This article provided much food for thought, as at different times in my career, I’ve pursued requisite certifications for various industries. In most cases, I found them to be very helpful as a newbie in terms of building my awareness of what I didn’t realize, I didn’t even know.
These certifications varied in cost from just a few hundred dollars and a weekend intensive to tens of thousands over a period of years. I’m including pursuing a university degree in this category, which is its own type of ‘certification’.
Where I actually learned the craft and the nuances of each of the four professions I’ve been involved with is absolutely from day-to-day mentors and practice out in the field. There is such a need for this hands-on experience. As some of the other commentators mentioned, those who are deeply impacting others as teachers, guides and role models hold a huge responsibility. It doesn’t mean we have to be perfect, as a matter of fact, continuously being compassionately aware of my own challenges and sharing authentically and vulnerably with my clients builds trust.
But, you do need to have walked it yourself, in the real-world. Teaching or guiding someone from a theoretical perspective will only lead to their frustration and possibly a disreputable image on the larger field of personal and professional growth, healing, consciousness and spirituality.
I worked in my current field for seven years and in leadership roles for 25 years before offering my services officially as a mentor. How do you know you’re ready? If people often come to you and it’s fairly easy to identify what stage of development they are at. You’re also able to quickly pull forward examples of what you tried, what worked and what didn’t when you were in a similar place.
Most important to this type of relationship is to hold others in their personal power, regardless of what stage they are at. Respect their unique journey and autonomy to make choices that fit who they are and what’s important to them.
I’ve been very selective about who I study with, who I choose as a mentor (because I believe you are only a mentor if someone views you as such) and how their underlying philosophy and methodology actually shows up. I invite potential clients to do the same with me. I created a video on my home page that breaks down how I make a decision to work with someone and encourage them to get really clear on what their criteria are before deciding to hire me or someone else.
Just like anything else, there will be some really great certification programs and some really dicey ones — like the FB ad I saw recently for getting an MBA in 4 weeks for $200?
The other thing I’ve noticed is that people who are really great at coaching may not have as much expertise in business or even desire to teach that side and vice versa. I’ve observed most coaching certification programs are heavy on theory, moderate-to-light on practice with actual clients and very light or non-existent on marketing and running an effective and profitable business. And, they often don’t reveal how long it realistically takes to get there, probably because some would decide not to pursue this path if they could see what it entails from the beginning.
Thank you George for your 10-year business plan post, that is one of my favorite moments as an entrepreneur when I realized I was right on track:)
I have shared that with so many of my colleagues and people I know who are considering entrepreneurship.
Over time, those who are interested in having a balanced approach to their business can cultivate at least a moderate level of skill in a breadth of areas. I’ve found this to be important, even if I decide to outsource or collaborate, at least I know what basic questions to ask and how to make decisions about things I don’t hold expertise in.
Perhaps this is where a partnership with several experienced leaders, where each person brings their unique wisdom, could work well for the type of alternative to certification program you are describing…
