What does the ICF-PCC Credential mean for me?
- Anuj Chadha
- Jun 21
- 3 min read
What does any typical certification indicate? That:
- Some amount of training or education has been delivered and received.
- Some form of testing of what has been absorbed has been done.
- And the recipient has met some minimum standard of the testing protocol.
The Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential is issued by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), an independent global body that runs the largest coach certification and credentialing program in the world. There are more than 50,000 ICF-credentialled coaches in the world. From what I have experienced over the last four years, since I have been engaging with the world of coaching, ICF has a fairly strong credentialling methodology [I have heard several contradictory views, and that's okay.]:
Applicants need to meet a minimum number of coach training hours from an ICF-accredited coach training organization [125 hours for a PCC Coach]
They need to submit a recording of a live coaching session, which is evaluated to meet a rigorous standard by an ICF-approved Examiner
They need to complete a minimum number of hours of Coaching experience [500 hours for a PCC Coach].
They must meet a minimum passing score in the coach knowledge assessment, which is a fairly rigorous scenario-based exam. Nearly 25% of the applicants don't make the passing mark in the first attempt [as per the ICF website]. Personally, I have interacted with coaches who did not make it through. I found it reasonably challenging too.
And if you make it through the above process, then you earn the ICF credential for three years only. Every three years, you are required to participate in a minimum of 40 hours of continuing coach education to renew your credential.
But above all, what ICF's PCC coach credentialing process did for me was to elevate the quality of conversations I was having with the clients I coach. As I went through the program last year, I could notice the quality of conversations evolve, and a deeper connection emerge with most of my clients.
Just like any other profession, the more you practice, the better you get at it. This works in coaching too. Further, it is recommended, again like in other professions, that even credentialled coaches have a supervisor-coach or a mentor-coach who can help them wrestle with difficult coaching scenarios or help them identify their blind spots [Yes, coaches have blind spots too!] to continue to sharpen their craft.
In conclusion, to me, my PCC certification is an externally visible signpost of this inner change that I have gone through. If any aspiring coaches are reading this, I would just say, focus on the quality of your coaching conversations. The credential is a sweet by-product. As one of my mentor coaches says, "Embody the coaching mindset, and the rest will follow!"
GRATITUDE: For this inner change journey, I want to acknowledge my mentor coaches Priya Ramesh, MCC, ACTC, Leadership Coach, Ramesh Sreedharan, Sandhya Mathur, Master Certified Coach, Prakash Rao, Richa Chadha PCC, ACTC [same surname is purely coincidental ;-) ], Afsheen Dattoobhai, both my Coach training schools Coacharya, and Symbiosis Coaching, my Coaching Cohort buddies and fellow coaches, and above all, my coaching clients!
I would also like to acknowledge the one place where I got a host of my Coach Knowledge Exam preparation from a post by Kartik Shah, PCC (ICF) [thanks Kartik!], thanks to Ujjaval K Buch and Shubho Sankar Chatterjee.
My Coacharya L2 program buddies: Anuradha Mishra, Gopal A Iyer, Kesari Moodley, SPHRi, Monika Sathe, Roshni Wadhwa, Dr.Sameer Dalvi, Shubho Sankar Chatterjee, Vinay Phalke, Shankar, and Sherman. [And we adopted Debasish Deb into our practice group later on.] We had a super time connecting in a small group for several weeks while preparing for the credentialing exam together!
Onwards to a deeper and more impactful coaching journey!
The author, Anuj Chadha, is a Leadership Coach, and the Co-Founder of the Thrive Program, designed for Individual Leaders, Teams, and Organizations, along with Harpreet Arora. To know more, write to anuj@threecircles.co.in or connect@harpreetarora.com
Anuj is the Founder of Three Circles, Faculty & Coach with Leadership Et' Humanite, and an Associate Coach with the Center for Creative Leadership.
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