For me, regardless of who you have trained with and what level of accreditation you have, there are some key characteristics that mean you can call yourself a professional coach. I’ve actually started using professional coach as my job title when I am asked what I do, and then follow it up with the specifics of what my niche is, as I find it helps focus both my mind, and the mind of the people I am working with that I am a trained professional.

So, what elements go to add up to the professional label?

Training, and training with a good company, is one of the key elements which will set you aside from professionals who do other things and add coaching into their portfolio, or who have no formal qualifications in the coaching arena. When you are working out who you want to train with, my advice would be to find some forums or meetings where experienced coaches hang out, and then find out from them who they have trained with, and what they think of their coach training and the ongoing support they have had from them as an organisation. Be thorough in the work you are doing to research the different organisations and think about what you want the course to deliver to you at the end.

Ethics means that you have a set of guidelines for how you will act if there is a problem when you are coaching. It helps you to answer the “what if” questions. It means that you can be clear about what you stand for as a coach, and what isn’t going to be acceptable for you. It may be that who you trained with has their own set of guidelines, alternatively you can look at someone like the international Coach Federation who have their own set of ethics.

Again, this links back mainly to the coaching you have been doing, and the accreditation level. It’s what you can talk about if a client asks who you have trained at and what level your coach training has been at. If you have trained with a school and you are not clear about the standards that they work to, this is something you can ask so if the question arises you have a clear answer for it.

Part of being professional is the difference between being a friend, offering subjective advice, and being able to listen to the client and offer a different perspective to them. Subjectivity is about getting pulled into the clients story and over identifying with it, offering too much of your own experiences rather than letting the client find their own solution & letting yourself get pulled into listening to the complaints and what is wrong rather than focusing on how to help the client move forwards.

If you always think of what you do as a hobby, or take actions in a way that makes it look like coaching is just a hobby for you then it’s likely that you won’t feel you are professional and your clients won’t feel you are professional either. You need to believe in the skills that you have, the training that you have done, and your unique ability to work with your clients to help move them forwards and attain their goals.

Claire Chapman is the owner of The Fabulous Coaching Company & focuses on helping trainee coaches & newly qualified independent coaches become more confident on their professional journey. Claire has a full range of resources including a complimentary 30 day ecourse at http://www.growasacoach.com Find out more by visiting the site.

Source: www.isnare.com