Welcome back to our corner of the coaching world! My brain is encouraged by the latest spark in my career as I proudly announce that I have earned my Master Certified Coach (MCC) credential with the International Coaching Federation (ICF)!
The journey to this summit was not just a personal endeavor; it was an enlightening path through the world of professional coaching that I am privileged to share with fellow coaches and others pursuing an ICF credential.
Today, I’ll begin this three-part Encourage Your Brain series by exploring my personal MCC journey. I’ll share insights about navigating setbacks, how I used the Why as a stepping stone to keep going, and the importance of having an amazing support team who was there for me each step of the way.
The 3 ICF Credential Levels
For those of you who are on the coaching journey pursuing your:
- ACC (Associate Certified Coach) credential,
- PCC (Professional Certified Coach) credential,
- MCC (Master Certified Coach) credential,
then you know it takes several hours. For the MCC, it takes 2,500 hours of coaching experience, along with 200 hours of coach training time to earn a credential.
That said, I’ll be honest — I didn’t get there quickly.
A Marathon, Not a Sprint: My 24-Year Quest
It took me 24 years to complete the whole MCC certification process, mainly because of the accumulation of client coaching hours. If you’re coaching while also consulting, training, or any sort of other activities, you know that the hours can come slowly, which was the case for me.
Navigating Setbacks: Lessons in Resilience
In addition to slowly accumulating my coaching hours, I also had some setbacks with submitting my audios. I didn’t pass immediately the first time, and along with that came the impostor syndrome that hit me in my brain as a result. This is another experience I’ll share with you in an upcoming episode of this series, so stay tuned!
The bottom line here is ultimately just recognizing that when you aim for a goal, especially a big one where there may be setbacks, to keep in mind the Why. It’s so important to continuously remind yourself why you set out to achieve this goal in the first place.
Unveiling the ‘Whys’ of the MCC Pursuit
For me, multiple Whys helped me keep pushing forward in my pursuit, including:
- Industry Credibility: I’ll be honest, there’s most certainly credibility that comes with becoming a Master Certified Coach!
- Career Satisfaction: There’s also a big sense of satisfaction in having worked and hit the highest attainment within my industry.
- Coaching Competency: There’s also this sense of wanting to be the best possible coach I can be in any circumstance to support any client.
- The Academies Curriculum: Achieving this goal also impacts our training materials and the training we do at The Academies.
Be sure to keep in mind the Why, and recognize that there’s not just one reason you keep persevering and pursuing a goal — I had many motivators that kept me going.
The Power of Community and Mentors
During my MCC journey, my people kept me going. I had several people who supported me along the way — my mentors and my buddy who stood by me during the training. I was honored to have James Beeman, MCC, with me, as we started our credentialing process together, which made it a lot of fun.
This said, I would highly recommend that if you are going for an ICF credential, to get your team around you and surround yourself with people who believe in you, who will cry with you, who will cheer and celebrate with you. Because it’s not just about you. It is about the community that helps you get there.
Acknowledging My Support Network
I’d like to end this segment by mentioning the community that got me here. Not just the people that I mentioned a moment ago, but also:
- Carly Anderson, who was one of my mentors
- Fran Fisher who was also a mentor
- And, all of my instructors who stood around me and with me at The Academies. People like Carissa Gay, Jennifer James, James Beeman, Edward Macdonald, Brittany Macdonald, Jessica Burdett, Stacy Duhon, and Leigh Gauthier.
I want to share my appreciation and gratitude for the folks who were there through the entire journey. I hope I haven’t left somebody out, but I do want to just acknowledge and appreciate the people who made it possible for me to be able to stay the course and earn my MCC credential.
My Brain Is Happy!
I’ll close by saying my brain is happy, and I’m honored to share my MCC journey with you!
If you’d like to hear some of the setbacks along the way or more about the ICF credentialing exam, which is the new ICF situational judgment exam that is part of the process, stay tuned for more episodes exploring my journey toward becoming a Master Certified Coach.
Thank you for celebrating this milestone with me!
Learn More About the Neuroscience Advantage in Coaching
Ready to script your own MCC journey? The Academies neuroscience-based coach training programs not only prepare you to embark on this odyssey, but also elevate your training with cutting-edge methodologies based in neuroscience, as well as a diverse, supportive community of coaches.
Embrace your future of coaching excellence with The Academies and forge your path to an ICF credential through our Level 1 or Level 2 Programs. Schedule a call to explore your questions and curiosities, and connect with us today!