As coaching is a vehicle to achieve sustainable learning and behavioral change coaches require a working knowledge of certain psychological tools and techniques and the ability to use them effectively. Only by working in the realm of the personal can a coach locate and assess the behavioral aspects and harness the required motivators that are controlling an individual's actions/performance. 

Psychology and Executive Coaching
Executive Coaching Practitioners today are working in a more knowledgeable, demanding marketplace and realize the critical requirement for any business coach training course is the focus on psychologically-based models of change. However, today's successful professional coach not only needs a grasp of both psychological theory and practice skills to effectively perform in a wide range of professional development assignments. Supervision by a professionally qualified educator with some psychological expertise is now a must  -as this not only provides the necessary credentials and skill sets but also contributes to the coach’s learning and development -ensuring the coach is working within his or her personal and professional limits of competence. 

The Behavioral Coaching Institute's elite, short-course Certified Master Coach course (for executive coaching students) only uses practical, proven, psychological-based methodology, tools and processes that are industry-focused and can be easily applied and learnt by participants who do not require any training in psychology.

Psychological-mindedness (self-reflection and insight):
Psychological-mindedness, business-mindedness (knowledge and experience); and relationship development combined with personal and professional psychologically-based coaching skills, are now recognized by corporate clients as the critical competency requirements for an executive or business coach.

Psychological-mindedness is a term which denotes a person's capacity to reflect on themselves, on others and the relationship between the two. Simply put, it means to deeply consider the causes and meanings of behavior, thoughts and feelings. One of the first objectives of any coach should be to develop their psychological-mindedness. However, many new coaches first set out to acquire a large set of coaching tools and techniques before building their own essential platform of self-development. Coaches from a corporate background, who lack psychological-mindedness, typically focus on 'hard' skills acquisition and problem-solving rather than engaging with the coachee's personal issues.

Personal development of the new coach is just as important as skill development.
Psychologically-minded individuals have the ability to observe their own internal processes and to suspend judgement about the other person's experience. However, most coaches get enrolled into the coachee's story and quickly set about developing solutions or a fixed stance on an issue. Self-awareness and awareness of others (social awareness) are the key elements of psychological-mindedness or psychological competence for coaches. It's all about recognising the patterns in our own and other people's behaviour. 

There are several means to achieve this self-development. Some coaches locate a suitable long-term practising 'senior coach' as a means to pursue their personal development. For many coaches it has been useful to supplement personally focused activities with development opportunities in a peer group. The purpose of personal development work is not just to better understand oneself (cognitively and emotionally) but also to better understand and respond to others. This connectedness enables a better rapport to develop, trust to be built and better planning of interventions.

Given the above, and: a) the rapid development of coaching technology, b) that coaches are "resource" people, c) that coaching is an emerging discipline still defining its boundaries and, d) the increasingly varied nature of today's coaching issues -it is important for professional organizational coaches to have a means to reflect on their work with another experienced, senior, third party practitioner/mentor. The Behavioral Coaching Institute's post Master Coach course support program not only provides a structured platform for self-development and continuing learning for the coach, but also reassures a client with the knowledge that their coach has the professional resource back-up of a respected, industry leader.

As a developer of, and author on behavioral change coaching best-practices, the Institute works with some the world's leading specialist behavioral change experts in the workplace in the form of an ongoing, co-learning, developmental partnership.



See: the Institute's invitational, Certified Master Coach course (Self-Study, Distance Learning and Campus Format)..  

Home | Faculty | Master Coach -Course Content | Course Registration of Interest  Form |   CoachingTechniques, Coaching Models and Tools  |