ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership.
We all have goals we want to reach, challenges we’re striving to overcome and times when we feel stuck. Partnering with a coach can change your life, setting you on a path to greater personal and professional fulfillment.
Coaching 101
Coaching is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. Its rise has opened up exciting new career paths, and has made personal enrichment available to many. Whether you’re interested in becoming a coach or hiring a coach, pause here to learn more before you get started! We also suggest visiting the International Coaching Federation website as an additional resource.
Types of Coaching
Coaching takes many forms. Big-picture categories include Executive Coaching, Leadership Coaching, Life Coaching, Team Coaching, Relationship Coaching, and Career Coaching. Most coaches also focus in on a specific “niche,” specializing their knowledge and practice around areas such as business, wellness, health, finances, mindset, ADHD, grief, parenting, recovery, entrepreneurship, and countless others.
Coaching Qualifications
Coaching is generally not regulated in most areas of the world. The International Coaching Federation (ICF) is committed to meaningful professional self-regulation and is specifically recognized among coaching professionals worldwide for establishing a professional code of ethics and standards for coaching. ICF provides accreditation to coach training organizations, and provides credentialing to individual coaches. When seeking a coach or a coach training program, an ICF credential (ACC, PCC, MCC, or ACTC) or ICF accreditation will signal a legitimate coaching professional or program, and a commitment to the ICF Code of Ethics.
Delivery of Coaching
Coaches operate independently as solopreneurs, within independent coach groups or firms, through major coaching platforms, and as internal coaches within organizations. Coaching may occur one-on-one, in small groups, or in teams. It can happen in-person or virtually.
Many coaches make use of assessment tools, which can offer both coach and client data and information about personal and professional strengths, preferences, values, and style. Coaches may assign or suggest exercises to clients to do during or between sessions, providing opportunities to reflect and generate additional insights. Some coaches leverage Artificial Intelligence to support their practice, for transcription and analysis of sessions, reminders to clients, and more.
Coaching Training
Individuals must successfully complete a combination of coach-specific education meeting ICF standards, mentor coaching, a recorded coaching session for evaluation, a prescribed number of coaching hours, and an exam to qualify for an ICF credential. ICF has accredited a large number and wide variety of coach training providers, and has created a searchable database of them. To find ICF-Accredited Providers, use the Education Search Service (ESS). The search for a coach education program is a highly individual process that depends greatly on your personal preferences and goals. The ESS is designed to give you basic information about all ICF-Accredited Education Providers.
Mentor Coaching and Coaching Supervision
Mentor coaches provide professional assistance to newer coaches and coach trainees in achieving and demonstrating the levels of coaching competency and capability demanded by the desired credential level. Mentor coaching consists of coaching and feedback, based on observed or recorded coaching sessions. It typically takes place over an extended time (three-month minimum) in a cycle that allows for listening and feedback from the Mentor Coach while also allowing reflection and practice on the part of the individual being mentored. Visit the ICF Mentor Coach Directory to find a qualified Mentor Coach.
Coaching Supervision is a dynamic and reflective process of collaboration, guidance, and support through which coaches develop their personal, professional, and ethical capacity and maturity. While mentor coaching hones a coach’s skills, coaching supervision goes deeper, focusing on a coach’s self-awareness, impact, and how they navigate broader systems—ultimately, both aspects are inseparable and essential for a coach’s holistic development. Click here to learn more about Coaching Supervision competencies.
Find a Coach
Selecting the right coach for you is a very personal experience! We recommend considering the following tips in your search for a coach, as suggested by ICF. When you’re ready, begin your search for a Maryland coach with our Find a Coach tool!
First Steps:
- Do your homework. Educate yourself about what coaching is, what it isn’t and what the coaching process entails. More than 2,000 articles, case studies and reports about coaching and related topics are easily accessible at the ICF Research Portal.
- Reflect on your goals and objectives. Summarize what you expect to accomplish by partnering with a coach. With a clear idea of your desired outcomes, you can better choose a coach practitioner who is well-equipped to help you develop a strategy for achieving them.
- Interview at least three coaches. Ask each coach about his or her experience, skills and qualifications, and request at least two references. Coaching is an important relationship, so look for a personal connection between you and the coach you choose.
- Confirm credibility. Research each coach’s training, professional memberships and credentials.
Interviewing a Coach:
- What is your coaching experience (number of individuals coached, years of experience, types of coaching situations, etc.)?
- What is your coach-specific training (an ICF-accredited training program, other coach-specific training, etc.)?
- What is your coaching specialty or areas in which you most often work?
- What types of organizations do you work with most often? And, at what levels (executives, upper management, middle management, etc.)?
- What types of assessments are you certified to deliver?
- What are some of your coaching success stories (specific examples of clients who have succeeded as a result of coaching)?
- Are you an ICF Member? Do you hold an ICF Credential?
(From https://coachingfederation.org/find-a-coach/hiring-tips)
Find a Coach
Ready to get started with a coach? ICF Maryland is home to hundreds of ICF-credentialed Maryland coaches. Their training and commitment to high ethical standards puts them among the best coaches in our state.
Click below to access our searchable database of Maryland coaches, and commit to coaching!
Bring Coaching to Your Organization
Offering coaching to employees is a win-win: it helps your team perform at their best, and provides value to the individuals who work for you, likely increasing longevity with the organization. ICF Maryland is home to hundreds of ICF-credentialed coaches who are available for consulting, and our chapter is open to strategic partnerships that will help you build a coaching culture.
