Build Effective New Skills with Coaching Essentials

• Eight weeks long
• One 90-minute class each week via Zoom
• Led by two expert trainers
• Seven 1 1/2 – 2 hour Skills Building Group (SBG) meetings, one each week with two other classmates. Allow more time for weeks that trainers visit and offer feedback.
• Class time training includes instruction, discussion and question time, coaching demonstration, and assignment review
• Varied between-class assignments
• See course calendar for possible holiday accommodations

Typically, you will receive start-up tasks and instructions two weeks (or more) prior to the first class. Your trainers may also offer a 1-hour orientation session for new students via Zoom.

You should allow 3-4 1/2 hours to complete all Coaching Essentials (CE) start-up tasks, as outlined below:

• Read through the CE Course Overview and the two start-up documents (60 minutes)
• Sign and return the Understanding & Agreements document  (10 minutes)
• Communicate your scheduling preferences form for the Skills Building Group (SBG), and coordinate with your group to set up your meeting schedule (15-20 minutes)
• Organize your training materials, including downloading/printing/reviewing those needed for Class 1 (60 minutes)
• Log into the CE Coaches Learning Lab (CE CLL), complete your student profile, and look around (15 minutes)
• Listen to/view the recorded CE Orientation (15 minutes) 
• Students are sent several documents, primarily in PDF format, for the course start-up process (before Class 1). The CE CLL is where all remaining training documents are available. Some people prefer printing everything out, some prefer using documents electronically, and many choose a hybrid approach. If you wish to work from all hard-copy documents, expect to print 150+ pages of information. The footers are number- and color-coded so color printing is helpful but not essential. You may wish to purchase a 3-ring binder and tabs to organize everything.

• Assignment completion times vary from student to student, but expect to spend 4-5 hours each week in addition to the (1½-2-hour class) to complete all
• Complete brief reading assignments (short articles and handouts), usually 1-2 each week (30 minutes)
• Complete forum post assignments, usually 1-2 brief posts each week, and review classmates’ posts (30 minutes)
• Prepare for your weekly Skills Building Group meeting (25 minutes) and attend/participate in it (2 hours)
• Listen to the recording of your Skills Building Group meeting and complete the SBG Report (60 minutes)
• Listen to the recorded coaching demonstration and capture questions and comments for class discussion (30 minutes)
• Review new documents that will be used in each upcoming class (25 minutes)

• Complete an online course evaluation (15 minutes)
• Complete a written, take-home, open-book assessment provided after Class 7 (average 4-6+ hours)
• Be sure all other course assignments are completed

After completing Coaching Essentials, you are eligible to take two other courses:

1. Strengths-Based Coaching: the second of the five foundation courses
2. Coaching Skills Lab: an elective foundation course

Designed to support new coaches at any point in their foundation program training, Coaching Skills Lab (CSL) is a lab-style training for those who have completed Coaching Essentials. This affordable lab strengthens coaching confidence and competence between courses (or if you stopped Foundation training with CE).

• Classes are limited to five students
• A live coaching session takes place in each class with a student coach and client
• Students explore and deepen understanding of the ICF Core Competencies
• Sara Skillen, PCC, COLC, CNC, the CAT Institute’s Director of Education is the CSL trainer providing instruction, feedback, and discussion with all present
• CSL is offered throughout the year (as needed/requested) in four consecutive weekly sessions.
• The registration fee is $200