I have my ACC!

I'm excited to share that I am an Associate Certified Coach! Ok, this is kind of a nerdy thing that many people outside of the coaching profession might not understand, but it's pretty cool! Here's the story:

In 2018, I went through an extensive training program through an organization called iPEC. Over about 9 months, I did over 300 hours of training that included in-person trainings, weekly webinars, peer coaching circles, mentor coaching, and testing. It was INTENSE, and it truly prepared me to become a coach. After I completed the program, I became a Certified Professional Coach in January 2019.

iPEC is an accredited institution through an organization called the International Coaching Federation (ICF). ICF is the organization that upholds the coaching industry standards. After going through a coaching training program, certified coaches can go through an additional step to become credentialed through ICF. As ICF says on their website, "ICF Credential-holders are part of a self-regulating group of elite coaches who provide accountability to clients and the coaching profession as a whole. They pursue and complete rigorous education and practice requirements that provide unquestioned legitimacy to their commitment to excellence in coaching."

There are three different levels of credentials through ICF: ACC, PCC, MCC. The ACC is the first step. In order to get my ACC, I had to have:

• Completion of an entire ICF Accredited Coach Training Program (ACTP) (which I did through iPEC!)
• A minimum of 100 hours (75 paid) of coaching experience with at least eight clients following the start of the coach-specific training. At least 25 of these hours must occur within the 18 months prior to submitting the application for the credential.
• Completion of the Coach Knowledge Assessment (CKA).

​More and more clients, especially organizations, are expecting coaches to be ICF certified. And having an ICF credential demonstrates that I am committed to the ethics and standards that are expected in excellent coaches. I'm pretty proud of this, and grateful to everyone who helped me get here, especially my amazing clients. I'm looking forward to continuing my education and pushing myself to keep growing as a coach!