EXPORT What are the different types of coaching certifications?

If you\’re thinking about attending a coaching certification training or looking for a certified coach, it\’s important to know the difference between the types of coaches and coaching certifications.  Here is a quick reference guide:

Types of Coaches

Executive Coaching – an executive coach works primarily with executives.  But you knew that already, didn\’t you?  A good executive coach can be a sounding board, an advisor, a mentor, and a challenger.  Executive coaches help people solve work-related problems by asking questions that allow a solution to be discovered.  A good executive coach will have a system or process that will help their client get from where they are now (a problem state) to where they want to be (a desired state).  Not all Executive Coaches are alike though.  Some cannot/will not work with mental programs that hinder peak performance, past situations which compound present problems, or personal challenges.  And NLP Coach can do all of these things and more.

Life Coaching – a life coach is exactly that, a coach for your WHOLE life.  It\’s not just about work, it\’s not just about your relationships, it\’s not just about your finances.  Life coaching is about YOU – all of YOU.  Normally people will turn to a life coach when they are having issues with things such as Anxiety, Depression, or Traumas.  People also turn to a Life Coach during a divorce/marital problems, challenging people at work, or an inability to commit to relationships.  Life coaching can cover anything from addiction to sales performance to spirituality and everything in between.  A good life coach will work with the whole of you and whatever issues you have.  Life coaching isn\’t just about solving problems though.  You can also work with a like coach to get really good at something.  This could be presentation skills, business skills, meditation, or just personal well-being.  Again, not all Life Coaches have the skills to coach a person through anything and everything.  Thankfully NLP Coaches are trained with these skills.

Performance Coaching – normally performance coaching refers to athletic performance though it doesn\’t have to be just about sports.  Performance coaching can also be about your own peak performance in any area of your life.  Normally a person will choose a performance coach that has a background in the skill they wish to master.  A tri-athlete will normally hire a tri-athlete performance coach.  A speaker will normally hire a performance coach who is already a really good speaker.  A business coach will normally hire a coach that has run multiple successful businesses.  All Performance Coaches aren\’t the same.  Just because you\’re good at something doesn\’t mean you have the ability to teach someone else how to do it.  Some performance coaches can\’t modify their skill set to suit others and what others are good at.  It\’s always good to consult an NLP Coach even when working with a skill-specific performance coach just to make sure you\’re using all of your resources to get the optimal results.

Wellness Coaching – a wellness coach is focused on your well being from a nutrition and physical fitness perspective.  A good wellness coach is going to help you with weight loss goals, food allergies, improving well being through meditation, physical fitness, energy work and the like.  Normally a wellness coach with have a system or process (like a 12-week program) that they will use for their clients.  Hiring a wellness coach helps you to stay on track, be accountable to someone/group for your progress, and will produce faster results than working alone.  Not all wellness coaches have the ability to work with emotional wellness, an important part of your overall wellbeing.  An NLP Coach can though.  NLP Coaches are trained to work with the emotional blocks & mental programs that are holding you back from achieving your goals.  Just as with performance coaching, make sure you consult a NLP Coach to work with your wellness coach or better yet, hire a wellness coach that has NLP Training.

 

Types of Coaching Certifications

ICF – International Coaching Federation Coach Certification

ICF has short and long coach training programs (some courses are as short as 4 days not including online training/mentoring).  These courses teach you how to ask questions and explore your client\’s goals, beliefs and values.  There are many ICF coach training programs in Singapore and around Asia.  The benefit to ICF coaching is that it has a world-wide standard & recognition.  Because of this, it is most used in Executive Coaching, Sales Coaching, or similar work-related coaching.  The downside to ICF coaching is that it doesn\’t provide it\’s coaches with any tools to help their client\’s with real-life problems like Anxiety, Depression, Stress, Overwhelm, Addictions, Divorce, Traumas, etc.  ICF also doesn\’t allow any type of advising or consulting during coaching which restricts the coach to use only questioning skills.  Obviously, after certification, some coaches choose to use their other skill sets with their clients though this is not \”ICF\” coaching anymore.  ICF coaching is perfect if you are really concerned about the CERTIFICATE.  If your focus is on what your certificate says and who will recognise it then it\’s really important to stick with one of the ICF approved coaching courses.

NLP Coaching Certification

Neuro Linguistic Programming has a different take on coaching certification and being a coach.  NLP Coaching Certification isn\’t about you the coach, it\’s about the client.  It\’s always about the client.  So, what makes NLP Coaching Certification different is that you\’ll learn how to change what you do and how you do it depending on WHO YOU\’RE COACHING.  The same tools don\’t work for everyone.  NLP recognises this.  The same approach won\’t work for every client that has depression.  Sure, we have an amazing set of tools that easily and quickly change depression for people but HOW you use those techniques will change with each client.  NLP Coaching is about FLEXIBILITY.  Not everyone is the same and so therefor as a NLP Coach you need to be good at a lot of different tools & techniques so you can work with whatever comes your way.  As a coach, you may not wish to work with clients that have addictions or other \”bad\” problems.  That\’s okay.  At least you\’ll be able to IDENTIFY the problem the client is having even if they can\’t.  And then you can choose to work with them or refer them to your another NLP Coach.  As an NLP Coach you can be an executive coach, a life coach, a wellness coach or a performance coach depending on your area of interest.  NLP gives you the tools to make your specific talents shine brighter as a coach.  If you enjoy teaching yoga and nutrition then NLP will give you the skills to be a better yoga instructor, nutritionist and the ability to coach your clients to faster and lasting change.  If you\’re a great entrepreneur, NLP Coaching Certification will give you the techniques to coach your clients to rapid success by eliminating strategies that are inefficient, eradicating limiting beliefs, and transforming poorly designed goals.  You will be better at whatever it is that you\’re already good at with NLP Coaching Certification.  And you\’ll be able to guide people through their journeys faster, easier and with permanent results.

Are you ready to explore more about what NLP Coaching Certification?  Find out more about my upcoming certification course