I’m happy to announce that the International Coach Federation has credentialed me as a Professional Certified Coach.
I’ve often thought of achieving PCC as similar to achieving CPA. The process is rigorous. You might pass one part but have to retake another. It takes years.
But it’s worth it: PCC is the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval that you are dealing with a professional-grade coach.
Everybody is a “coach” these days. But a true coach is not an expert who gives advice and provides accountability, nor is it some kind of affirmation-crazed cheerleader.
Real coaches meet clients where they are at, without any judgment, and help them get to the next level with thought-provoking questions and observations. It is a challenging process to help you “wrestle and grow.”
For the curious, I did the following to achieve the PCC rank:
- Took 129 hours of coursework, much of it involving live coaching in front of an audience of peers and instructors
- Logged 500 hours of coaching experience with at least 25 clients (by the time I finished the process, I believe I was double those numbers)
- Logged well over 10 hours of coaching with a certified Mentor Coach, Bryan Brown (who during our process went from PCC to the elite Master Certified Coach credential)
- Passed a 3-hour exam on coaching standards and ethics
- Passed two separate evaluations of coaching sessions I recorded with actual clients.
That last one was the real doozy.
I want to thank my Mentor Coach, Bryan, as well as the clients who allowed me to record sessions. I also want to thank the instructors who taught me through the Professional Christian Coaching Institute, many of them pioneers in the coaching profession and the ICF itself.
Finally, I must thank every client who has taken a chance “wrestling” with me. It was a privilege to see you grow.
Please know that I did too. My PCC is proof of that.