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Coaching History and Trends
Thomas Leonard is credited with "inventing"
coaching in the late 80's. He was formally a financial
planner in San Francisco. He started Coach University or
Coach U, which offers certification thru its ICF
(International Coaching Federation) wing. He founded ICF
in 1994. Leonard sold Coach U in 1996 to his rival Sandy
Vilas, then started Coachville, which became a worldwide
leader in coach training. Coachville offers
certification through its affiliate IAC.
Startups Magazine in 2002 reported "There has
been an explosion of interest in coaching as a profession.
Coaching is the number two hot industry behind IT and is
number one as a home based profession".
"Throughout the entire western world we are
witnessing the growth of a whole new science called coaching,"
says Victoria Economic Development Commissioner Ken
Stratford. (Times Colonist Feb. 2002)
Leonard developed a vision of growth that
included:
Specific, measurable outcomes by 2005
100,000 members
1,000 hours of e-training available to members
Coaching simulator operational (like pilots use)
10,000 Certified Coaches designated
Specific, measurable outcomes by 2020
1,000,000 members
100,000 Certified Coaches designated
In early February 2003, the 47 year-old
Leonard died suddenly. His "team" were left to carry on
with his vision. We will continue to see the effects of
the tremendous growth in coach numbers predicted in the next
decade as well as the growth in the number of training
companies and coach referral services. Sandy Vilas
admits his "$5 million coach-training business and Leonard's
$3 million company face more than 65 competitors".
In the Spring of 2003, Thomas Leonard's long
time friend and colleague Richard Reardon was putting the
finishing touches on the launch of one of Coachville's first
specialty schools, SSBC or the School of Small Business
Coaching. Leonard's death came just as Reardon was
getting ready for "the introductory tour" of SSBC. At
that conference Reardon spoke of Thomas's death being a
tremendous blow to the initial launch of the school but that
he like all of Thomas' team were successfully carrying the
original vision forward.
Also late in 2003, Coachville applied for ICF
accreditation. Dave Buck, who inherited Coachville from
Thomas Leonard, participated in the ICF Conference in Denver,
Colorado. He addressed the conference sharing his vision of
"oneness" for the coaching industry. The response from the ICF attendees was overwhelmingly positive. Peter Reding,
Executive Director of the Association of Coach Training
Organizations (ACTO), said the unification of ICF and Coachville
was the single most important event in the coaching profession in
2003.
In summary, we believe the industry itself is
going to change dramatically over the next 5 years, particularly
in the growth in numbers of coaches, coach training schools, and
referral services. We are already seeing a shift in
marketing techniques and pricing. We believe that the next 5
years will be a tremendously interesting and important time in the
history of coaching.
If you would like to find out more about Business
Coaching please visit VictoriaBusinessTalk.com or call
(250)881-1154.
Linda Conn
Your Business Coach
VictoriaBusinessTalk.com
February 2004
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