Julia Stewart

Is there really any good reason for a business or life coach to get certified?

That’s a common question amongst coaches and it’s hotly debated on a variety of coaching blogs. Some say no, coaching is an entrepreneurial business, that there’s no reason for any coach to get certified and that certification is just a money-making scheme made up by coaching schools and organizations.

Others say coaching is a profession and that it’s in every coach’s best interests, not to mention consumers’, for standards to be set and upheld, otherwise any charlatan can call him/herself a coach. Clearly coaches, themselves, are divided on this topic.

Are there any laws that require coaches to get certified?

Currently, most nations, such as the US and Canada, have no laws that require coach certification, although in the State of Israel, which may have that largest number of coaches per capita of any nation, there is currently a serious attempt to pass a Coaching Law that would require credentialing in order to practice coaching there. What happens in Israel could influence coaching’s legal status in a number of other nations in the near future.

If there’s no law requiring coach certification where you live, should you get certified?

That depends on who you are. To understand why, I’m going to share some facts and opinions that I’ve gathered from over 300 coaches, to help answer the question, ‘Do You Need Coach  Certification?’

Just to be clear, these coaches self selected to fill out a survey that I created that could help them decide if they should pursue coach certification. They may or may not represent a good cross sampling of coaches. However, the survey has run for over two years and since then, I’ve checked the results a number of times and the percentages remain remarkably similar; so I think the numbers a pretty revealing, at least about coaches who are curious about becoming certified coaches.

Let’s first go back to that age-old argument between coach-entrepreneurs and coach-professionals.

Professionals tend to believe in training and credentialing and their own integrity often dictates that they pursue both when they choose to become a coach. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, learn by doing and innovating and they tend to get impatient or skeptical or both, when it comes to formal education or jumping through hoops. So which group represents most coaches?

[Time out: Was it Family Feud where the game-show host would yell, ‘Survey Said?!’ Anyhow…]

Survey Said?!

Less than 18% of our 300+ coaches identifies him/herself as an entrepreneur, only. But then, only slightly more than 23% identifies as a professional, only. A full 59% identifies equally with being an entrepreneur and a professional! No wonder so many coaches are confused about coach certification! Their inner entrepreneurs and inner professionals are at odds over it. But you could look at these findings another way: 82% of coaches surveyed believe coaching is at least partially a profession, so…

#1 Reason to become a certified coach: Your inner professional tells you that you should get certified.

Not surprisingly, a similar number of coaches to those who feel like professionals, just over 83% in this case, say they believe getting certified will help them feel more competitive in the marketplace. Less than 17% believe certification will have no effect on their competitiveness in the market, so…

#2 Reason to become a certified coach: It will help you feel more competitive in the coaching marketplace.

I also asked this question in a more pointed way: Will getting certified help you sign more paying clients? 74% said, yes it would. That’s almost ¾ of the coaches who responded! Only 26% thought coach certification would have no effect on their ability to get coaching clients.

#3 Reason to become a certified coach: It will help you get more clients.

Here’s a related question: Are you thrilled with your level of coaching success? 20% say, yes. Another 80% wishes they were more successful. Most people, coaches or non-coaches, wish they were more successful. Given that most coaches surveyed believe certification will help them be more competitive and get more clients…

#4 Reason to become a certified coach: It’ll help you be more successful.

That brings me to another quality that differentiates entrepreneurs and professionals: it’s how they feel about having to jump through a few hoops. As mentioned above, Entrepreneurs tend to not like jumping through hoops, but professionals are willing to do that in order to earn the right to be called professionals. In fact, they actually feel kind of good about it.

So what does the survey say?

When asked about how they feel about jumping through hoops, 20% of survey respondents said it makes them feel rebellious. 53.5% said it gives them a sense of accomplishment. 26.5% said, both! Hmmm…80% get a sense of accomplishment, at least in part, from jumping through hoops! Could that be pretty much the same group that feels like professionals? Yes, upon deeper analysis, I find this is the case, so…

#5 Reason to become a certified coach: Jumping through hoops to get certified gives you a sense of accomplishment.

Here’s a different kind of question: Are you a famous author, speaker or TV personality? If you’re famous already, you can skip getting certified, because you already have credibility. Of those surveyed, 99% said they weren’t already famous. Less than 1% said that they are famous (a total of 2). I’d love to know who they are! Anyway…

#6 Reason to become a certified coach: You’re not famous.

Here’s another question that may speak most to the professional coaches: Do you prefer to be the best? 79+%. Good enough? 15%. Don’t care? 5%.

#7 Reason to become a certified coach: You prefer to be the best.

Professionals who want to be the best are generally keen to learn all they can. Getting certified is a huge motivator for learning more and becoming better at what you do. So no surprise, 40% of coaches prefer to learn all they can before they do something. 12% (entrepreneurs?) would rather just jump in and do it. 48% like to jump right in AND learn all they can! That’s 88% who want to learn all they can either before or after they jump into coaching, so…

#8 Reason to become a certified coach: You want to learn all you can.

But what if coaching is just your hobby? Certification is probably a lot less important than it would be if coaching were your career. What did our respondents say about that? 89.5% say coaching is their career. Only 10.5% say it’s just a hobby. So…

#9 Reason to become a certified coach: Coaching is your career.

Finally, coaches are a pretty intuitive bunch of people. They don’t just make decisions to do something just because logically they ‘should’. So I asked them, Based on your intuition/gut/spirit (Not you fear or insecurity), do you want to get certified or not? Over 75% said intuitively they do want coach certification. The remainder said they did not.

#10 Reason to become a certified coach: Your intuition/gut/spirit tells you to.

So there you have it! Regardless of whether coaching is an entrepreneurial business or whether you legally have to get certified, 75% or more of coaches said they WANT to get coach certification. Are you one of them?

If so, I have a special offer just for readers of this blog: I’m offering five free 30-minute coaching consultations on your biggest certification problem. No strings attached. If you’d like to take me up on this offer, share your biggest question or concern about coach certification below in the comments section and then go here to sign up. I’ll choose the five coaches who I think I can help the most. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Beginner’s Guide to Become a Life Coach
2. Why Would a Therapist Want to Become a Life Coach?
3. Coaching Certification Bootcamp – For Pro Coaches Only
4. BACC Coach Certification Program
5. How to Coach a Client on Personal Vision

Your first step in achieving IAC certification is to pass the Step 1 online written exam. This is an open book multiple choice exam based on the Coaching Masteries ™ Ebook. Before you take the Step 1 exam “for real”, you may want to try the free sample exam that is available on the IAC website.

Wondering what kinds of questions are on the exam? Good news…there is a 40-question sample exam on the IAC website. Try out the sample exam before taking the Step 1 exam “for real”, and you’ll get an idea of your readiness. Here are some of the questions from the sample exam – you’ll see that they are pretty straightforward:

Sample Exam

Question #1: Advocate is best defined as

1. cheerleader.
2. fan.
3. supporter.
4. opponent.

Question #2: In coaching, active listening is characterized by all of the following except

1. articulating or paraphrasing.
2. attending to meaning.
3. screening out distractions.
4. listening for an opportunity to give praise.

Question #3: The Mastery which involves recognizing the client’s underlying abilities would be called

1. Perceiving and affirming the client’s potential.
2. Engaged listening.
3. Inviting possibility.
4. Clarifying.

Related posts:

1. Coaching “Safety Net” Questions – For When Your Mind Goes Blank
2. 8 Questions Potential Coaching Clients Ask (And What to Say in Response)
3. How to Coach a Client on Personal Vision
4. Appreciative Inquiry Questions
5. Typical Questions Coaches Have When Starting a Coaching Business