In light of the recent college admissions scandal, the importance of knowing the background of your “coach” and the credibility of training, experience, and ethics looms large in our collective awareness.

William “Rick” Singer, who actively worked on “coaching” students about their college applications and worked with parents who were stressed about the admissions process described himself as a “life coach”. What he actually did (his admission) was provide a “side door” to guaranteed admission to the elite college of choice for children of wealthy parents who paid a high price for this service.

What we know is that anyone can call themselves a “coach”, and there are many kinds of coaches—both legitimate and not legitimate. Anyone can also be given the title and role of “Coach” with no prior experience or training in the art and science of coaching.

When we at Results Coaching Global began our journey together as professional coaches in 2000, we all had some experience with this activity called coaching. We also knew we wanted to be seen as legitimate coaches, so we became associated with the International Coaching Federation, a global body that provides a Code of Ethics, Core Competencies and stringent requirements for a coaching credential. Each of our coaches and faculty instructors for our Accredited Coach Training Program (ACTP) through the ICF holds a Professional Coach Certification. To attain and maintain this credential, we attended a minimum of 125 hours of coach-specific training and amassed actual coaching hours of more than 500 hours. We passed rigorous written and oral exams before being granted a credential. AND, we signed a pledge to abide by the ICF Code of Ethics. We must also renew our credential every 3 years by continuing to develop our skills based on the ICF Core Competencies and renew our promise to abide by the ICF Code of Ethics. Coaching is a valued and valuable service provided as a partnership for growing human potential. Our desire is to maintain the promise of legitimate coaching by upholding the integrity of the coaching profession as we adhere to the high standards of the ICF.