CTI Certification
After a series of trainings on the Co-Active Model, I decided to take the next step of formal certification to be a Co-Active Coach and help others to live more authentic and enriching lives. I launched into this process last summer, and as part of the process I had to acquire a roster of at paid clients. This led me to formally establish a business centered on coaching called Archegos. I’ll be sharing more about Archegos soon, don’t worry!
In the meantime, I wanted to share a reflection and some of the personal learning and growth I’ve experienced as I ventured through this process. The entire process ended with both written and oral exams, and so it wasn’t a given that if I just signed up that I would end with a certification credential.
As much as I had learned in the earlier trainings with Coaches Training Institute (CTI), this certification program showed me just how much more I had to learn, and illuminated the fact that I don’t have to have it ALL figured out because I’ll be learning my whole life. In addition, it showed me just how much progress can come from spending the time learning, being, and doing.
This certification process commenced a very busy time for me, and required much more from me than I had originally considered. The requirements of the program demanded 10-15 hours each week over a six-month period, and included readings, recordings, group instruction, personal supervision, and over one hundred hours of coaching with clients. By itself, the program was a tall order.
But that wasn’t all that was going on in my world. In addition to my normal ‘routine’ of fighting extreme poverty together with Jamie, I was also moving forward on a few other projects. I started a coaching business. I began a program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. I trained to run my fourth Marine Corps Marathon. I remained actively engaged in my faith community. I mourned the loss of one of my previous mentors from my own tribal community. I supported Jamie and her family as they mourned the loss of one of her uncles. I learned how to swim freestyle. And, most importantly I walked alongside Jamie as her pregnancy came full term and I became a dad!!!
It’s a bit ironic when I think about it all. Had I given myself time to think about all that was going to be happening at that time, I might not have taken on the certification process. And, the irony of that is this…by walking through certification, I was not only moving toward the completion of formal training and skill-building to become a Co-Active Coach, but I was also being equipped with the skills I needed to be fully ‘in the moment’ for each of these major events. Not only was I facilitating the growth of a full roster of diverse clients, but I was also able to tap into why everything I was doing was important, and prioritize and execute through a very full season.
The training and certification program that CTI has put together provided me far more than I anticipated, and even if I chose to never coach another individual again (highly unlikely), I experienced so much personal growth that it was fully worthwhile. The skills and resources I have acquired access to are now flowing into my work at Nuru, my relationships with others (including Sylvia), and my own spiritual growth and development. I feel more fully alive and attuned to the good that I can bring into this world, and I hope that others who complete the journey experience something similar. May we all be more deeply awakened to our giftings and may we offer them for the good of others in this beautiful world!