There are many executive coach training and executive coach certification programs. In this article, we explain some of the reasons the Center for Executive Coaching is different.
1. We focus first on coaching methods and processes that get results for clients in specific situations. Other programs emphasize theory, or a particular philosophy. We start with the pressing challenges and opportunities that leaders face, and the most effective and efficient ways to coach them through their situation. Everything we do is grounded in the best practices and applied research based on neuroscience, emotional intelligence, psychology, and research from top business schools about leadership and management. However, the first rule in our program is to help clients get results and bring them value worth 5-10 times your fees and the time the client spends with you.
2. To us, a coaching designation is only a starting point. It is important to have, but not sufficient for success. Other programs start and end with your coaching designation. We go way beyond. We give you tools and methods to coach clients from start to finish. We show you how to set up a practice. We give you unmatched business development and marketing guidance. We provide ongoing support. No other program comes close to the level of support you receive with us, anytime you want it.
3. Proprietary, proven content. Other programs teach the basic coaching core competencies and generic listening skills, along with basic emotional intelligence, leadership, and psychology material that you can find in any book on the subject on Amazon. We give you content you can’t get anywhere else, based on years of testing and refining from actual work coaching clients in the field and discovering what gets results and causes clients to give referrals and invite the coach back for more work.
4. Our marketing guidance is the best in the industry. You receive our Business Development Intensive for Coaches, which includes over 18 hours of training plus toolkits to help you price your coaching programs, proposal templates, marketing examples, examples of effective websites, strategies to attract clients, and so much more. You also get one-on-one support directly from Daiana Stoicescu, Faculty Member for Center for Executive Coaching and you have access to the Founder and Director Andrew Neitlich, author of Guerrilla Marketing for Coaches and a sought-after expert and speaker on marketing for coaches. She reviews your marketing message and plan of action, and even helps you write your message and copy for your website if you request assistance. You won’t find better support. Also, you can contact us anytime — even years after you complete the program — to review a client opportunity or sticky coaching situation.
5. We recognize that you are probably going to want to do more than just coaching for your clients, and help you do it. Other programs assume you will only coach. That’s not how it works in the real world, at least not for top coaches. The best coaches do coaching, of course. However, clients also ask them to facilitate, assess, train, advise, and sometimes consult. Many engagements are hybrids of coaching and other services/solutions. We show you how to pivot so that you provide the solution your client expects. For instance, we now include a complete suite of facilitation solutions and our Master Facilitation Certification with our Certified Executive Coach programs, as an added bonus if you would like to take advantage of that content. Other programs leave you stranded as more of a commodity coach. Why set yourself up so narrowly? Our program prepares you to earn the right to be a true trusted advisor for your clients, and sit at the table with them as the highest-level strategic partner. We also guide you if you wish to write a book, speak, or undertake other projects to build your credibility as a coach and professional.
6. Personal support. You get on-one-one support whenever you need it. All you have to do is email us and we can schedule a meeting, usually within one business day. It is like having your own help desk on call for you.
7. The support is ongoing. It doesn’t end. We have members from 10 years ago who still contact us from time to time to check in and get our advice.
8. Your fellow students (we prefer to call them members) are fantastic. Top professionals from around the world join our program, so you get to learn from an amazing group of people. You can practice coaching with them and work with them to accumulate coaching hours for your ICF designation or BCC certification. Our members come from companies like Google, Microsoft, the US Marines, Coca-Cola, The US Air Force, the United Nations, Aflac, Xeros, New York Life, Stryker, Kaiser Permanente, Xerox, Booz Allen, Lexis Nexis, Procter & Gamble, Inland Steel, AT&T, Coca-Cola, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Partners Healthcare, Deloitte Consulting, Ralph Lauren, Macy’s, the NBA (National Basketball Association), Brown University, and so many more. They come from almost every sector and industry of the economy, from top leadership roles. They are a big part of what makes our program great. Other programs will take everyone with a pulse and a checkbook. We screen many prospective members out, because our curriculum moves quickly and we look for members with a strong background and the ability to think quickly on their feet.
9. You get proven, practical coaching methods, processes, and toolkits that have been road tested and proven around the world, in organizations of all sizes. Our proprietary Coach Master Toolkit is included in our certification program, and has become famous in the coaching community for its practical, results-driven approach. The 27 methodologies in the toolkit give you a guide to the key conversations to have with clients on their top leadership challenges. It allows you to show you have a proven methodology, giving you credibility in the marketplace. It also sets you apart as a coach that is efficient and effective, not yet another coach that just asks a series of open-ended questions that go nowhere and that frustrate clients. Don’t be a coach that cause clients to roll their eyes because you chose a training program telling you to just keep asking open-ended questions; big mistake! You need to know how to engage leaders and executives in conversations that move them forward and help them get insights. Our toolkit shows you how to bring value in a range of situations to your clients. They can also be used as training tools, inspiration for blogs and articles, and content for speeches and educational marketing. In short, they are a way to turbo charge your coaching practice and get it going quickly, while helping you be competent and feel confident as a coach.
10. The program is practical. It is not academic or theoretical, although it is grounded in best practices and applied theory from psychology, neuro-science, emotional intelligence and leadership research. There is no fluff. Everything we teach is meant to be applied in the field with clients in ways that get results — whether you are an internal or external coach.
11. We have almost two decades of experience and a great track record of delighted graduates. In fact, approximately 60% of our members come to us through referrals from other members.
12. The program is flexible for your busy schedule. Everyone who takes our program is busy with work, children, studies…. Our program lets you study at your pace. If you have just 3-4 hours per week you can complete our distance program in 2-4 months and our ICF program in 7-9 months. You can come to an in-person seminar and get Certified there. You can join our live tele-classes, and if your schedule doesn’t work for those, you can listen to the recordings. There is always a way to fit the program into your schedule if you really want to become a certified executive coach with us.
13. The program is modular so that you can choose what works for your budget. You can start with our online program. Then, if you wish, you can add the ICF mentor coaching later on. You can also add a seminar later on, all at no penalty. We will credit your investment to our full certification program if you choose to upgrade. Also, we can stretch out payments to make the investment work for your monthly cash flow needs.
14. The faculty is excellent — and all of us have successful coaching practices. Did you know that at many other coaching schools the faculty have almost no clients? Not here. Our coach trainer and mentor coach Daiana Stoicescu is an PCC with the ICF and has an amazing coaching practice. Our expert on assessment tools, Doru Dima from Great People Inside, has a 7 figure practice and knows assessments and coaching inside out, having worked with some leading Fortune 500 companies. Founder and Director Andrew Neitlich has been coaching for over two decades, and continues to dedicate half of his time to coaching clients, in addition to coaching CEC members. Other members of our faculty are also here to help, and they all run very successful practices.
15. With our anytime admission, you can start when you want, and there is no time limit to complete the program. Other programs force you to start at a certain date. Not us. Our rolling admission lets you start when you want. We have an orientation process that gets you up to speed so you can hit the ground running and get access to all resources on your timeline. Also, you can go at your pace, without a time limit to complete the program. We realize you are busy and have designed the program for maximum flexibility with busy professionals like you in mind.
16. We match you up with a pool of fellow students/members for coaching practice, and this accelerates your skills as well as paid coaching hours if you seek and ICF designation. We have a large pool of coaches who want to get their ICF designation. We match coaches up regularly so that they can work together. By working with other coaches, practice hours count as PAID hours. That way, you are eligible for your ICF designation more quickly. If you have extra time, we can match you up with other coaches who also happen to have time, and you will be pleasantly surprised at how many practice hours you can log. One member recently told us, “This is a great feature of your program! I only have a couple of clients right now but with your pool of coaches I can very quickly get the hours I need to apply to the ICF.”
17. We have been helping aspiring executive, leadership, career, and business coaches be successful for almost two decades; we know what we are doing. New coach training companies spring up all the time. Many offer low cost, cheap programs that won’t get you results and will have you regretting your decision if you go with them (it’s not that you get what you pay for; you either get what you need to succeed or you get nothing at all). Many are fly-by-night. Many are life coaching companies that claim to teach executive coaching, but with approaches that don’t work in the corporate/organizational marketplace. Many take an overly academic or theoretical approach that will frustrated professionals who have a more practical, business-oriented mindset. We have been doing this a long time. We learn constantly from the market, because we also work as coaches, and we keep refining our methodologies as the market continues to evolve. We don’t want to be the biggest — just the best — at least for seasoned, highly intelligent professionals who are serious about getting results for executives, leaders, entrepreneurs, professionals, and up-and-coming talent.
The above are only some of the things that set us apart. The bottom line is that we help you get great clients and coach them to success, so that you succeed, too — whether you are an internal or external coach. Contact us at 0730.177.495 or [email protected] to set up time to discuss your goals in more depth. All we ask is that you first explore our website so that you understand our programs and pricing, and that you also tell us a bit about your background and goals when you reach out to us by email. Thanks!
