Perhaps you have been considering a career change into executive coaching for some time or are just becoming aware of the seemingly endless possibilities of success that becoming an executive coach can provide. Here is a guide to help you become an executive coach in 5 steps:
1. Your Executive Coaching Path Will Be Determined by Your Motivation
Determining your motivations, background, and skills will tell you about the executive coach you want to become and influence the kinds of clients that you are best equipped to help. You should first ask yourself: “What are my motivations for becoming an executive coach?”
Executive coaches usually describe the moment they realised that they wanted to become executive coaches as when they realised that they no longer found their current job fulfilling but wanted to use those job skills to help others.
Figure out why you’re becoming an executive coach since those reasons will determine the principles through which you will be carrying out your executive coaching.
2. Training and Certifications
Is it mandatory for an executive coach to be certified?
No, there’s no universal consensus within the coaching industry regarding what certification program a coach needs. However, this is your sign that you definitely need to get certified.
To prove coaching competency to your clients, professional executive coaching certification is necessary. It shows that you have put in the time, work, and money to become a well-rounded coach with the skills and ability to help them.
The world’s most respected coaching organisation is the International Coaching Federation (ICF). There are literally thousands of coaching programs for executive coach training as well as schools offering ICF-certified programs that prepare you for executive coaching certifications.
3. Coaching Methodology
Your coaching plan and methodology need to have an effective coaching model at the forefront. The importance of a coaching model will be explained to you in your coaching program along with different types of models that you can pick and choose from for incorporating into your practice.
Your coaching model can be incorporated into your overall strategy along with day-to-day sessions. Coaches sometimes layer a number of coaching models into their sessions, while others use just a single one to encompass their coaching services.
Each of your clients needs to have a personalised plan outlining their goals, the necessary steps for reaching them, and the desired learning strategy that works best for the said client. Decide how regularly you and the client will meet virtually, face-to-face, or via messaging.
You also need to focus on the development of your client’s core leadership skills, irrespective of the executive coaching method you use. The cornerstone of each coaching session needs to touch on developing and maintaining these core skills.
4. Set Your Rate
When setting your pricing model, you need to consider your training, experience, skills, and certifications whether you will be coaching full-time or as a side hustle. The vast majority of people value coaching services and are willing to pay as much as they can.
5. Find a Place to Be Offering Your Services
New coaches, without coaching experience or a stamp of approval from an individual or an organisation, can find it increasingly difficult to offer coaching services on their own. The best way around these problems is to offer your executive coaching services on a coaching platform.
When the new coaches are evaluated by the coaching platform along with its team of experts, clients will be more willing to engage since the coaching website has already vetted them.
Bottom Line
The majority of leadership coaches agree that achieving your goals is a great feeling, but using your skills to help others continuously achieve their goals is a different level of amazing. If becoming an executive coach is the next step in your career, follow the steps above and immerse yourself in all there’s to know about coaching.