I’m now an ICF certified coach!

At the end of January, I began my fifth major career change, leaving my job in nonprofit fundraising to turn my attention to coaching. On July 9th, after finishing a certification program at UC Davis and completing over 100 hours of client coaching, I passed the ICF certification exam and earned my ACC certification from the International Coaching Federation. I’m now an ICF certified coach.

Why certification matters to me

I didn’t need a certification. The coaching profession is entirely unregulated. Anyone can call themselves a coach. You don’t need education, experience, or a license. You just tell people, “I’m a coach,” and start charging them for your time.

But I don’t charge people for my time.

I charge for the value they receive from my professional skill, my experience, my expertise, and my perspective. And to me, pursuing and then achieving certification does two things:

• The education gave me supervised mastery of the skills, techniques, and approaches that an ICF certified coach provides.
• The certification tells the world that I take the profession seriously.

Although my certification is ACC, the program I completed at UC Davis actually gave me the skills and eduction of a PCC level coach. I only have 100 hours of coaching in the books; I won’t achieve PCC certification until I have another 400 hours.

My first 100 hours

I learned so much in working with more than two dozen clients on my way to my first 100 hours. And it’s been incredibly fulfilling to watch some of their successes and know that I played some part in them.

One client came to me completely stuck and frustrated, unable to figure out how to approach several major life decisions. Three months later, they’ve moved across the country, they’ve negotiated an exciting new role at their company, and they’re really happy in their choices.

Another client came to me thinking they wanted a dramatic career change after escaping a toxic workplace. After working things through for a few months, they realized they were in the right career but needed a workplace where they could thrive… and what thriving would really mean.

One client spent just a half hour with me, working on a difficult life question they’d been going in circles on for some time. When I was able to articulate the core issue the client had been circling but not seeing clearly, their answer became clear. That was all they needed.

There have been many other successes and growth moments through the last few months. It’s been incredibly fulfilling to help people advance in their careers, clarify life problems, understand themselves better.

My ask of you

Most people don’t come to a coach because they want coaching. They come to a coach because they have a problem or a goal, and they’ve been unable to work it out themselves. Literally everyone faces such a situation at some point, whether it’s in their career, work or personal relationships, or life decisions.

I’m pretty good at helping people see what’s blocking them and find ways forward.

You may know someone who’s in that situation now. They may not even realize it.

My ask of you is to suggest that they email me or schedule a no-cost exploratory session. Even if I’m not the right one for them, as an ICF certified coach I have access to a long list of certified professionals I can recommend and resources I can share with them.