Professional Principled Coach Certification

Develop your skills and approach as a professional coach

The Professional Principled Coach Certification is a 70-hour program for people who want to build a strong foundation in coaching and develop the skills and confidence to support others in their learning and growth.

Learning to coach involves more than following a model or asking questions. It requires you to understand the coaching relationship, become aware of what you bring into the conversation, and develop the skills to support a client’s learning and growth.

This program brings those elements together. Through live learning, practical application, independent study, and mentor coaching, you will explore coaching principles, ethics, and competencies while developing your own approach as a coach.

What you will explore

Module 1: Coaching Fundamentals

This module lays the foundation for your coaching practice, with attention to your mindset, mental readiness, and the relationship you build with clients. You will explore what it means to be a coach, how to establish a coaching relationship, and how to begin a session with clarity. Coaching ethics, core competencies, and coaching models are introduced as practical resources to guide your work and support your professional development.

Duration: 15 hours of live learning and 5 hours of online learning.

Module 2: Enabling Self-Awareness

This module explores the beliefs, motivations, and patterns that influence how people think and act, including your own. You will reflect on the principles that guide your coaching and how your inner dialogue may shape your responses.

You will also explore resistance to action, the connections between thoughts, emotions, and bodily awareness, and ways to bring mindfulness into a coaching conversation. The emphasis is on developing awareness of yourself while creating space for clients to better understand their own experience.

Duration: 15 hours of live learning and 5 hours of online learning.

Module 3: Coaching Perspective

This module focuses on how coaching can help clients explore different perspectives, recognize progress, and discover opportunities for learning. You will work with emotional intelligence and self-regulation, considering how you manage your own responses and support clients in understanding theirs. Alongside this, you will reflect on your developing coaching style, the principles that shape your practice, and your continued personal and professional growth.

Duration: 15 hours of live learning and 5 hours of online learning.

Learning that connects understanding with practice

Throughout the program, you will connect the concepts to coaching practice. Live sessions provide opportunities to explore questions, practice your skills, and reflect on what you are learning with faculty and fellow participants.

The Learning Management System (LMS) extends that experience between modules. It gives you space to deepen your knowledge, revisit material, and consider how the learning relates to your own development. Videos, selected research, knowledge checks, and reflective activities help you build on the live sessions and prepare for the next stage of practice.

The program is led by faculty who are ICF PCC Assessors, bringing a strong understanding of the ICF Core Competencies and Code of Ethics to the learning experience.

Developing your practice through mentor coaching

Following the three modules, you will complete 10 hours of group and one-to-one mentor coaching with a qualified ICF Mentor Coach Specialist.

Mentor coaching gives you focused support as you bring the learning together. Working closely with your mentor coach, you will examine your coaching, receive thoughtful feedback, and identify areas to strengthen.

Sessions focus on your application of the ICF Core Competencies and ethics, helping you develop a clearer understanding of your practice and your next steps as a coach.

Mentor coaching is the final stage of learning before the program’s certification.

Program structure

The 70-hour program includes:

• 45 hours of live learning across three modules.
• 15 hours of online learning through the LMS.
• 10 hours of group and one-to-one mentor coaching.