So, as of last week I am officially an ACC. (That is another certification. It means that I’m an Associate Certified Coach by the International Coaching Federation.) Very exciting, yes. But, that isn’t why I am writing about it. I’m proud of my accomplishment, but not in the way you might think. Yes, I’ve met the minimum qualifications to be certified. But, I have confidence in my coaching ability anyway. I’m far more proud of what I think about my coaching ability.
Bottom line: this certification is much more a testament to my ability to initiate, follow through, and “play the game.” In that sense it really reminds me of school. The details of the 8 month ordeal which lead to this certification (for which I had completed the requirements 8 months ago) are not so important. The important thing is that my ability to coach was far less important in this instance that was my ability to fill out forms, make phone calls, write letters/emails, put dates on my calendar to follow up, find correct documentation, follow directions, not get too angry, follow a new set of directions, fill out more forms, etc, etc, etc…
The point is that this was a battle that I decided was worth fighting. The end result was a certification that is really good for me, my business, and my career. But, if I hadn’t have waded through nearly 3/4 of a year of bureaucracy would that make me less of a coach? No. It just would have meant that I wasn’t as good at playing the game. I guess what I’m trying to say is that you need to pick your battles in terms of what the world is going to look at. But, your focus should always be on what is truly important to you and where you want to be.
This was a very difficult topic to organize my thoughts around. I hope it all makes sense.