If you are a professional who already has experience commensurate with the methodologies of coaching, you may be able to fast track a certification by applying your current experience through a Board Certified Coach credential. 

Although becoming a Board Certified Coach offers a very specific advantage, i.e. instant credibility, it isn’t necessary for everyone. Many coaches find great success through an ICF certification. However, if you want to incorporate coach training with your personal expertise in a field that’s very similar to coaching – such as therapy, medicine, social work, or healing – a Board Certified Coach credential can help you leverage your academic or work experience into a coaching credential.

But this is not always the case. Many executive coaches have transitioned from a corporate career to coaching. A Board Certified Coach credential allows them to combine their business experience and degree with the techniques of coaching, thereby becoming a professional business coach. Their extensive work experience and resume qualify them to offer coaching services as a true authority in their field. The Board Certified Coaching credential provides evidence that they have successfully shown how to leverage that experience to the benefit of others.

What is a Board Certified Coach Credential?

The Board Certified Coach credential was designed by the Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE) to establish standards for competency and experience within the coaching profession. Board certified coaches must go through a range of coursework related to the practice of coaching, as well as individual training that are geared to their unique niches. In addition, they need to develop their skills through extensive guidance and feedback provided by a qualified coaching instructor.

A Board Certified Coach credential demonstrates to the public that a coach has: 1) met educational and training requirements, 2) passed a psychometrically sound coach-specific examination, 3) obtained experience in the field of coaching, 4) secured professional peer references, 5) is accountable to an enforceable ethics code, and 6) has a commitment to continuing education.

In order to maintain the Board Certified Coach credential, coaches need to pay the annual maintenance fee every year, adhere to CCE policies such as the Board Certified Code of Ethics and disclosure requirements, and complete the recertification process at the end of each five-year period. Currently, the annual maintenance fee is $40. Recertification is required every five years. Recertification notices and instructions are mailed in conjunction with the annual maintenance fee at the end of a coach’s five-year certification period. 

To recertify, coaches will need to be able to document 100 hours of continuing education completed during their five-year certification period. At least three continuing education hours must be in the area of ethics. In order to maintain an area of specialty, at least 18 of the 100 continuing education hours must be applicable to that designated area.

Coaching at the Next Level

Great coaches exist all over the world. With coaching becoming so popular and so competitive, only the best of the best has what it takes to coach at the next level. Although getting a Board Certified Coach credential is not a guarantee of succeeding in the coaching world, you can turn yourself into a star if you have the focus, drive, intensity, confidence, and humility that is required to stand out.

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