How to Become a Certified Business Coach – Steps to Take

How to become a business coach — You can decide to become a business coach with a combination of business and leadership skills.

How to Become a Certified Business Coach – Steps to Take

Businesses need coaches, just as athletes do to stay on top of their game. Therefore, if you have flair for leadership and business, becoming a business coach could be a good career path to take.

This post provides relevant information you need to have to become a business coach, including how to obtain certification and training.

But, first ….

Who is a Business Coach?

A business coach may also be called executive coach, corporate coach or leadership coach.

They are professionals who help employees or business clients in organizations increase their productivity levels.

As is expected of any coach, the business coach monitors the employee’s abilities and work environment before creating an atmosphere to improve the performance of the client.

The work of a business coach is of a full time schedule and he/she is found in a typical office setting, but the physical stress needed on the job is significantly low, although building a client base can be quite a stress.

Educational Requirements and Training

A degree in business, human resources or even organizational psychology, as well as a certification in coaching can land you a job as a business coach.

Though licensing of coaches is not legally enforced, and there may not be a legal or general standard for coaching, employer requirements may vary even as many coaches are self-employed.

And because the career basically deals on human behavior, higher degrees like Master’s and doctorates in organizational or industrial psychology may come handy, since this branch of psychology involves the study of human behavior within the work place.

Therefore, to produce business coaches, professional institutions can approve or provide training in formal settings with supervisory opportunities, varying in length and curriculum, depending on the standards of institutions that approve or administer them.

Business Coach Certifications

In other to qualify for some certifications, business coaches need to obtain field experiences, measured in either hours or years as the case may be.

Understanding what it means to work in a business environment will be invaluable to understanding future business-related client’s needs.

The certification process will require that certain other requirements like passing a written test be obtained too.

Institutions like the Professional Business Coaching Alliance (PBCA) provide certification programs for those willing to begin a career in business coaching.

The training program is carried out in PBCA’s training center in New York, with an assurance of teaching the practice of professional business coaching.

The Institute of Certified Business Consultants is an institution that also provides training for business consultants who may be willing to upgrade their skills.

It offers a CertBC certification in two levels; the online certificate course which comprises nine 100% online courses, and in-house trainings offered by ICBC affiliates.

The World Coach Institute also offers certifications for business coaching trainings programs and guarantees a very high success rate with individuals exposed to areas like coaching communication skills, tools and assessment application, core coaching competencies, and coaching application.

ACS Distance Education also provides training for business coaches in two areas; online or e-learning by means of a CD at the cost of £325.00 covering areas like the role of business coaches, strategic planning, motivation, and SWOT analysis.

The certification programs for business coaches are usually endorsed by the International Coach Federation (ICF) and have three levels: The Associate Certified Coach (ACC), the Professional Certified Coach (PCC), and Master Certified Coach (MCC), all having individual requirements to attain them.

Roles, Duties, and Responsibilities of a Business Coach

The duties and responsibilities of a business coach is primarily the same as that of a sports coach, except of course that he/she applies his/her skills to maintaining a successful and productive business.

The coach takes business owners and employees through areas which need development, like in sales, marketing, management, and team building, providing assistance to ensure support, guidance, accountability, and encouragement.

When dealing with a client, the coach should be able to set target, observe, listen, show empathy, ask questions, and provide objective assessment of observations.

He/she work to maintain confidentiality and encourage a shift of new ideas, opportunities and potential s to challenge the strength and aspirations of the individual client.

The business coach must adhere to coaching code of ethics in performing his/her role.

Required Skills for a Business Coach

As a business coach, certain skills will prove valuable to the success of your work. Such skills include:

Curiosity and the ability to listen: You must be able to show genuine interest in what others are saying, as well as show attentiveness and concentration in the coaching dialogue
Ability to deal with human emotions, gestures, and words
Ability to provide feedback for development.

Business Coach Career Opportunities

Although licensing is optional, and belonging to a professional body like the WABC is not compulsory, the standards and methods of training vary between organizations.

Business coaches may find themselves occupying managerial positions in organizations and will be expected to train subordinate staff in their department.

They may also find themselves in business consultancy firms or as independent consultants or private practitioners.