My Answer :
Hi Akash ,
Selecting a business coaching school is an important decision. This is where you will obtain most of your professional skills and competencies. Your choice has an impact on the personal and professional success you will enjoy as a coach, the clients that will be attracted to you, who your peers are and the long-standing impact your work will have on the people you coach.
First, consider the basic facts when selecting a school. The location of the course, the cost/value, the time factor and the level of the course offered -are the most commonly cited considerations by most potential participants. What many students are not able to ascertain, is that even though different schools may appear to offer similar programs, the course facilitators (the critical key for any successful course) will all have very different backgrounds, agendas and goals for their students.
To make the most of your professional development, and of your future beyond, it is worth the time to learn more about the facilitators and their teaching experience in business coaching, their fields of expertise, their adult education qualifications, their psychological qualifications, their business and coaching experience and what sort of expectations the school holds for their graduates.
Some other questions may include:
1.Does the program emphasize theory or practice -and is it proven?
2.What is its teaching methodology? How adequately does this methodology produce the intended outcomes?
3. How is the training organized?
4.Is this an open class? What are the qualifications for entry? Who will be your classmates? Where do they come from?
5.Is the course face-to-face, or is it virtual (online and/or by telephone)?
6.How large is the class size? How well does this match your preferred learning style?
7.Are there opportunities to role play One-to-One with the facilitator and in groups (with your peers) of 2 ?
8.What opportunities are there to practice coaching, receive feedback, and reflect on what you have learned?
9.Does the certification have industry acceptance? How valued is the certification?
10.What forms of post-course support do you receive?
11.What options of further development beyond the course are available?
12.How do you know that the course’s coaching tools and techniques presented are validated, reliable and scientifically and industry proven?
13.What is the course’s coaching methodology? How adequately does this methodology produce the intended outcomes in the “real-world” of business coaching?
14.How does it achieve behavioral change and sustainable, measurable learning? Which aspects of personal change and professional development does it not include?
15.How well does it balance professional practice and theory?
16.Does the course include coaching forms, contracts and other procedural material?
17.How adaptable is the coaching approach to different types of organizations (Fortune 1000 to Small Business)?
18.Where do your graduates work?
19.Do graduates go into the specialist areas of practice you are interested in?
The very best to you !
Shalini
