What do you do if you're an executive coach and you're not pursuing continuing education?

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is more than a checkbox. It involves continuous review and evolution of practice. As coaches, it's crucial to remain relevant, insightful, and sharp to effectively assist clients in enhancing their performance. In a swiftly evolving world, can we afford to stay stagnant and disregard the transformations impacting our planet and society? We all have a responsibility and must be held accountable. As coaches and coach supervisors, I believe it's our responsibility to lead by example and authentically role-model the behaviours necessary for our clients, future leaders, and aspiring coaches to inspire, empower, and steer the changes urgently required in the world.

As an Executive Coach, just work on your attitude: what motivates you for your profession? Do you need to resolve an inner conflict in order to be motivated again for learning? Are you still interested in best helping your clients, applying new insights and additional coaching methods? Or by supervision with professional colleagues? And what would you as Executive Coach need, to get this interest and passion back? You will certainly have a broad coaching toolset, which you can apply on yourself... If not, ask one of your colleagues to support you in this process.

Here's what you can do if you're not actively pursuing continuing education: Commit to lifelong learning: Recognize the importance of continuous growth and development in your coaching practice. Make a personal commitment to prioritize learning and invest time and resources into acquiring new knowledge and skills. Stay informed: Keep yourself updated with industry publications, research studies, and professional development opportunities related to coaching. Subscribe to relevant newsletters, attend webinars, and participate in conferences or workshops to stay informed about emerging trends and practices in executive coaching.

As an executive coach, continuous learning and professional development are key to staying relevant and effective in supporting clients. Embracing continuing education not only enhances our skills and knowledge but also demonstrates our commitment to personal growth and excellence in coaching. It's essential to invest in ourselves to better serve those we work with.

As an executive coach, if you find yourself not engaging in continuing education, it's crucial to pause and reflect with presence on your journey. Consider the evolving nature of leadership and coaching, recognizing that growth and adaptation are essential. This moment of introspection is an opportunity to reconnect with your purpose and the value you bring to your clients. Embrace the concept of lifelong learning as a form of self-renewal and a way to deepen your practice. This commitment to continuous growth not only enhances your skills but also serves as a model for the leaders you coach, demonstrating the importance of openness and adaptability in an ever-changing world.

Trade in an hour of your favorite Netflix episode every day for an hour of listening to an audio book. You can also listen while going for a walk, cooking dinner, doing or household chores. The time is already in your schedule. It just needs to be multi-purposed or reallocated. You can learn from fiction as well as non-fiction. In fact, many would argue that fictional stories are more relatable and can be used in coaching moments to help a client identify with a character who is having a similar struggle.

If you're an executive coach not pursuing continuing education, it's time for a wake-up call: Self-Imposed Sabbatical: Take a break to dive deep into new learning and challenge your beliefs. Return with fresh insights. Cross-Industry Immersion: Step out of the coaching world. Immerse yourself in a different industry to invigorate your approach. Extreme Feedback Experiment: Seek brutally honest feedback from peers, clients, and mentors to identify blind spots and learning needs. Continuous learning isn't optional; it's essential. If you're not growing, how can you expect your clients to? Make learning a non-negotiable part of your practice. Lead the way in your development to inspire your clients. P.S. Get real! Do you want to coach?

It is a very rare executive coach that isn’t engaged in ongoing professional learning. Sometimes it can help to expand our definition of what it includes. Reading, courses, supervision, coaching - all clear. But what about doing your own therapy? A creative endeavour? Learning an analogous technical skill? A long term endurance feat like a multi month hike? I think breadth of perspective is hugely important as part of what helps us develop as coaches! (As well as coach specific training of course!)

The article's title is ridiculous and represents a non-issue: "What to do if you're an executive coach and not pursuing continuing education." Executive coaches are lifelong learners, and continuing education is required to stay certified if they have an ICF certification. There's a bigger question here around professionalism and requirements for executive coaching.