If you can make a green smoothie, you can basically call yourself a coach. To most people it’s unclear what you need to do to earn the title. A weekend workshop? Read a book? Do you get it when you buy one of those snacks from the counter at a gas station?
This is what I thought a couple of years ago. Not a real profession or of any value. A world of charlatans and snake oil salesmen.
Fast forward 3 years later and I’m a certified coach myself. I even have a couple of those fancy letters to go with my credentials.
I stumbled into coaching looking for a functional health education. In the program I found, I discovered what coaching really is (supporting transformation through conversation) and I was hooked.
The program I joined focused on training coaches in practical skills, based on science-based frameworks. A high-quality (and expensive…), 15-month training course where I learned the practice of coaching and I was held to a high standard.
So I’m a certified coach. But what does that mean to you?
It means that I am the holder of a certain certificate, given out by some institute. I can even show you the piece of paper if you want. I might even frame it and put it on the wall of my office (or Zoom background in my case).
When you don’t know anything about the institute and more importantly, their standards, it doesn’t mean anything to you. Or, it shouldn’t.
Certification and accreditation can be deceiving if you take them at face value. If you trust an authority because they have a good reputation, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
Do your own research
We’re living in an interconnected world full of information. Where once the village doctor was literally the smartest man in town and the only one with an education, that’s no longer the case. Access to resources, information, and education has spread hugely. It makes sense to use this to our advantage and research the claims that are presented to us. In any field.
Because of this new way we can interact with information our relationship with authority is changing.
When I look at my attitude towards authority versus my dad’s for example, there’s an obvious generational difference. He grew up in a different time with less access to education. He has great respect for conventional medicine and doctors. I’ve heard him say things like: ‘When you go to a doctor, you take his medicine’. Meaning, if you ask someone with authority for advice, you should take the advice. Blindly.
I disagree. I did this for years and it got me nowhere. Only when I started asking questions that challenged the leading authorities did I start making progress. All my physicians (all with degrees) told me my auto-immune disease was ‘chronic’ and only manageable with daily medications.
Discarding this advice led me to discover that food and lifestyle are medicine. I was able to improve my health markedly, not trusting authority and not following their lead.
Framework for trust
‘Yes,’ I hear you say, ‘but I have places to go, people to meet’.
I get it. We can’t research everything. We don’t have the time, the energy or the interest. We need at least some sources we can trust.
First, prioritize. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Don’t take days to research the ‘best’ electric toothbrush. But do take your time when you’re hiring a coach or finding a health practitioner for example (any subject that is important to you deserves your research time).
Do they know what they’re talking about? Do they align with your vision and goals? What does your intuition tell you about them? Interview as many people as you want, until you find your guy.
Here are some ground rules I’ve found useful for who I trust:
- Always use multiple sources when doing research.
- Use your intuition whenever you can. Look to (virtually) meet them.
- Do they practice what they preach? Don’t get money advice from a broke person.
- Are they willing to say they’ve been wrong before (because every learner has).
- Who’s in their network, what do other people say about them?
- Do they share their inner world, are they vulnerable and transparent?
- Are they supporting your goals?
Although I’m very proud of my certification because I know what it took to earn it, you shouldn’t be impressed. Set up a meeting and see for yourself.
Luckily my dad’s health has also been improving in the past few years because he started asking questions too. His current doctor gave him a book with recipes to help him reverse his diabetes II. And I’m not asking for her diploma.