We’re excited to announce that Turning Point Partners Director, Mark Brand, has been announced as the first Australian ICC Coach Trainer! With over 25 years’ experience in business, leadership, sales and career transition, Mark has coached some of the largest and most iconic brands in Australia. Now, he is taking coaching one step further, becoming the first Australian International Coaching Community (ICC) Coach Trainer to award the internationally recognised ICC Coach Accreditation.
To celebrate his newest title, we sat down with Mark to get the inside scoop on coach training – and why organisations need more coaches in the workplace.
Q: What lead you to become an internationally accredited coach now coach trainer?
A: As a seasoned coach, with many years’ experience guiding others through periods of change, I was curious to explore new thinking around coaching. In particular, the incorporation of aspects of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and how the brain works hard to steer our decision-making processes. I already had some exposure to the area of positive psychology and was looking for a framework that could build on my existing skills and experience.
When I was invited by the International Coaching Community in London to become the first Australian based Coach Trainer, it reinforced my thinking that organisations and individuals alike really can add tangible and measurable benefits by embracing accredited coach training.
If there was a gap that really stood out to me, it was the fact that far too many coach training programs either looked to tie the coach into some specific assessments for the future or were quite light on in the content. ICC Coach Accreditation focuses on the coaching methodology, so it remains a classic leadership tool that is adaptable and portable to all coaching environments.
Q: Why do we need more coaches in the workplace?
A: With the right coaching skills, you make better decisions, build stronger teams, clarify goals and values, engage employees, inspire action, instil trust and influence opinions. You are also better equipped to address the limiting beliefs, fears and mental blocks that hold individuals and organisations back from their performance potential.
Imagine if more high-level executives, leaders, managers and HR professionals used coaching skills to accelerate people development? How much more profitable, productive and pleasant would workplaces be?
Q: Tell us about the ICC?
A: The ICC has certified more than 13,000 coaches in over 67 countries since 1991. Coaches are afforded ICC membership, which includes access to a global learning portal, continued professional development and access to a coaching peer group that is second to none.
The ICC accreditation is instantly recognised and respected by coaches, consulting firms, governments and private sector companies as a sound and globally consistent methodology. It really is best-in-class learning. The program has received the prestigious European Quality Award and is recognised worldwide as a coaching qualification.
Q: Speaking of international accreditation, why is this so important?
A: There are many Coach Training options in a busy marketplace. This includes 100% online training, which would have to make most of us question the ability of that learned content to be effectively applied in leadership, corporate or personal coaching practice.
ICC Coach Accreditation is conducted over eight days and includes pre and post work, along with peer, trainer and participant feedback. In other words, the Coach Accreditation process at the ICC is thorough and concludes with an assessment. You need to demonstrate your learning, so just completing the course alone does not guarantee accreditation.
Coach Accreditation dates coming soon!
Stay tuned for our calendar of ICC Coach Certification training programs – dates will be coming out very soon. Can’t wait? You can find out more at www.kaleidoscopegroup.com.au or follow us on Facebook.
