↗️ Celebrating 5 Years: IntelliCoach is Fully Accredited!

This week, I have something to 🥂 celebrate with you all. It’s overdue…which is not a surprise, if you know me a little. I find it hard to celebrate!

Yet, let’s do exactly that! I invite you to go back with me 5 years into 2018, when the idea of running a course to teach Leaders Coaching Skills seemed insane. But when the pandemic hit hard in 2020, I faced an unexpected turning point that I would understand only years later.

I already knew I had a passion for teaching coaching in 2018. I was eager to do more, but imposter syndrome and perfectionism held me back for years and it stayed a distant project. Then in 2020, COVID-19 erased most client income and plans, leaving me in quiet panic.

It was on the very first day the lockdown in Singapore was lifted in June 2020 that things took a turn. Sitting outside with my laptop in the morning sun, my spouse at work and my kids in school, I found myself alone at home for the first time in months. I didn't know what to do with myself. My empty mind map stared back at me from the screen.

Taking a deep breath, I remember how I opened the folder labeled "long-term dreams," and there it was: "Build ICF Coach Training Course for Leaders," tagged as "2025 or later." Gazing at it, I felt my resolve grew. "If not now, then when?" I asked myself, and I started brainstorming and typing.

3 HOURS later, the full structure of the course had appeared in front of me.

3 DAYS later, I sent out a LinkedIn call for volunteers to join the pilot.

3 MONTHS and endless work later, the pilot started with 13 paying enthusiasts!

3 YEARS later, four cohorts of brilliant People Leaders have completed the course.

And just a few weeks ago in March 2023, the course was finally approved by the International Coaching Federation as a so-called Level 1 course. That’s a BIG deal. Five years after that initial insane idea in 2018, it had become reality!

What have I learned?

Even during difficult times, we can sow the seeds of future growth. I vastly underestimated the impact of the small mental push on a sunny morning in June 2020. Leaning in and giving it a real chance had made all the difference!

It is this final/full recognition by the ICF that I finally want to celebrate with you. The last 5 years were an amazing journey in this field and many of you have seen me struggle, grow, pivot during this time. I am very thankful and it unlocks more!

(The L1 Certificate - It mentions 2021, as this was the year when I first submitted an application to ICF)

The Pilot of the first new L1 cohort is almost complete in a few weeks and I am pumped to announce that the next cohort from Sep-Nov is open for booking! 3 out of 10 spots are already taken!

Here’s what a participant of the current cohort says: “I could go on and on about the things that work well for me in this course, as the things I'm learning about communicating are nothing short of life changing. I truly look forward to Tuesdays because of this course.”

LINK: Check out IntelliCoach PRO (Sep 2023 Cohort)

I wish you all a fantastic week ahead!

Maik