Welcome to a credentialing process that helps to bring out the best in you as a coach!
Hi, my name is Cheryl Scanlan, CCNI Member and Past Director of Credentialing at CCNI. When I first became a coach, I knew I wanted to be credentialed. Why? Three reasons:
- I wanted an objective organization to attest to the fact that I was who I said I was as a professional coach.
- I wanted to align myself with an organization concerned with monitoring the profession, ensuring high ethical behavior.
- I wanted to increase client selection confidence considering the coaching profession is an unregulated global industry.
Was it hard work? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes.
The first decision I made after becoming a coach was to hire a coach. After interviewing three, I hired an MCC coach. If I was going to be the best, I wanted to work with the best. I only worked with her as much as I had funds – never going into debt. Even a few sessions seemed better than no sessions.
The second decision I made was to become members of both ICF and CCNI. This happened once funds were available again.
The third decision I made was that I would commit to coach anyone and everyone who was coachable as the Lord would bring. As it turned out, my first paying client was my physical therapist who had helped me learn how to walk again after a long battle with severe neurological Lyme disease. During our relationship, she came to know Jesus! And now, 14 years later she is my massage therapist, having left PT to do what she absolutely loves – ascertained through coaching.
As my hours accumulated, my confidence grew and before I knew it, I was ready for my first credentialing assessment: ACC through ICF. That hurdle seemed pretty easy. But the PCC was another story…
At the time, the PCC required 750 hours. That seemed like climbing Mount Everest to me! To add to daunting task, ICF used a short answer and essay exam process to measure coach knowledge. Forty-eight hours later, with almost 20 typed pages of content, I completed my written exam. Then, I waited. And waited. And waited. Many months later, I received my letter from ICF attesting to the fact that I was now a PCC coach. Grueling. But I will say that the first phone call I made after receiving my letter was to my coach. I told her that now I felt like I was truly a coach. Something changed in me. I applied for my PCC in early 2010, but didn’t receive my results until 2011.
I then applied for my CMCC. I was the second to last person to be assessed by Judy Santos. The last person to receive her CMCC was my mentor coach. How amazing that all these years later I went from interviewing Judy about her training school in 2004 to coaching her for my CMCC in 2010, literally just a couple of months before she passed. For a short while, I was a PCC, CMCC. I was very proud of my CMCC credential for many reasons.
I then applied for my MCC in 2013. Ten years almost to the day of launching my business, I received my MCC credentialing.
What have I gained from putting myself through the credentialing process? Skill refinement, professional recognition, personal satisfaction, client confidence, ethical awareness and most importantly a deep satisfaction that I am continuing to excel still more in the work that God has called me to for the sake of the kingdom.
Should you decide to move forward with your own credentialing, we are here to assist you. We will not compromise on quality – for your sake and the profession’s sake. I failed my MCC the first time. Both my recordings failed. Failed! And I learned so much from that failure. It takes time to secure these recordings. But each time you hit the record button you will get better and better. You’ll become less concerned with performing and more aware of the client and the spirit working and moving. Your growth as a coach will be evident even to yourself! For those of you who have gone through the process, you know how you have grown as a coach by the sheer fact that recordings don’t lie.
The CCNI credentialing process is formalized, simplified and easily accessible to you. We would be honored to support you in your credentialing process.
The Lord’s richest blessings to you as you continue pursuing Him while stepping into your calling as a professional Christian coach.
You can learn more about Cheryl Scanlan, CMCC, MCC, by visiting her website at Way of Life Coaching, LLC.
