits of Mentor Coaching
Coach Client Overviews are required to earn a letter of completion from Coach Training EDU. You will need to complete three coach-client overviews as part of your 1.0 or 2.0 coach training programs.
You will need to explore the mentor coaching and coaching skills criteria pages before your overview. We will use the criteria found on those pages to score your coaching session.
Your coach-client session will last 50 minutes, and the life coach session overview will last 50 to 60 minutes. We’ll listen to most of your coaching calls. During the life coach session overview, you and your trainer will listen to your recording via the phone. You can play the recording and put your phone on speakerphone (preferred), or you can send the audio file to your trainer in advance. Make sure the audio on each submitted recording is clear.
Please don’t send your trainer all three audio recordings at once. Submit each recording, then wait for feedback. You’ll want to incorporate the feedback you get from each session overview into your next coaching session. If you choose to review multiple calls during one mentoring session, please know that each mentoring session will only count as 1 out of the 10 you need to be certified.
To better prepare for your coach-client overviews, be sure to view our coach-client overview guide.
Logistics
STEP 1: Review the Coaching Standards
Before hosting your first recorded coaching session, review these coaching standards:
- 7 Elements of a Coaching Session & the 7 Essential Coach Qualities
- TIME agenda-setting model (found on your Class Materials Page)
- Overview Rubric (your personalized form is in your student folder)
- Course Graduation Requirements (found on your Class Page under Student Coach Policies)
STEP 2: Record Your Coaching Session
Be sure to obtain your client’s permission before recording a coaching session. It is usually sufficient to simply ask your client for permission to record at the beginning of a recorded session. If you want permission in writing, here are two sample consent forms: Sample Coaching Agreement and Three-Party Sample Coaching Agreement.
For more details, you can consult a local lawyer for guidelines and help with creating contracts.
Once you have permission, it’s recommended to record each coaching session while enrolled in the coach training program. Doing so lets both the coach and the client grow comfortable with being recorded and avoids feeling awkward or stilted from the pressure of being recorded. In addition, recording every coaching session gives you plenty of options to choose from for each overview. Another benefit is that when you have a stellar coaching session, it’s recorded.
Audio recordings for overviews must be in the delivery language of your training class unless you have specifically cleared using a different language with CTEDU HQ and the Coach Mentor. You will be evaluated on each of the areas on the Overview Rubric. You will be asked to play your session recording from your own computer so that you and the Coach Mentor can listen together; please ensure that you are in a private space without interruptions during your overview.
STEP 3: Book Your Overview
Use the link provided on your class page to book each overview with your Coach Mentor.
Upload your audio recording to your student folder and self-score your coaching abilities directly in the Overview Rubric at least two days before your scheduled time.
Contact your Coach Mentor as soon as possible if you cannot be present for the entire overview. If you arrive more than 5 minutes late to an overview, or if you need to leave early, you will need to reschedule your overview.
It is your responsibility to book your overviews as per timelines in the program. Any overviews that are not completed by four weeks after the course end date will cost an additional $75 each.
STEP 4: Self-Score the Coaching Session
Before your overview, re-watch/re-listen to your coaching session. Access your Overview Rubric in your student folder on Google drive. Because this is your sheet, please type directly into the Overview Rubric for each overview.
Complete these steps:
- Timestamp each of the elements noted on the overview rubric. For example, note when you asked each of the TIME (Topic, Importance, Measurement, and Echo) elements. An example of a timestamp is 02:00 or 2 minutes.
- Score yourself in the “Coach” column based on the descriptions in each category.
- Answer these questions found at the bottom of the overview rubric:
- What was your favorite coaching question?
- What was your hardest moment in the session that you’d like feedback on?
- Where did the client experience a shift or new awareness?
- What went well?
- What are your areas for growth?
- What is one thing you want to do differently next session?
STEP 5: Upload Recording to Student Folder
Visit the “Tutorial and Instructions” tab or the “Overview” tab on your class page for a video tutorial of how to upload your recording to your student folder. Your recording should be uploaded to your student folder no later than 48 hours before your overview appointment.
Your overview will be canceled if your recording has not been uploaded to your student folder or you have not self-scored in the “Coaching Overview” document (complete with your scores, timestamps, and the answers to the reflection questions) two days before your scheduled overview.
Notes for Each Overview
Overview #1
Due Date: Between Training Sessions 5-7
For this overview, your practice client can be one of your classmates or a practice client. You will need to record a coaching session that is no more than 60 minutes.
The first objective of Overview #1 is to discuss with the Coach Mentor specifically what you want to get out of your coach training, how your coach training is going, and how the Coach Mentor can support your goals.
The second objective is to connect with one of your colleagues in the course. For this overview, you will need to reach out to one of your classmates and arrange a time outside of the usual course time to meet and coach each other.
The third objective is to listen to your coaching with the Coach Mentor, get actionable feedback, and experience the overview process.
Because your recording may be the same length as your overview appointment, know that you may not listen to your entire recording. This is why the timestamps and preparation are critical, so you receive the feedback you’re looking for.
The main purpose of the overview process is to have a fruitful conversation that will enhance your abilities as a coach, not to listen to a full recording or to have a perfect recording or to hit all the markers on the first try. Lean into the opportunity for growth and learning.
Overview #2
Due Date: Between Training Sessions 11-13
For this overview, you will work with a practice client and record a coaching session that is no more than 60 minutes in duration.
Refer to your shared online Overview Rubric. Click on the “Essential Coach Qualities Overview 2” tab at the bottom of the shared Google Sheet. Both you and your Coach Mentor will be able to see each other’s notes in real-time.
Overview #3
Due Date: Between Training Session 17-19
Same notes as Overview #2. You will find the “Essential Coach Qualities Overview 3” tab at the bottom of the Google Sheet in your student folder.
You must complete all three overviews and score a 7 or above on either Overview #2 or #3 to complete the 1.0 program. For the 2.0 course, you must complete all three overviews and score an 8 or above on one of the three overviews. If needed, you may schedule more overviews with your Coach Mentor until you meet this standard. Refer to earlier information in this document for more information.
After Completing the Overview
Congratulations! If you’ve earned the required overview score by Training Session 19, you have a handful of classes left until you’ve completed the course attendance requirements to complete the class.
Here’s a link for the next steps to earn your CTEDU certificate.
Thank you so much for being part of the Coach Training EDU™ community!
Preparing for Mentor Coaching
Mentor coaching is the most efficient process for helping you become a better coach. The following lays out the logistics for you to get the most out of your mentor coaching, both in your coach-client overviews and mentor coaching groups.
How to Prepare for a Mentor Coaching Session
To begin, you will need to record a full coaching session with a client. The recording should be between 30 and 50 minutes. If you are meeting with your client in person, you can easily record the session using your phone or another recording device. If you are meeting with a client over the phone, put your phone on speakerphone, and record the session with your computer or another recording device. Finally, if you are meeting via Skype, Facetime, etc., you can use your phone or another recording device to record the call.
It is recommended that you record a few different sessions with clients and then choose one where you feel most confident in receiving positive feedback. However, DO NOT record all of your coaching calls in a row and use them in consecutive mentor coaching sessions. The idea is for you to incorporate the feedback you receive from your mentor coaching sessions into your subsequent coaching calls. Back-to-back recordings will not be accepted for individual mentor coaching sessions. Your recorded sessions will need to have incorporated feedback in order to count for mentor coaching sessions.
You do not need to send a recording to your mentor coach ahead of time. It is easiest for you to simply play the recording from your end and listen to the recording with your mentor coach, or mentor coaching group, via speakerphone or webinar.
Before your meeting with your mentor coach or mentor coaching group, be sure to listen to your recording and mark the time when you demonstrate each of these elements in the coaching call:
- The point in time when you establish a session agenda with your client. The agenda that you and your client agree to focus on during your time together on the call is one of the most important classic elements of a life coaching session. It’s also the element that, if missing, causes the rest of the coaching session to suffer.
- One of your favorite simple, curious questions that you asked and explored in the coaching call. It is helpful for you to mark a point during the call when you asked a really crisp and clear simple, curious question. It is even better if this question was followed up by a pause that allowed your client time to think and ponder the question.
- The moment in your coaching call when you feel like you did the worst, or you feel like you did not do a very good job as a coach. Explore the things that you are not doing so well in your coaching calls to identify the areas where you want to improve.
- The moment you design the action step that your client will take and the accountability for that action. Usually, action and accountabilities come at the end of a coaching session. It is useful to have the minute mark written down so that you and your mentor coach, or mentor coaching group, can quickly listen to how you wrap up the session and design accountability with your client.
What to Expect in Feedback
Feedback is what the mentor coaching process is all about. Your mentor coach, and those in your mentor coaching group, will provide you with constructive feedback on various areas of your coaching. Mentor coaching is a learning process, and the ultimate goal is for you to feel that you are growing and improving your skills as a coach.
Your coach will give you written feedback on your coaching, and this feedback will look at the following seven elements of your coaching:
1. Setting the Agenda
- Did the agenda come mainly from the client, or is the coach pushing or not identifying the client’s agenda?
- Was the session agenda measurable?
2. Trust and Intimacy with Client
- How willing was the coach to be the client’s student?
- Did the coach ask permission to explore topics or use certain exercises?
3. Coaching Presence
- Was the coach bold in asking insightful or risky powerful questions?
- Did the coach work with the energy present in the call?
4. Active Listening and Powerful questions
- Did the coach ask short open-ended questions?
- Were the questions primarily present or future tense oriented?
5. Direct Communication
- Was the coach clear with sharing ideas and providing feedback?
6. Creating Awareness
- Did the coach ask questions about the client’s learning and self-discovery?
7. Designing Actions
- Does the coach invite an equal or greater degree of participation from the client versus the coach in designing action?
- How well does the designed action relate to the client’s agenda?
8. Managing Progress and Accountability
- Did the coach co-design methods of accountability with the client?
- Was the accountability clear and measurable?
Mentor coaching is a valuable process that helps you become a better, more effective life coach. Receiving mentor coaching is also part of the ICF’s requirements for certification. Our trainers use Marshall Goldsmith’s framework of feedforward rather than feedback in mentoring sessions with coaches. Feedforward is focusing attention and energy on what you can do better in the future, rather than focusing on past mistakes. It puts Carol Dweck’s concept of growth mindset into practice.
Benefits of Mentor Coaching
- The first step is to listen to your recording before submitting it to your trainer. Listening to yourself coach will make a difference in your growth. As you listen, mark the timestamps of areas of success and areas that could use feedback. This will help both you and your mentor coach provide strong feedback.
- You get to listen to yourself with your trainer also present, offering feedback. Often, beginning coaches are way too hard on themselves. This is a chance for you to listen to yourself with a supportive trainer. It might not be the most pleasant to hear yourself on a recording, but seeing what you’re doing right, and getting tangible ideas for what to do better, is priceless. You will leave the life coach session overviews with action steps to make you a better coach.
- You get to include your feedback in your next client session. Including feedback in your next client session, hearing the difference that feedback makes, and seeing yourself improve as a coach, gives you a boost. It allows you to chart your progress, share it with your trainer, celebrate, and gain confidence in your life coaching skills.
Formats for Mentor Coaching
Mentor coaching is a valuable part of the coach training process and is required for certification. To become a certified coach with the ICF, you will need to complete a total of 10 mentor coaching hours. Coach Training EDU offers you the opportunity to complete these mentor coaching hours in two ways.
One-to-one Mentor Coaching
All of Coach Training EDU’s 1.0 and 2.0 Training Programs include 3 hours of one-on-one mentor coaching. These are also known as your coach-client overviews. You will schedule these throughout your training with your lead trainer. Your trainer will review your call according to the core competencies set out by the ICF, and you will receive feedback to incorporate into your next coaching sessions. These one-to-one mentor coaching sessions set the stage for group mentor coaching.
Group Mentor Coaching
Group Mentor Coaching is offered in small groups. Group sizes range between four to eight coaches, and a new mentor coaching group starts approximately four times a year. Most coaches start group mentor coaching within a few months of finishing their initial training. Groups meet once a week for one hour to review coach-client calls. One of the most significant benefits is being able to listen to other coaches’ work. Group mentor coaching looks at both specific coaching skills and different coaching styles.
For tuition information on Group Mentor Coaching, please visit the pricing page.
The process of mentor coaching can seem daunting. It requires that you record yourself working with a client, listen to that recording with someone else–or multiple other people–then receive feedback. However, the feedback you receive throughout your mentor coaching experience will mostly be forward-focused and concentrated on what you can do better moving forward.
Here you can find more information about how to prepare for mentor coaching and what to expect.
Health and wellness coaching is one arm of life coaching that enables coaches to participate in the physical and mental health journeys of their clients.
There are two primary ways health and wellness coaches utilize their skills and certifications, and CTEDU provides a solid foundation for each of these paths.
- Independent practice
- Corporate wellness coaching
Getting certified as a Health and Wellness Coach is an incredible way to add another layer of credibility to your life coach training. At Coach Training EDU, we have developed a specialized program just for coaches seeking Health Board Certification, and it consists of three parts:
1. CTEDU 1.0 Wellness Life Coach Training
In this 24-session course, you learn the foundational skills required for any coach to have a successful coaching career. This course combines ICF-accredited training with tools and exercises designed exclusively for clients hoping to focus on their health and wellness. By the time you complete this program, you will have mastered the art of designing an alliance, developed a stronger sense of trust in yourself and the process, and learned how to implement wellness tools into your coaching practice.
2. CTEDU 2.0 Advanced Coach Training
During our 24-session 2.0 program, you will dive deeper into the research behind our coaching skills and tools, and learn to empower your client through self-awareness and well-designed accountability. This advanced course offers you the opportunity to develop your own coaching tools and hone your coaching skills to that of an expert.
3. Health and Wellness Coach Training Program
Finally, our 16-session Wellness Life Coach Training covers every requirement outlined by the National Health Board. In this program, you will focus on holistic well-being, covering everything from healthy eating to chronic disease management. The goal of this program is to prepare you for clients who may have a wide variety of coaching needs, and your knowledge in these topics will be essential to their success.
All three of these programs offers the following:
- Specific tools for coaching around health and wellness success.
- Opportunities to practice these skills and tools through coaching your classmates and being coached by your classmates.
- Tips and tricks for building a successful coaching business.
After you complete the 1.0 program, you’re able to pursue both our 2.0 program and Wellness Life Coach training courses simultaneously, achieving the completion of all three programs in as little as 12 months. This enables health and wellness coaches to shorten their total training time by 4 months.
After successfully completing this training, you are eligible to take the National Health Board examination. This certification means that select insurance carriers will reimburse your clients for your services. Once you’re certified, you’re more than prepared to kick off your personal health and wellness coach training practice or join a corporate environment. You may even discover one of the many other creative ways to implement your training in order to make the world a better place.
Course Description
The Group Mentor Coaching course is an 8-session training course that allows coaches to share and receive direct feedback from both a Coach Mentor and peer coaches. This course is part of all certification programs (Academic, Executive, and Wellness Life Coach certifications).
Mentor coaching is a valuable process that helps you become a better, more effective life coach. Receiving mentor coaching is also part of the ICF’s requirements for certification. All of our trainers use Marshall Goldsmith’s framework of feedforward, rather than feedback, in mentoring sessions with coaches. Feedforward is focusing attention and energy on what you can do better in the future, rather than focusing on past mistakes. It puts Carol Dweck’s concept of growth mindset into practice.
Group Mentor Coaching is offered in small groups. Group sizes range between four to eight coaches, and a new mentor coaching group starts approximately four times a year. Most coaches start group mentor coaching within a few months of finishing their initial training. One of the most significant benefits is being able to listen to other coaches’ work. Group mentor coaching looks at both specific coaching skills and different coaching styles.
Throughout the course, you will:
- Become deeply familiar with how to apply the Essential Coach Qualities in a coaching session.
- Receive feedback from a Coach mentor and peer coaches.
- Provide feedback to peer coaches.
Register for the Group Mentor Coaching Course
Course Format
The class will meet once a week for one hour at your designated class time. One coach will share a pre-recorded coaching session and receive feedback according to the Essential Coach Qualities during each class.
Benefits of Mentor Coaching
- The first step is to listen to your recording before submitting to your trainer. Listening to yourself coach will make a difference in your growth as a coach. As you listen, mark the timestamps of areas of success and areas that could use feedback. This will help both you and your mentor coach provide strong feedback.
- You get to listen to yourself with your trainer also present, offering feedback. Often, beginning coaches are way too hard on themselves. This is a chance for you to listen to yourself with a supportive trainer. It might not be the most pleasant to hear yourself on a recording, but seeing what you’re doing right, and getting tangible ideas for what to do better, is priceless. You will leave the life coach session overviews with action steps to make you a better coach.
- You get to include your feedback in your next client session. Including feedback in your next client session, hearing the difference that feedback makes, and seeing yourself improve as a coach, gives you a boost. It allows you to chart your progress, share it with your trainer, celebrate, and gain confidence in your life coaching skills.
Textbooks/PDFs Included
- None
How to Prepare for Group Mentor Coaching
As a presenter:
- Choose a recording that will allow you to attain feedback both on the things you did well and on your areas of improvement.
- Listen to your recording before coming to class. Mark the timestamps where you most want feedback to ensure a smooth process.
- Take notes on the feedback you receive in class, and practice implementing that feedback with your clients after class.
- Continue to monitor your progress against the feedback you received in class.
As a listener:
- Listen in Level 2 as your classmate shares their recording.
- Remember that critical feedback is important, even if it’s sometimes uncomfortable to share.
- Deliver all feedback with compassion and empathy.
Certification
There are two main components required for CTEDU certification:
- Pre-Recorded Coaching Sessions: Coaches are required to share at least one coaching session with their peer coaches. Presentation order will be determined during orientation.
- Course Attendance: Coaches must attend a minimum of seven of the eight classes to fulfill the Mentor Coaching Hours requirement.
Additional Courses
- 2.0 Advanced Coach Training: This course is packed with advanced coaching tools and skills and provides a plethora of research to help coaches build their credibility. This newly updated program is designed to up-level your coach training and bolster your coaching practice.
View Upcoming Course Schedule
Course Description
The 2.0 Coach Training Program is a 24-session training course that dives deeper into the research supporting coaching tools and introduces more advanced coaching tools and skills. The program is designed for coaches who completed the 1.0 training course and want to go to the next level.
Throughout your training, you will:
- Learn advanced coaching skills, such as managing feedback, problem-defining, strengths assessment, and building new habits.
- Receive over 35 new tools and exercises to use with your clients.
- Focus on specific skills designed to take your coaching to the next level.
Register for the 2.0 Advanced Coach Training Course
Course Format
Class will meet once a week for two hours, at your designated class time. Each class is broken into three main parts:
- Discussion: The first third of class includes an open discussion on the chapter you read to prepare for the class. Your trainer will answer questions and provide additional insight.
- Demonstration: Your trainer will demonstrate how to use the tool or skill being discussed with a volunteer client from class.
- Practice: The last portion of class is reserved for practice time, and you will be broken into pairs to practice the coaching tool or skill with a classmate. This section concludes with a reflection.
Textbooks/PDFs Included
- Advanced Coach 2.0 Training Guide by John Andrew Williams (One hard copy provided as part of your training.)
- Core Motivation by John Andrew Williams
Get the Answer:
Certification
There are three main components that are required for CTEDU certification:
- Coach-Client Overviews: Coaches are required to submit three coaching recordings to their Coach Mentor for feedback and review. You must earn a score of 7 or higher on either the second or third overview in order to complete the course.
- Course Attendance: Coaches must attend a minimum of 20 of the 24 scheduled training sessions (which does not include the Orientation or Introduction sessions).
- Coaching Log: Coaches must accumulate a minimum of 10 coaching hours with at least one practice client throughout the coaching program.
Additional Courses
- Group Mentor Coaching: Group Mentor coaching is an 8-week course where you will receive direct feedback from a coach mentor and a group of peer coaches. Because ongoing coach mentor hours are required by the ICF for recertification, we recommend taking this class again after getting your initial ICF certification.
View Upcoming Course Schedule