The advantage of gaining qualification as a coach

The world has changed radically. Globalization, rapid economic and technological progress, and the emergence of an information and service society are constantly posing new structural challenges for companies. At large and medium-sized companies in nearly all industries, management techniques such as Total Quality Management, Customer Relationship Management and Change Management have only one goal: Continuous change and adaptation of company culture, organizational structures and employee qualifications in response to their customers’ evolving requirements and changing company environment. Supporting these changes is the central task of a business coach.

Many people ask if training is necessary at all to be able to coach. Especially in a business context, applying common sense and experience is not sufficient when trying to come to terms with the complex demands made of a coach.

To be able to recognize and deal effectively with the wide variety of coaching issues in their psychological and organizational context well-founded background knowledge and comprehensive methodological know-how is absolutely necessary. As experienced business people, trainers and coaches, we insist that every coach should be qualified for this profession through well-founded coach training program.

An integrative, systemic solution-focused coaching approach

Theoretical foundations and plurality of methods
The COATRAIN® coaching model is interdisciplinary and integrates elements of several schools of management thought (e.g. G. Schreyögg, O. Neuberger, R. Wunderer) that can be applied in coaching, and combines the most significant models and key methods that can be applied to coaching from system counseling, NLP, solution-focused counseling (K. de Jong, I. K. Berg), process-oriented approaches (including TZI) and (Jungian) analytical psychology. Our aim is to create an integrated basis for future coaches. This requires teaching what is known to be effective and needed by a professional, and breaking away from outdated “thinking in schools,” which forces all interpersonal and organizational processes through the eye of the needle of a particular model.

The COATRAIN® coaching model is based on analytical psychology (C. G. Jung), enriched by the logical levels of NLP (R. Dilts), and embedded in a systemic solution-focused total context (G. Bateson, J. Haley, P. Watzlawick, S. de Shazer).
Our training approach relies on a plurality of methods.

If people fail to reach their goals, we ask what the reason is. An inappropriate goal? Too little motivation? Rather than become trapped in the linearity of current coaching approaches and accompany coachees as they work toward a goal using some method or other, we look deeply into the question of which principles are currently guiding behavior, and mutually work out the meaning of the deviation from the goal.
Not until holistic clarity concerning goal and motivation has been established do we use our COATRAIN® methodology toolkit.

What is coaching?
Coaching is a professional solution-focused dialog about work-related and personal issues, with the goal of facilitating success and personal growth. Short-term support from a well-trained expert unlocks potential and optimizes the attainment of jointly set goals. A trusting, productive atmosphere and smooth working relationship result in clarity, extending of capabilities, an increase in social competence and greater self-awareness in the coachee.

The coaching approach
The coachee is at the center of a change process. This person’s situation is reconstructed, goals are worked out together and realistically tested.
In this process the coach takes the system context into account, and coordinates the various goals directly or indirectly with the company or organization and team.

COATRAIN® coaching is almost always “two in one”: Personal counseling and personalized training in close alignment with everyday situations.
The coachee receives immediate, personalized and discreet suggestions and feedback. Coachees arrive with questions, and leave with solutions that can be put into immediate practice.

Coaching in a systemic context

COATRAIN® coaches operate in a continuum spanning

asking and telling

being interested and revealing oneself

moderating/facilitating and qualifying

following and leading

Goals of the training program

Target groups
The training is intended for those interested in expanding their consulting expertise, for instance:

Managers, executives and entrepreneurs
Personnel managers and personnel development specialists
Personnel consultants and organizational developers
Employees working in on-the-job and continuing education
Management consultants
Process facilitators, trainers, coaches and supervisors

The goal of our training
A professional coach in the business context primarily deals with change. In the course of this, people from various contexts are helped to achieve their goals, in a systematically-planned process.
The concept of the COATRAIN® training program is based on real experience in companies and organizations.

The goal of the training is transmission of coaching competencies linked to management know-how. This ensures that future coaches can
support, advise and lead people holistically.
They will be in a position to activate a coachee’s personal and professional resources, match these with desired goals, and identify the key qualifications need for achieving such goals.

Training concept optimized in 4 competency areas

Structure of the training program

The COATRAIN® coaching training is based on an integrative and coherent coaching model and didactic-methodological concept consisting of 32 training building blocks of 4-8 hours, which are held in 7 blocks of two- to three-day sessions, lasting a total of 19 days.
Each day of training builds on the next in terms of content. The high proportion of practical activity and the built-in feedback and supervision components ensure that participants can already make use of their coaching know-how during the period of training and obtain certification as a Business Coach. The training units are specifically focused on presentation and realistic application of coaching competencies.

Each training group has no more than six participants, ensuring that learning is comprehensive and intensive. Our expectation is that at the end of the training program, prospective coaches will not only have a certificate in their hands, but will really be able to coach.

The desired setting and the dates are agreed upon with by the group participants at the beginning of the program. COATRAIN® only specifies when the program begins. This needs-based approach has proven successful with small groups of participants because the sessions can be scheduled to accommodate individual needs.

A new course begins as soon as a group of students can be put together.

Most participants are already familiar with general theoretical principles. We dispense with tedious theoretical presentations during the training blocks. Participants receive the learning materials two weeks ahead of the program allowing them to study the theoretical material on their own before the training sessions begin. During the training sessions we concentrate on brief question-focused topical networks including participants’ case studies with a special emphasis on practical exercises, role-based learning and case supervision.

The COATRAIN® training program is not a patchwork of incoherent contents and highly divergent trainers, but instead is led by two instructors experienced in coaching, a man and a woman, and approximately a third of the course involves the specific expertise of a third trainer.

Having the same course instructors throughout the program guarantees consistently high-quality course content and methodology and ensures that the development process of participants is perceived and supported.
In addition, participants almost always have a male and a female role model available.

Prior to the beginning of the course, every applicant for training undergoes a two-hour analysis of potential as part of individual profile coaching. During this process personal strengths and weaknesses in holistic perception and judgment of people, as well as individual learning and development goals are clarified.

Training is accompanied by individual coach-the-coach instruction to supervise the transfer of what has been learned to the learner’s own work context. An opportunity both to get to know professional coaching “in the flesh” as well as to reflect upon and optimize its application in your own practice as needed (not included in the price). Supportive phone-based coaching between the training sessions guarantees the success of first-time coaching processes.

Participants receive handouts that can immediately be applied in practice as well as a reading list for preparing the training units. Each training day involves one third time networking theoretical topics (incorporating case studies provided by instructors or case studies from participants) and two thirds practical exercises involving participants coaching each other under the supervision of the course leaders. The goal of these practical units is practicing coaching situations in face-to-face contact. In addition, in the course of the training participants introduce cases from their own practice for the purpose of case supervision in the group.

COATRAIN® Coaching Training is based on an integrative but coherent coaching model and didactic-methodological concept. Didactically, the buildup of practical coaching competence is based on the coaching process itself: Whereas at the beginning of the course the focus is on coaching techniques needed at the start of coaching, at the end of the course we move on to techniques that are needed to close coaching. The coaching process itself is integrated into the course units step by step. Block I covers the contract and goal clarification (7-Step-1-2) and Block II aims and context exploration (7-Step-3). At a later stage of training, systemic (7-Step-4) and deepening techniques (7-Step-4) as well as solution-focused tools (7-Step-5). Block VII rounds off didactic topic presentation skills (7-Step-6) and closing techniques (7-Step-7). Over and above this, numerous either general or specific techniques are demonstrated, for instance decision coaching.

This procedure reduces the arbitrariness of the methods, and makes possible a smooth, orderly growth in competence, which is appropriate to the demands of the practical work of the trainee coach.

The coaching process

Methods and techniques are tried out during training sessions. In order to reinforce practical experience, participants regularly practice with a fellow coachee from outside their course group. Each participant finds a “practice coachee” with a real issue, explains that the coaching will be for gaining experience, and obtains the explicit agreement of the coachee. COATRAIN® can help participants search for “training coaches.” An audio or video recording of the practical phases can be made and shared with the training group in the next training unit for supervision purposes.

Participant’s coaching practice between training phases shortens elaborate self-awareness sequences and permits practical application of tools covered in the course in an unsupervised setting. The coaching practice pairs can vary. It makes sense to practice both with someone who is immediately likeable as well as with someone with whom it is difficult to communicate. The latter in order to rehearse being confronted with projections and transfer phenomena in a coaching engagement and to learn to solve them productively.

Our training concept is interdisciplinary. We feel it is important to teach coaches key competencies that are effective and useful in practice. For this reason, the COATRAIN® Coaching Model integrates teachings from different models and is based on plurality of methods. In summary, the coaching model can be described as based on analytic psychology enriched by logical levels of NLP and combined in a systemic solution-focused overall relationship. A wide variety of instructional methods are used in training. Participants gain theoretical background knowledge and at the same time have the opportunity to try out and practice using the various techniques themselves. At the same time we carry on a continuous dialog with program participants.

Short lectures are given on key theoretical principles. This portion of the course includes standardized materials and also consists of contents worked out during the lecture on a flip chart, thus actively engaging participants in developing the topics. At appropriate points in the course, discussion-based dialogue between the trainer and participants are the main activity and reinforce the topics covered. The subjects are explored more deeply and reflected upon in group discussions. Techniques (e.g. questioning techniques or problem-solving and decision-making techniques) are presented and then face-to face exercises, live coaching and role playing provides the opportunity to try out the techniques. Experiences are then evaluated together. Factually-based case studies and knowledge acquired through experience are included in order to establish links to practice, demonstrate the reality of coaching, and make contents and methods meaningful.

Training program content

Block I: Fundamentals

B1: Profile coaching/Check-in
At the beginning of the program, each prospective coach should have a clear understanding of his or her potential or learning and development tasks, above all in the role of coach.

B2: Personality development and behavior change
A coach supports his or her clients in developing their personality or changing their behavior.

B3: Coaching models/Role clarification as a coach
A professional coach can classify his or her behavior in the context of psychological-pedagogical models

B4: Coaching process: 7-step procedure
This module covers the basic structure of a systematic approach to coaching: From the coaching contract to the coaching closure participants become familiar with seven sequential steps through which a coach provides guidance to the coachee.

B5: Coaching techniques I: Contact and situation clarification
The purpose of this exercise unit is to become familiar with various techniques for contact and situation clarification (the first step in the 7-step procedure) as well as for clarification of tasks and goals (the second step in the 7-step procedure), and to gain practical experience using them.

Block II: Leadership, communication and feedback

B6: Communication and feedback
Communication is the medium people use to position themselves in the social domain: For this reason, almost every coaching aim is concerned with communication

B7: Leadership and executive coaching
The topic of leadership is a significant one for a coach for several reasons: First of all, managers represent a considerable portion of clientele; on the other hand, the coach fulfills a leadership function in counseling (the one who asks the questions is the leader).

B8: Gender-specific aspects of leadership, communication and coaching
This training unit covers gender as a social role: Issues in professional development are discussed from the point of view of gender-specific life plans, role expectations and behavior differences and the gender issue examined as an aspect of organizational development.

B9: Coaching techniques II: Aim and context exploration
This section covers instruments and methods with which aim and context exploration can be carried out in the third phase of a coaching process.

Block III: Person, team and organization

B10: Personality types (typology)
Type models reduce psychological complexity and make it understandable and communicable. In this sense they can help a coach to recognize and understand basic motivation in the private and professional context.

B11: Phenomena and classification of psychological disturbances in organizations
In this section training symptoms of the most common psychological disturbances and their effects within organizations are discussed in order to recognize clearly and promptly whether the problems described by a coachee are linked to serious psychological illness and for that reason cannot be dealt with in a coaching framework, but require psychiatric or psychological treatment.

B12: Team coaching/group coaching
In this training unit participants learn what influences determine the effectiveness of teams or working groups and how in this process interpersonal and work-organization factors interact.

B13: Coaching in organizations
In order to be able to work out effective solution strategies for the aims of the coachee, analysis of organizational conditions is often of considerable importance.

B14: Coaching techniques III: System-oriented techniques
System-psychology coaching techniques (e.g. Watzlawick, Bateson, Haley) are applied to gain an appreciation of how significant the social environment is to coachee aims and concerns.

Block IV: Crisis intervention

B15: Dealing with emotions in business
A coach is confronted with the coachee’s emotions again and again. It is important here as a coach to adopt a position located between the Protestant ethic (“Pull yourself together. Get yourself under control!”) and psychotherapeutic forms of interaction shaped by the psychoanalytic concept of catharsis (“Accept it, let it out!”).

B16: Self-confidence coaching
Self-doubt can have many causes, and manifests itself both in indecisive as well as aggressive behavior. In order to be able to offer well-founded support as a coach, it is decisive to be able to classify behavior and provide feedback, and to formulate development tasks.

B17: The workplace addiction system
On the basis of knowledge of the characteristics, moderating factors and effects of addiction, participants learn to recognize individual signs of addiction early, as well as the areas of an organization where addiction can arise, including structures which promote addiction.

B18: Coaching techniques IV: Deepening techniques
At the core of this practice unit are techniques which can be used in the fourth step of the coaching process to deepen emotional involvement.

B19: Transfer: Case supervision within a group
The transfer modules facilitate supervision of the practical experiences made by trainee coaches when applying the training units to actual coachees in the field. In doing this, various methods and settings for case-oriented group reflection are employed.

B20: Coaching techniques V: Solution-focused techniques
The fifth step in coaching, Analysis and Problem Solving, pursues the goal of deriving guiding solution principles from the insights obtained up to that point.

Block V: Management techniques

B21: Self-management/Coaching techniques for time and stress management
The desire to overcome stress and to optimize time management is one of the most common coaching aims.

B22: Problem solving and decision making techniques
Systemic solution-focused techniques are an excellent means for solving human, interpersonal, or group dynamic problems. However, this does not apply in the case of organizational or technical problems. Here we are often dealing with linear cause and effect relationships, and both the causes as well as the alternative solutions have to be analyzed.

B23: Argumentation and confrontation techniques
Not infrequently, a coach—above all in contract coaching, i.e., in a semi-voluntary setting—is tested out by the coachee or challenged to “sparring.” In this case it is helpful to have argumentation and confrontation techniques available for as it were “breaking through to the coachee,” loosening cognitively hard and fast convictions and belief patterns and opening up the coachee for more extensive interventions.

B24: Transfer: Case supervision within a group
See B19

Block VI: Conflict resolution

B25: Conflict management/Conflict coaching
Unlike other forms of conflict resolution, a conflict coach does not automatically summon all parties involved to the conference table. Initially, his or her task is to work out exactly who in a social system actually has what conflict with whom, and to what degree of escalation.

B26: Bargaining
The subject matter of this unit is on the one hand acquiring the know-how needed to optimize the negotiating competence of potential coachees.

Block VII: Didactic training for coaches

B27: Coaching didactics
Coaching is carried out in the area between asking and saying, being interested and revealing yourself, following and leading, or moderating and qualifying.

B28: Coaching techniques VI: Interviewing coaching
Confidence in interviewing is of great significance in the work of a coach.

B29: Telephone coaching
How do you carry out coaching when there is no face-to-face contact between coach and coachee, i.e., when you can only work by using your voice?

B30: Coaching techniques VII: Closing techniques
The significance of the final phase of coaching is not infrequently underestimated. In a practice unit dedicated to this topic, participants learn in a practice-oriented activity how the coaching process can be brought to a fitting and stabilizing close, so that the coachee feels adequately prepared to act on the insights and solutions obtained.

B31: Transfer: Case supervision within a group
See B19

B32: Checkout and certification as Business Coach
This module involves the completion of the introductory Business Coach seminar.

The certificate is stamped with the seal of quality of the Forschungsstelle Coaching-Gutachten and Weiterbildung Hamburg e.V.

Guiding principles of the COATRAIN® training program

Many years of professional experience
Our training concept is informed by experience gained since 1989 in the further education of managers, process supporters and change managers in the private sector, combined with the experience of our coaches and trainers at leading companies and since 2001 experience in the training of business coaches.

Holistic approach
COATRAIN® has made personal development its goal. There is a saying: “If we get to the root of something, things at the surface change.” Human behavior can only be changed effectively based on knowledge about its underlying factors. These factors are motives, principles, communication patterns and values which guide people.

Complexity
COATRAIN® has developed numerous models which summarize knowledge in a compact manner and make complex reality understandable. These models make it possible, on the one hand, to recognize and understand the factors underlying human behavior. On the other hand, they help to find solution strategies, place them in context, and evaluate their effectiveness.

Quality management
The training is continuously evaluated in a quality management framework, and adapted to reflect the latest professional and methodological innovations.

Seal of quality/Certification
The Business Coach training program is certified by Forschungsstelle Coaching-Gutachten, Professor Dr. Harald Geißler of Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg and bears the quality seal of Weiterbildung Hamburg e.V.
Our services are certified by Certqua.

Memberships in professional organizations
DBVC - German Federal Association of Executive Coaching, DVCT - Professional Association of Coaches and Trainers

Speed
Due to the intensive format used for training, it is possible to acquire Business Coach certification within twelve months. The training program has been given a seal of quality by the Weiterbildung Hamburg e.V. adult education association.

Sustainability
At the end of a training unit, an e-mail is sent to every participant with digital photographs documenting the training.

Basic values
The combination of personal attention, warmth and a strict focus on results guides us in our work as managers, trainers, counselors, coaches and supervisors. Our principles of unconditional positive regard of our clients and flexibility, openness and spirit of cooperation characterize our training style. We stand for a synergy between professionalism and humanity.

More information

If you have any questions, please contact us by calling: +49 (0) 40-24 83 50 50 or by  e-mail.
We look forward to hearing from you.