Practice Coaching Guidelines
For the certificate program you are asked to do at least 20 practice coaching sessions, minimum 50 minutes each. This includes 4 sessions per month, February through June 2015, reports for each session to be submitted by the day before the last day of each month:
February 27
March 30
April 29
May 30
June 29
• To submit reports, go to your personal coach dashboard and click on Practice Coaching.
• Submit your coach’s report and have your clients submit their reports for two of these sessions each month, and specify which one you would like Alan to give feedback on. If you would like Alan to comment on any other sessions, email him and tell him which session you would like his comments on.
• For the other two sessions each month, simply submit the name of the client and the date you coached that person.
• You may coach a maximum of four people in the coach training program or graduates of the coach training program, once each.
• Out of your twenty practice coaching sessions, you may coach a maximum of two people twice each if that is an appropriate progression for both of you.
• Explain to your clients that you are a coach in training and you are not an expert, guru, or problem solver. You are here to assist them to discover their own answers and walk their own path.
• It is important that you submit all of your reports for each month by the next to last day of the month. Our automated system registers your report for the month during which you submit it. If you submit a report after the due date, you will not get credit for it during the previous month. You are responsible for your clients to have their reports submitted on time. Submitting your reports by the due date will maintain your status in the certificate program.
• Tip: Schedule and do your sessions as early in the month as possible so you are not rushing at the end of the month, and your clients will have time to do their reports.
• Tip: Give your clients a short term date by which to submit their reports, for example within 3 days after your session. This will also keep their session fresh in their mind and improve the quality of feedback you receive. If you tell your clients they have until the end of the month to submit their report, they may put it off until after the month, or forget entirely.
• If you intend to ultimately combine another skill with your life coaching, such as reiki, EFT, or medicine, please do only life coaching during your practice sessions rather than integrating with another method. This will build your coaching skills. When you have completed your coach training, you can combine with another modality.
How to get clients for your practice coaching sessions:
Be creative!
Here are some populations and methods often used:
1. Fellow participants in your coach training program or previous coach training graduates
2. Friends and acquaintances
3. People in your social media circle. Put out an offer on Facebook, Twitter, etc.
4. Coworkers (assuming coaching them does not represent a conflict of interest or inappropriate confidentiality)
5. Post a small sign or make an announcement at your church, yoga class, spiritual meeting group, or community center
6. Craigslist or other networking media.
If you connect with someone from the public that you do not know, such as through Craigslist, use extra caution to screen the person to make sure they are legitimate. Don’t meet anyone in person, have them come to your home, or give out your personal contact info unless you know the meeting is safe. Use discernment.
7. Family members.
This population is listed last because family members often present more of a challenge than others, since you have a history, relationship, and identity with them. You can certainly have a good session with a family member, but you might have to work harder to stay on purpose. We suggest that you do not coach family members early in your practice sessions, but wait until you have more coaching experience.
8. Let us know if you come up with any other methods of connecting with clients!