Easy Ways to Get Your ICF Coaching Hours
Are you thinking of becoming an ICF accredited coach but the thought of getting your coaching hours is daunting for you? You’re not alone. At our coach training academy, we get many questions from coaches asking us how they can accumulate their coaching hours.
According to the International Coaching Federation, if you’re looking to get ACC accredited, you’ll need to accumulate 100 hours of coaching experience (25 hours are allowed to be pro-bono). And if you’re looking to get PCC accredited, you’ll need a total of 500 hours. You can check on what else is needed here.
How Long Will it Take to Accumulate ICF Coaching Hours?
It can take you as short as 9 months to get your 100 hours for your ACC or 2 years! It is up to you. It only takes coaching 2 hours per week to gain your first 100 hours in a year. As for PCC, it can take you 2-5 years to accumulate your hours depending on how much you are coaching.
You may think that it’s a lot of hours, but it can happen in a way that’s exciting for you. These hours are crucial because they demonstrate your ability to coach effectively and you gain both a boost in experience and visibility for your brand. The more you coach the more future coaching clients might come your way, and you can grow your confidence in coaching.
We encourage students to start gaining their hours from the start of the programme and to build them up consistently. In this blog, we’ll explore various simple strategies to help you achieve your ICF coaching hours target.
(1) Enrol in an ICF Coach Certification Programme
Investing in a coach certification programme that aligns with ICF standards is an excellent way to kickstart your journey. Since gaining ICF education is already part of the requirements of obtaining an ICF accreditation, joining a programme will help you meet other students who are looking to accumulate hours as well. You can start to network and build a weekly or monthly rhythm with them and boost your confidence throughout the programme while attaining your coaching hours.
You can start clocking in your coaching hours the moment you’ve enrolled in your coaching programme.
(2) Peer Coaching
The quickest and easiest way to get started is to set up peer coaching arrangements with the other students on your programme. The ICF recognises peer coaching as paid coaching, as it is considered a barter system. You are paying each other with your time. You can count the hours that you are a coach in those coaching sessions. Peer coaching also creates an opportunity for you to practice and receive feedback on your coaching. Peer coaching starts for students and runs all the way through to after completing your Master Certified Coach (MCC).
As well as finding peer coaches through your programme, you can join the peer coaching run by the ICF via this link. If you are a member of the ICF, your local chapter may also run peer coaching.
(3) Practice Coaching with Friends and Family
This is the most common one we hear! Teaming up with friends, colleagues, and family and supporting each other’s growth as coaches is one of the easiest ways to accumulate your coaching hours. This approach allows you to gain coaching hours in a supportive environment with little to no judgment! If you don’t want to coach your own friends or family, you could set up an arrangement with another student to swap clients – you coach their friends, they coach yours!
You can start by creating a collateral, a LinkedIn profile account for example, that states you’re training to become a coach and are looking for clients who are interested in being coached. To fulfill the paid coaching requirements of ICF, you would need to charge a small fee for your coaching sessions. This is a good way to test the waters and sell your coaching services.
If paying isn’t an option for them due to affordability, you can seek a barter exchange. You can ask them to buy you a cup of coffee or donate to a charitable organisation of their choice.
(4) Offer Pro Bono Coaching through Apprenticeship or with Non-Profits
Volunteering your coaching services for free is a rewarding way to accumulate coaching hours while making a positive impact. You can reach out to non-profit organisations, community groups, or individuals who may benefit from coaching but cannot afford it. Pro bono coaching allows you to work with diverse clients and situations, enhancing your coaching skills in the process. You are allowed 25 Pro Bono coaching hours for the ACC credential.
(5) Build your Coaching Hours through Coaching Events and Communities
Keep a good lookout for coaching events, workshops, and conferences in your area. These gatherings offer opportunities to observe live coaching demonstrations, participate in practice sessions, and network with fellow coaches. You might meet fellow coaches who are also in need of coaching hours and can partner with them to meet your requirements.
By doing so, you’ll also increase your visibility and your brand so more coaches in the area will know what your niche is and can refer people to you if they are not suitable for the job. This is your opportunity to start advertising your services as well!
(6) Explore Internal Coaching Opportunities within your Organisation
If you’re employed, inquire about internal coaching programs within your organisation. You can let your department lead know that you’re building your coaching hours and ask them who is open to coaching in your organisation so they’ll be able to connect you with them. Participating in internal coaching programs enables you to gain coaching hours while contributing to the growth and success of your colleagues. Coaching people within your own organisation counts towards your paid coaching hours. One small note – you can’t count coaching hours with your own direct reports. You can take a look at the requirements here.
(7) Join Networking Organisations and Network, Network, Network
Joining a chamber of commerce or a local business network can create opportunities for you to share that you are training as a coach and looking for clients. Within your organisation you can join Employee Resource Groups or join Corporate Social Responsibility events.
(8) Most Importantly – Tell People about your Coaching!
When we start anything we can be shy about telling people what we are doing, after all, we are just learning. It is also daunting to offer your services at the beginning, we are still developing our ability to coach. Like any new skill and experience, we need to put ourselves out there and start. We need to feel the fear and do it anyway! You can read more about how to start your own coaching business here.
In summary
Accumulating your ICF coaching hours is a significant milestone on your journey to becoming an accredited ICF coach. By exploring these strategies outlined in this blog – you can gather the necessary hours while honing your coaching skills and building your network and brand!
Remember, each coaching interaction brings you one step closer to achieving your goal, so embrace every opportunity to learn and grow as a coach. Be very open to opportunities and do not give up! Check out our supportive alumni network and also our FAQ pages to see how we support our community throughout their coaching process.
At Bailey Balfour, we offer an ICF Level 1 coach certification programme designed for coaches and leaders interested in pursuing executive and career coaching. If you’re interested in learning more, you can download our brochure to review our curriculum or reach out to us for further information.
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About the Author
Jean Balfour is Managing Director of Bailey Balfour and Programme Director of our ICF Accredited Coach Training Programmes. Jean is passionate about helping people to have good conversations both at work and at home. She believes that coaching is a life skill and that you never regret learning to coach.