Last year I finished up and certified with the ADAPT Health Coach Training program. However, to say that was the end of my coach training would be very false. Far from it, it opened my eyes to the entire world of coaching and there is a LOT there.
As a looked around, there are a ton of coach training programs. All of them sound amazing but I was sure the truth was different. I could not tell whether they were good or not from their descriptions. Some seemed too in depth for me. Many were just too long an investment I was willing to make, after spending over a year with the ADAPT program. In talking with some folks, there seemed to be a lot of good programs and many were just mediocre. Also there are *many* flavors of coaching. While we were trained in one area of philosophy, it was also obvious that there are many other directions I could take coaching and be successful at it.
For now, I was only interested in improving skills in the direction I was currently in, and particularly in some areas I felt needed more work and growth. These are in the areas of sensing what a client is truly feeling and thinking, really nailing great inquiries that get to the true problem, and how to get clients faster to successful outcomes.
After some asking around and some poking around, I was recommended the book The HeART of Laser Focused Coaching by Marion Franklin. It proved to be excellent and pivotal in my search for further coach learnings. Everything in there distilled months of picking up concepts through other means like mentor coach sessions.
Then, someone pointed out that there was a course which taught the concepts of the book. Wow! I needed to get in that class pronto! Going to Marion Franklin’s site, I found her course, Laser Coach Your Way to Sustainable Success. It was only a 12 week intensive which totally fit my schedule requirements, AND there was a cohort starting up! I immediately contacted her asking if there were slots and I took one quickly as there were only 8 slots.
So far it’s been amazing. It was the first time being taught to the book, since the book only came out last fall. We are going through many concepts each week and we have two opportunities to practice and get feedback each week. The instructors have been fantastic. All of them have been teaching for well over 10 years if not many more, and coaching for well over 20 years.
For me, the learning has been really good. Reading books only gets me so far, but having a class bring the concepts to light has been a superb benefit of sitting in this class. What I LOVE about this class is that it teaches us to cut through all the fog and get to the heart of the matter, which is why it’s named “Laser Focused”. Instead of merely shining a light on what the issues are for our clients which works and is super important, we are focusing our light into a tight, laser like beam on *exactly* what the problem is, even though the client might be thinking of many different, but related things. So a goal of mine is, while my sessions often get to a good place in 45-60 minutes, to instead get to a great place in only 30 minutes using these techniques.
In addition to teaching the major elements of the book, we were also introduced to a number of Thomas J. Leonard’s techniques, and Marion Franklin’s Life’s Little Lessons which contain a bulk of tips and tricks to move forward in life. Both of these provide ample material for other discussion. Going through Thomas J. Leonard’s material seems like a trip back in coaching history as he was considered by many to be the father of coaching.
There is also a 30 minute recording to submit to the class to officially get credit for the course. Thankfully, there is literally no deadline for submission of this recording – Wow what a load off my mind! While we are encouraged of course to submit it as soon as possible, the instructors noted that some have turned in their recording a year after they finished the course.
Also I am gratified, and somewhat relieved, to hear that every student through her course has passed their ICF credentialing. I am currently working towards their ACC credential and this course qualifies for their 60 hours of accredited course work.
We are entering week 11 as I write this, and I am both disappointed that the class is ending soon and that this dang COVID-19 crisis has distracted me from fully putting my attention on the course. Still there is a ton that I have absorbed and also need to integrate as this course draws to a close. The next few months will be very interesting!
Highly recommend this course and reading the book!
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