I recently came across a post on the topic of coaching certifications on LinkedIn that made me think. The author was not someone I follow, and the post popped up in my stream because someone I follow had interacted with it. At the time, I contemplated commenting on the post but decided in the end not to, for one reason or another.

Anyway, the author’s post was basically a claim that she cared much more about social proof when investing in a coach, and that displays of certifications and other types of ‘braggery’ were off-putting. She made the point that many uncertified coaches are great and that certifications don’t matter.

I’m not sure what to think about this, but the author’s post certainly stirred something in me. As a trained coach myself (and ICF certified at that), my LinkedIn feed is filled with posts from coaches trying to promote their coaching business. From this perspective alone, my experience is that the overall quality, experience, and ethical practices of coaches vary greatly.

The coaching business is completely unregulated, and anyone is free to call themselves a coach regardless of training, methodology, or understanding of common coaching practices (to the extent they exist and can be thought of as common).

A governing body to which coaches belong at least provides some level of commonly accepted standard. A certified coach, then, would be someone who has provided some type of proof of experience or knowledge for this governing body to certify them. In the case of ICF, the entry-level ACC certification guarantees the coach has logged at least 100 hours of coaching with clients, has undergone mentor coaching, and has completed some amount of standardized training. As far as coaching practices go, this is quite a rigorous standard, and it should really be thought of as the bare minimum when choosing a coach for yourself.

Coaching is a great tool for self-development and introspection, but finding a well-trained coach with sufficient experience can be challenging. Your very first criterion should not be social proof, but a properly issued ICF certification. While not fool-proof, it at least guarantees your coach has some amount of formal training and can prove to the ICF they have at least 100 hours of coaching experience. As a client, you can be sure the coach conducts their practice according to the ICF Ethical Guidelines and Code of Conduct, and there is a formal complaint process should your coach turn out to be a complete nutjob. In a field where quality varies widely, these certifications help ensure that you’re working with someone who takes their role, and your development, seriously.