Coaching Studies Academy™ Global Certification Initiative 

What began as an association of professionals concerned about the lack of support and guidance in the coaching industry, is today one of the most respected coaching organisations recognized in more than 100 countries.

In 2009 a cohort of geographically located coaches began discussing best-practices that would become essential in the future. 

Integration 

Throughout our internal conversations (spanning conferences, get-togethers, and internet communications) we realized that there was a clear gap in the coaching industry. It was especially the then-nascent concept of “whole-person" coaching that piqued our interest. 

The coaching industry has historically been one with little oversight or quality-control. Globally, it’s rare for the title of “life coach” to be a protected term with associated standards. At least not in the way that clinical therapists or other similar professionals are.

Coaches come from many different walks of life and practice their profession in ways that are sometimes ill-informed at best and potentially harmful to clients at worst.

Continuing to Push Boundaries

The core group that would go on to formally form CSA spent a great deal of time promoting a constellation of practices that are now classified within the umbrella of integrated wellness.

Although we lacked a public face for a time, our presence in various coaching networks was being felt. In fact, it was this relentless positive feedback which lead to the resolution that we needed to make concrete our mission to foster excellence in coaching. While our colleagues in the profession were happy to hear our message, they were also asking “if you don’t make this happen, who will?”

Advocacy to Activism

In the end, we could no longer give a good reason why we shouldn’t be leading the charge of our collective cause. We had to move from pure advocacy to actual activism. Having made that commitment it should have been easy to turn our well-formulated ideas and proposals into an actionable plan.

What we found is that turning a grassroots movement into a viable organisation is a much more challenging endeavor than you’d think. It’s something we could never have done without the support of our community of practice, or the willingness of our core members to put in long hours with no compensation.

For our core group of dedicated practitioners however, that just made our eventual emergence as the organisation you are familiar with today all the sweeter.

Students

When we first started our advocacy all those years ago the prospect of having even a regional impact seemed a steep hill to climb. If you told us back then that CSA would be an organisation with reach into more than 170 countries  a half-decade hence, we would have shrugged. 

Now the fruits of our labor have come to fruition and we can justly refer to ourselves as a global advocate of life coaching excellence and integrated wellness. The future looks bright for the students of Coaching Studies Academy as we continue to launch international online learning resources and publish frameworks to contribute to the global conversation on what coaching needs to become in the 21st century.