Why do they not trust coaches in Russia?

Like any young and rapidly developing market, coaching is currently experiencing a serious crisis of confidence in Russia. The profession is quite young, which means that there are still very few experienced specialists. Once the same way was done, for example, by the psychotherapy market.

Most Russians are very wary of coaching, and there are several reasons for this:

• the specifics of the work of the coach is not fully understood,
• in Russia there is no mandatory certification of the quality of services provided,
• Russians, by virtue of their mentality, are used to resisting change.

Many do not understand at all who a coach is and how he works with a client. I personally often encounter the fact that they are confused with psychologists or psychotherapists. And these are two fundamentally different approaches: the psychologist is looking for a solution in the past, and the coach proceeds from the thesis that the client has no problems and has all the necessary resources.

The absence of mandatory certification has led to the fact that everyone in Russia can be called a coach, but there is simply no regulatory framework. Alas, as practice shows, the lack of legislative regulation of any area gives scope for scammers. There is also no regulation that could regulate the relationship between the coach and the client, or at least correctly describe the subject of the services provided.

It turns out that the coaching profession in Russia has been discredited by its unscrupulous representatives. The development of social networks in the past few years has given rise to a real surge of pseudo-specialists who loudly call themselves coaches. Of course, there can be no question of any quality of services. At best, such a “specialist” will not change anything in your worldview, and at worst, you will have to undergo therapy to neutralize the results of his work.

How to choose a coach and why a certificate may be more important than experience

If you still decide to change, you need to carefully approach the choice of a coach. Ideally, it is better to rely on the recommendation of someone from your environment, but if you happen to be the most progressive among friends and you have no one to ask for advice, pay attention to the following factors.

Diplomas and certificates

If in many areas experience is a determining factor, then in the case of coaching diplomas and certificates are important. Be sure to pay attention to where the specialist studied and what documents he received.

Now that the coaching boom has reached Russia, you can find offers of many courses on the Web. Most often they work like a pipeline: training lasts an average of a week, and graduates do not receive systemic knowledge.

At the Erickson Academy, there are four in-depth modules that take approximately four months to complete. But this does not guarantee obtaining a certificate – you need to work out several hundred hours of practice, provide video recordings of consultations to examiners and pass the exam.

And in order to get the status of an international expert, you need to study at the Erickson Academy in Canada: other branches give certificates only at the national level. If courses from non-professionals put learning on stream, then specialized educational institutions rely on quality, and not on the number of students.

Availability of international qualifications

Upon successful completion of the training, the coach receives a qualification. On any international certificate, you can see three designations: ACC, RCC, MCC, where:

• ACC (Associate Certified Coach) – Associate Certified Coach. This status is given to those who have completed at least 100 hours of consultations. Such a specialist is well versed in theory, but has not yet gained enough practice.
• PCC (Professional certified coach) is a professional certified coach. Such a specialist has conducted at least 500 coaching sessions and is quite confident in all the tools.
• MCC (Master certified coach) – master certified coach. In the baggage of such a specialist is 2500 hours of coaching practice.

Age of diplomas

Coaching cannot be learned once and for all, it requires constant improvement: studying the latest techniques, analyzing the cases of colleagues. If the coach has not studied anywhere for the past few years, this is a bad sign.

Ideally, a coach should complete one program every year, which can be both trainings and advanced training courses.

Reviews

Lack of customer feedback is another bad sign. If you are afraid that reviews may be written to order, ask for customer contacts and ask them questions. Do not neglect this opportunity – it can help you save money and time.

Coach specialization

As a rule, they specialize in different areas and industries. Someone works only with top managers, someone with people who have survived serious illnesses. For the best effect, choose a coach whose specialization matches your case as closely as possible.

Compatibility

It is very important that you feel comfortable with a specialist: you should not be ashamed of him, and even more so be afraid. Coaching will only be effective when you can fully open up and access your inner resources.

Finding “your” specialist is not easy, but it is quite possible. You just need to know the search criteria to avoid disappointment.