What's your 2020 Vision?

The dawning of a new decade is a great opportunity to undertake new things – if you know what it is you want!

Many people come to coaching because they have a sense of wanting “more” from their job, career, relationships and many other facets of their life.

The starting point is to establish what it is they really want. To ask the question:

“If there were no restrictions at all placed upon you – if you had a magic wand - what would you want to be, do or have?”

It takes time to work through this stage. As human beings we will almost immediately start to vet and then delete ideas as they start to form in our minds, often before we even articulate them!

I have found that one of the best ways to support my clients (and incidentally, myself too!) through this process is by reminding them (or me!) that every idea, no matter how far-fetched it may seem, is worth noting and then all options can be explored afterwards. Once the client has started to think about the possibilities, often the floodgates will then open, and the ideas will come thick and fast. As Coaches, there are many tools at our disposal to use to support our clients through this stage, and I have found the most useful way is to ask my clients to write each separate idea on a post-it note.

Once we feel that (for the time being, at least) that all avenues have been thoroughly explored, then we can start to filter the ideas. At this stage, because the ideas are all noted down, we can start to group things together, and see what patterns emerge. Out of this will come an overall vision for their future, and then we can start to break things down piece by piece to create a workable action plan to achieve what it is they want to achieve.

Sometimes there will be a clear “winner” – one passion/thought/need that has become a theme which appears throughout all the ideas that have been generated. This will be the thing that makes the client become so enthused about achieving it that the enthusiasm is tangible. Their physiology will change before your eyes as they start to talk about it and imagine themselves achieving it.

For other clients, things may be more balanced across a range of different areas, though often the achievement of each of them will actively support the achievement of other identified goals.

Neither one of these outcomes is “better” than the other – both will be of best service to that individual.

Identifying what it is we want on a regular basis, and then reflecting and reviewing on all that we have achieved in the last week, month or year is the key to consistently improving and developing ourselves and benchmarking our progress against our long-term plan. This is something many of us choose to do as each New Year starts, though it can be done at any time.

So, what’s your 2020 Vision??

Please do share your thoughts……

Ten Questions I’m never asked (and should be!)

I get asked all sorts of questions in my role in the AC Accreditation team – some more often than others. Here are a few that rarely come up but should do. So, if you’re thinking about the following issues, here’s some answers…

1. My training course was fifteen years ago and only over 21 hours, do I need to retrain?

The AC recognises cumulative training, so although the original training you undertook was 15 years ago for 21 hours, you may well have done further training since then. This might include topics such as Clean Language, NLP, Time to Think, Positive Psychology Coaching or many others, which can all be counted towards your Coach Training hours. All you need to do is to check (and tell us) how the training maps across to the AC Coaching Competency Framework.

2. I can’t find my certificate from my training – what can I do?

We’ve all been there! Even if you cannot find the certificate, you may have copies of communications between you and the training organisation, or evidence of the work you did towards it. We will accept scanned copies of these, or e-mails confirming that you did do the training (provided it confirms the dates when you did this).

3. Is the AC Coach Accreditation Scheme any different from those offered by other coaching bodies?

All the professional coaching bodies are committed to maintaining standards and striving for excellence in coaching. The key distinguishing features of the AC Scheme include:

· It is designed to be inclusive of coaches from different backgrounds, training, and experience, rather than prescribing a route to accreditation. The scheme focuses on accrediting fitness to practice rather than being overly academic or theoretical.

·  It allows coaches to benchmark themselves against high professional standards, and to provide reassurance to about the level of experience and capability of coaches to those buying their services.

·  The scheme offers a four-tiered approach, so you can apply for accreditation at the level of experience and capability you currently have, and then follow a developmental path of progression through each level of accreditation, moving from novice through to highly experienced coach.

· The scheme offers a choice of two accreditation types - Coach Accreditation and Executive Coach - and you can choose whichever is the most relevant to you. Accreditation. The latter accreditation type is designed to allow those who coach primarily in organisational settings to be accredited for that specialism. Both types of accreditation are equal in terms of standards.

4. Why are there different levels of accreditation?

We introduced a levelled approach because, as the coaching market has become increasingly fragmented, buyers of coaching have told us that they are looking for coaches at different levels of experience and competence. They have also reported that as more coaches appear on the market these buyers are finding it difficult to differentiate and choose between them. Accreditation can help both the coach and a buyer with this.

At the same time, people are making a deliberate career choice to become a coach, and many are choosing to do this full time. As such, a levelled approach to accreditation provides a clear career path for both aspiring coaches and highly experienced coaches. It therefore offers a level of professional recognition and status which reflect levels of coaching experience.

5. How do I put together a log of my coaching hours when I have been coaching for so long?

Keeping an ongoing log of your experience of coaching is part of best practice coaching discipline. If you ever need to evidence your hours, for example if you are tendering for work, then this will prove invaluable. Meanwhile we recommend using your old records including invoices for compiling your coaching record to date. We provide a Coaching Experience Log for you; all you need to do is set aside time to complete it on a regular basis.

6. Does the AC offer coaching supervision?

The AC does not offer supervision in the form that you may be used to, although as a member you can access the monthly AC Group Supervision Experience Calls which are hosted by experienced Supervisors. This enables you understand what group coaching is and how it may work for you. For the purposes of AC Accreditation, attendance at these calls will count as CPD and not supervision simply because the hosts rotate, and this does not allow you to develop the Supervisor/Supervisee relationship sufficiently for them to be able to provide a reference for you. The AC does list Accredited Supervisors and Coaches providing supervision on the AC website.

7. What support does the AC provide to help me become accredited?

As well as providing full guidance documentation in the AC Applicant Guide, the AC also runs regular AC Coach Accreditation Clinics in which you can raise questions with AC Accreditation experts and network with other accreditation applicants. Details can be found on the Events Calendar on the AC website. If you cannot find the information you need elsewhere, you may raise questions with the Accreditation Office at accreditationoffice@associationforcoaching.com.

8. Why is accreditation only valid for a fixed period?

As the purpose of accreditation is to confirm that a coach has an active coaching practice and is continuing to develop skills, gain experience and develop him or herself, accreditation is time limited.

9. Do I need to record a coaching session?

For all levels above Foundation or Foundation Executive Coach we require you to submit a recording of a live session with a client (with their permission). In this way, the Assessors can really see the evidence of how you deliver your coaching against the AC Coaching Competency Framework. It can also be a really useful tool for your own reflective practice.

10. I’ve changed Supervisors and haven’t been with my latest one for the required period for my desired level of AC Accreditation. What can I do?

We will accept a reference from more than one Supervisor to evidence that you do meet the requirements ratio for supervision to coaching hours. This will also mean that if you have a mixture of 1-1 Supervision and Group Supervision you will be eligible to apply for AC Coach Accreditation at whichever level you meet the criteria for.