The Dark Side of Coaching

Coaching is an unregulated field. Practitioners do not need degrees specific to coaching. They also do not need certifications of any kind. Coaching, in general, has grown into a billion rand industry. It attracts people from various backgrounds, educational levels, and experience.
Along with this growing population of potential coaches are many opportunities for certification. LaRosa cites 500 programs worldwide writing that many “will certify you if you simply pay them a fee.”
Whether a coach or mentor can successfully use the research depends on their willingness to stay up-to-date and receive training.
People interested in pursuing a coaching partnership need to know their own objectives. To ferret this out, consider some of the following questions:
What do you need from the experience?
What do you hope to achieve by its conclusion?
What experience do you expect the coach to have?
How important is the coach’s certification to you?
If certification is important, then from whom and for what?
This is not an exhaustive list; it is a jumping off point. One of the most important questions to consider is “fit.” Can you work with the person?