Where to start
If you research on the topic you will notice that there are multiple coaching courses and related stuff such as NPL, agility, etc. You may wonder: “what is the first step?”. According to experts who have been taking many courses, they all recommend to first lay the foundation by taking an introductory coaching course, which will serve you as a starting point, plus it may cover significantly what can be taught in many of the other specialities somehow.
International coach federation
One of the first things you will notice when looking for coaching courses is that many of them will show that they provide ICF certification. ICF stands for International Coach Federation and in their website you can easily find trainings to become a coach: https://coachfederation.org/.
Please note that third party training providers will require an ACTP accreditation in order to provide ICF trainings, which is another term that you will see when checking for courses. Here you can find the ICF trainings page, in case you are interested to learn more.
In Spain we have ASESCO, which stands for “Asociación Española de Coaching”, you can also find it when checking for courses.
AN IMPORTANT QUESTION
An important question before moving forward is: "are you looking for individual coaching or team coaching"? I am asking this because some of the courses will be oriented to individuals, while many others will be oriented to teams coaching. In any case there are 2 things that are true:
- Many coaching schools will target both approaches with multiple courses.
- Whatever you learn in one of the approaches, you can apply it to the other one.
To simplify the information, I’ve structured this post in two parts: individual coaching and teams and organizational coaching.
Individual coaching
There are multiple individual coaching methodologies and schools. They all share a common background. Here I will refer to co-active, which is the one I did.
Co-Active Coaching
If you are curious about what does Co-Active Coaching mean, you can find one of the best definitions in the book: Co-Active Leadership: Five Ways to Lead by Karen Kimsey-House and Henry Kimsey-House.
“At its most basic, Co-Active means simply “being in action…together.” Or perhaps it might be more appropriate to say “being together…in action.”
As the pace of our lives has quickened, we have become increasingly action-oriented and results-driven. It seems expedient to dispense with all the “soft” stuff (being) and instead just push to “get the job done” (doing). Unfortunately, this leaves us feeling disconnected and desperate for meaning and belonging. We wind up with what we might call “the hamster wheel” experience of life, as we run around alone in circles, desperately trying to get things done, only to find ourselves right back where we started.
This is why it is so important to begin with the “Co.” Action arising from this place of being and receptivity is whole and integrated, rather than disconnected and driven. In order for us to experience life as whole, action must be grounded in being, in our sense of connection to a larger wholeness.
When the Co and the Active go together, the action of our life is nourishing and fulfilling.”
If you want to know more about it, here you can find the Co-Active Training Institute program and the book Co-Active Coaching: The Proven Framework for Transformative Conversations at Work and in Life. Co-Active Institute led a good amount of coaching training with great reputation. I did it and I cannot recommend it enough.
NLP Coaching
NLP refers to Neuro-linguistic programming. NLP could be defined as the methodology that allows us to unleash our inner potential so that we can bring change to life in our lives. A further and greater definition can be found here.
In this category, we can usually distinguish three training levels:
- NLP Practitioner: basic theory and practical experience to understand and use the PNL methodology in the areas of human behaviours and abilities in general.
- NLP Master Practitioner: This course contains 100% new information, and builds on top of your already existing skill set learned in NLP Practitioner. This training will provide you the most powerful NLP techniques to become an effective life coach.
- Trainer’s Training: here you will learn and practice the techniques to teach any theory or practice efficiently using PNL tools.
NLP Programs
Instituto Neuron
Based in Barcelona with great reputation, leaded by Allan Santos and Alex Roca. For those who doesn’t know him, Allan Santos is an international reference with great knowledge and expertise in PNL. He has published the books “El Libro Grande de la PNL” and “El Camino Hacia Uno Mismo. Una Introducción Práctica a la PNL“. You can find the courses they offer here.
Global NLP Coaching
Based on Amsterdam, Bali, Los Angeles and Miami Beach, provides one-week on-site trainings. Very well detailed. Link here
Shiny Unsal
ICF Accredited online and on-site trainings licensed by Richard Bandler, co-creator of NLP. More information here.
ENEB
Probably not the best one but still worthy considering as an online choice. Check the link for more details.
Crearte Coaching
Certified by American Union of NLP (AUNLP), Crearte Coaching offers a great amount of courses related to PNL, coaching, leadership, emotional intelligence and more. You can find more information here.
Other individual coaching courses
Another recommendation for me is Instituto Superior de Coaching. They target multiple courses with great background, a good option no matter if you are looking for something broad or very specific.
Further than that, I have reached other schools such as Cegos and Centro del Coaching, however, I do not have reliable references at this moment.
TeamS and Organizational Coaching
Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching
The ORSC training develops a methodological base, tools and dynamics that allow the coach or facilitator to access that invisible body, the organizational or relational system culture and make it explicit, so that the team and the people who are part of this gain trust and open up to deeper information that allows them to develop their full potential. Given its systemic approach this course is recommended for coaching teams and organizations.
Video – Introduction to ORSC Coaching
ORSC PROGRAMS
The ORSC program gives you tools and practical skills from the first day to use the conflict as a generative force helping the organizational or relational systems to take the next step in their task, without forgetting the care of the people.
The most interesting I found was at Arise, driven by GreenLightGo, here you can find the links for more information.
This program offers a complete program of training in systems coaching, developed by CRR Global (Center for Right Relationships), accredited internationally by ICF as ACTP (full competence).
Bridge
Another relevant school that works on relational models is Instituto de Comunicación leaded by Alex Galofré and Ferran Ramón Cortés, authors of the book “Relaciones que Funcionan“, available here.
Bridge is a model that helps to relate different styles by identifying each point of view in the map between: active, rational, emotional, and reflective, classifying it accordingly. This latest classification will, later on, allow us to perform the right approach to the other person or team style accordingly, treating them as they want to be treated.
This can be applied in many contexts: communication, assertiveness, conflict, motivating, leadership, etc.
Sikkhona
Sikkhona offers an analytical team approach where the strengths and weaknesses of the team highlighted. This first diagnostic will be followed by multiple sessions designed to support the team needs. Here you can find some pages about it:
AGILE COACHING
Agile Coaching also relates to team coaching, however, this area it’s so broad that it would require an entire chapter. At it’s core it’s all about supporting the teams to adopt an agile mindset to deliver value with an adaptative approach. For those who are not familiar, working frameworks such as Scrum and Kanban relate to this approach.
Here you can find the most well-known certification organizations:
LEADERSHIP COURSES
If you are getting started into team coaching and the courses above feel somewhat advanced for you, I would recommend you to look into leadership courses first. In my case I did one at Foment Formació (Barcelona) that I really enjoyed. Another alternative is the leadership training offered by the Co-Active Insititute, which is quite extensive and deep.
Summary
As you can see there is a wide variety of options when moving to the coaching direction. I hope this post helps you find options according to your area of interest and moment in your life.
The courses and programs shared here are ones that I came across in the last years, however, I am convinced that there are many others that are worthy out there. If you ever heard of other relevant courses please do not hesitate sharing them with me!ç
Thanks for your time!
Xavier Figueras 