Content uploaded by Anthony M Grant
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Anthony M Grant on Jan 29, 2016
Content may be subject to copyright.
International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008 57
© The British Psychological Society – ISSN: 1750-2764
COACHING IS AN industry that has
widespread appeal, is rapidly growing
(Grant, 2003), and has a number of
speciality areas (Stern, 2004). Three of the
best known areas are executive coaching, life
(or personal) coaching and business
coaching. Executive coaching tends to focus
on enhancing an executive’s abilities and
potential, particularly in regard to leader-
ship and organisational outcomes (Kilburg,
1996; Stern, 2004). Executive coaching has
been shown to be effective at increasing lead-
ership effectiveness, achieving organisa-
tional goals (Thach, 2002), and reducing
stress (Gyllensten & Palmer, 2005). Life
coaching is a more holistic approach which
tends to focus on helping people set and
reach goals in their personal lives (Williams
& Thomas, 2004). Business coaching typi-
cally combines business planning with facili-
tation techniques that facilitate clients
define and then achieving their business
goals: business coaching and the focus of
coaching is directly on business structures
and processes rather than primarily on intra
or interpersonal issues (Clegg et al., 2005).
Although there is a growing body of
world-wide research into executive coaching
(Passmore & Gibbes, 2007), life coaching
(Grant & Cavanagh 2007) and business
coaching (Clegg et al., 2005) there is still not
much known about the Australian coaching
Key characteristics of the commercial
Australian executive coach training
industry
Anthony M. Grant & Blythe O’Hara
Objectives: To identify organisations who offer executive coach training and business coach training in
Australia; assessment processes, cost and duration of courses; the delineation between coaching and
counselling; marketing claims made; and the qualifications of the owners and trainers.
Design: A qualitative process of emergent thematic coding using information from the internet.
Methods: Broad categories and themes related to the aims of the study were documented, leading to the
identification of a group of core categories and a process of comparison between organisations.
Results: More than half the 16 Australian executive coach-training organisations identified offered more
than one type of coach training. Four offered a coach franchise. The most common accrediting bodies were
the International Coach Federation or the Australian Government Vocational Training Framework. Costs
of courses ranged from AUS$3245 to AUS$14,795. Marketing claims included having longevity, being the
best school, setting the standard, or having global recognition. Some trainers had no qualifications at all,
but the majority of trainers’ qualifications were directly relevant to the field of coaching. The majority of
coaching organisations did not make a clear distinction between these two issues. Average longevity of these
organisations was 6.75 years.
Conclusion: The Australian executive coach and business coach training industry continues to develop.
We recommend that, in order to further professionalise executive coach training, all coach trainers should
be properly qualified, issues related to identification of mental illness be incorporated into executive coach
training, and organisations offering coach franchising provide clear and unambiguous information to
prospective clients.
Keywords: executive coaching, business coaching, coaching franchise, coach training.
58 International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008
Anthony M. Grant & Blythe O’Hara
industry. Clegg et al. (2005) surveyed 42
Australian business coaching firms, finding
most firms were less than fours years old with
only one or two employees, but did not focus
specifically on the characteristics of the exec-
utive coaching industry. Spence et al. (2006)
explored the characteristics of Australian
coaches, finding that that only 12 per cent of
respondents had more than five years
coaching experience and only a minority of
coaches had a background in psychology or
counselling. Dagley (2006) used structured
interviews with 17 human resource profes-
sionals to explore their perceptions of the
effectiveness of executive coaching, finding
strong support for the use of executive
coaching in organisations.
However, the only published study to
date that explicitly focuses on the character-
istics of the Australian coach training
industry is Grant and O’Hara (2006) who
explored the characteristics of the Australian
life coach training industry. Grant and
O’Hara (2006) recommended that
Australian life coaching schools become
Registered Training Organisations, that
students check the claimed accreditations,
academic affiliations of schools, and validity
of qualifications and credentialing. They
also recommended that schools make
explicit the distinctions and boundaries
between mental health treatment and life
coaching. The present paper extends such
past research and presents the results of a
study providing examining the Australian
executive coach training industry.
Coach training: An unregulated educational
industry
All Australian coach training organisations
operate within an almost completely unregu-
lated commercial market. Any organisation
can offer coach education and training in
any area they like, be it executive coaching,
life coaching, business coaching, relation-
ship coaching, financial coaching, Attention
Deficit Disorder coaching or even sex
coaching. Beyond the most basic Australian
common law consumer protection rights,
the coach training industry is only regulated
by the market forces that drive the process of
attracting students. The same can be said for
those organisations offering coach fran-
chises, there are no restrictions on the
parameters or process for offering coach
franchise opportunities. Further, no qualifi-
cations are required to teach others how to
act as human and organisational change
agents. Anyone can teach coaching!
Distinguishing between qualifications,
certifications, and accreditations
As Grant and O’Hara (2006) note, coach
training organisations offer a wide variety of
titles and qualifications. Although holding
different meanings, terms such as ‘qualifica-
tion’, ‘certification’, and ‘accreditation’ are
interchangeably used in the marketing of
coach training. This lack of clarity does not
help potential students evaluate the impor-
tance of such awards and make well-
informed decisions when choosing a coach
training organisation.
A qualification is a formal award ‘issued by
a relevant approved body in recognition that
a person has achieved learning outcomes
relevant to identified individual, profes-
sional, industry or community needs’
(Australian Qualifications Framework, 2002
p.v). In Australia, each State or Territory has
the legal responsibility for authorising a
qualification. Registered Training Organisa-
tions (RTO) bodies such as a public or
private universities are authorised under
statute (Australian Qualifications Frame-
work, 2002) to deliver training and conduct
assessments, and to then issue nationally
recognised qualifications to students in strict
accordance with the Australian Qualifica-
tions Framework (Australian Government
Department of Education Science and
Training, 2006).
Equivalent to trade certificates, Certifi-
cates I to IV, the Diploma and the Advanced
Diploma are non-university vocational quali-
fications below bachelor degree level and are
formally recognised within the Australian
Qualifications Framework (AQF). A Certifi-
International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008 59
Key characteristics of the commercial Australian executive coach training industry
cate IV is generally held to be the equivalent
of six to nine months of a bachelor degree,
with an Advanced Diploma being approxi-
mately equivalent to one to two years of a
bachelor degree (Australian Qualifications
Framework, 2002). In Australia training for
these non-university awards is conducted by
Technical and Further Education (TAFE)
colleges, adult and community education
centres, and private RTOs. Private RTOs vary
in size from home-based one-person
business to large corporations.
Where there is thoroughness associated
with the standardised assessment necessary
for the award of a qualification, a certification
is merely a formal acknowledgement of
successful achievement of a defined set of
outcomes (Australian Government Depart-
ment of Education Science and Training,
2006). There have been concerns that the
large number of ‘coaching certifications’ on
offer has significantly undermined the
currency of the term ‘certification’, and that
rather than assuring training standards or
protecting the public from charlatans,
commercial coaching certifications are
chiefly a selling tool and income generator
for commercial coaching schools (for an
informed discussion of these issues see Carr,
2005).
The term accreditation refers to the official
recognition of a course by a requisite body or
organisation. Thus, the worth of any accredi-
tation is dependant on the real authority of
the accrediting body. In general accredita-
tion involves meeting a set of standards.
These standards normally include minimum
teacher or trainer qualifications, and specific
levels of rigour in the teaching and assess-
ment process itself. Formal qualifications
within Australia are accredited by State or
Territory bodies in accordance with the laws
governing state and territory Registering
Course Accrediting Bodies (Australian
Government Department of Education
Science and Training, 2006). However, many
coach training organisations have established
their own accreditation bodies, and are thus
fundamentally self-accredited (Carr, 2005).
Mental illness and duty of care
Coaching is aimed at individuals who do not
have significant levels of psychological
distress. However, some individuals may seek
coaching as a socially-acceptable form of
therapy. Coaching is not a substitute for
clinical intervention, even though it may be
perceived as a more socially acceptable inter-
vention than therapy (Cavanagh, 2005).
Research in the life coaching arena has
found that between one in five (Spence &
Grant, 2004) and one in two (Green et al.,
2006) individuals that seek life coaching have
clinically significant levels of mental distress.
In relation to executive coaching, Berglas
(2002) has argued that a distinction must be
made between those clients who are ‘problem
executives’ that can be coached to be more
effective and ‘executives with a problem’ that
are more appropriately served by a thera-
peutic relationship (Berglas, 2002, p.88).
Coaching an executive who requires thera-
peutic support can not only be hazardous for
the individual but also the organisation if the
coach does not have the depth of psycho-
logical or medical training to deal with such
issues (Cavanagh, 2005; Jarvis, 2003).
In light of these issues an important part
of any coach training programme should be
the clear distinction between coaching and
therapy or counselling. To be truly ethical
and professional, coach training
programmes should teach students how to
identify and make appropriate treatment
referrals for mental health problems. Coach
training organisations have a clear duty of
care to offer meaningful qualifications, certi-
fications and accreditations and to explicitly
address issues of mental health in their
marketing materials (Auerbach, 2001;
Berglas, 2002; Grant, & O’Hara, 2006).
Summary of aims of the study
The focus of this study was on Australian
executive coach training organisations. In
particular the objectives of this study were:
●To identify how many Australian
organisations offer executive coach
training and business coach training and
60 International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008
Anthony M. Grant & Blythe O’Hara
to identify the types of qualifications,
certifications and accreditations offered.
●To provide an overview of the advertised
content, assessment processes, cost and
duration of courses by which people can
be trained as executive and business
coaches.
●To identify how the promotional material
of coach training organisations deals with
the relationship between coaching,
mental health and therapy.
●To explore the marketing claims and
associated strategies used by these coach
training schools in relation to the course,
the organisation and the owners and
teachers.
●To explore the qualifications of the
owners and teachers of the coach
training organisations.
Method
Over a period of four months, from
December, 2006, until March, 2007, infor-
mation about Australian executive coach
training organisations was downloaded from
the internet. There is a very high level of
internet use in the coaching industry
(Williams & Thomas, 2004) so the internet is
a useful and accessible research platform
from which to conduct research into
Australian executive coach training organisa-
tions.
In keeping with previous work on
Australian life coaching schools and in
recognition of its reputation as a compre-
hensive search engine and its effectiveness in
ranking websites in order of relevance
(Infopeople, 2006; Search Thingy, 2006; UC
Berkeley Library, 2006), the search engine
Google was used. The key search words were
‘executive coaching’, ‘business coaching’
and ‘training’ and the search was restricted
to Australian organisations only.
The search yielded in excess of 390,000
possible matches, the first 20,000 matches of
website references were analysed and the
sample was restricted to those sites who
offered training to become an executive or
business coach, and those organisations who
offered coaching business franchises. To
ensure that this information was as inclusive
as possible this information was cross-refer-
enced with a search of the International
Coach Federation (www.coachfederation.org)
and National (Australian) Training Informa-
tion Service (www.ntis.gov.au) websites. This
process resulted in the identification of a total
of 18 Australian executive and business
coaching training organisations and coach
franchise. On further investigation two of
these organisations were excluded from the
study as the type of training that they offered
was in house or private coach training leaving
a total of 16 organisations.
To analyse the information, a process of
emergent thematic coding was undertaken.
The information from each school’s website
was categorised and coded. The emergence
of broad categories and themes related to
the aims of the study were documented,
leading to the identification of a group of
core categories and a final process of
detailed categorisation and comparison
between schools.
Results
This section provides the analysis of the infor-
mation obtained from the internet search.
Firstly, it details the longevity of the coach
training organisation and the type of coach
training being offered by the executive coach
training organisation identified through the
search. Secondly, it provides information on
the qualifications and accreditations being
offered by Australian executive coach
training organisations and presents further
information in relation to course cost, dura-
tion and assessment procedures. We report
information about the marketing claims of
the organisations and the qualifications of
training organisations’ owners and teaching
staff. Information is also provided in relation
to how the coaching schools deal with mental
health issues. Finally, results are detailed and
then the information obtained in this study is
compared with the information obtained in
the previous Australian life coaching schools
study.
International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008 61
Key characteristics of the commercial Australian executive coach training industry
Organisation longevity
Of the 16 organisations identified in this
study, 12 cited the year the organisation had
been founded. The average length of time
these organisations claimed to have been in
existence was 6.75 years, with the earliest
claiming to have been founded in 1997.
The different types of coach training on offer
More than half the schools (69 per cent) that
were analysed for this study offered more
than one type of coach training. Of the 16
organisations identified, five training organi-
sations (31 per cent) offered three different
types of coach training offered training in
executive coaching, business coaching and
life coaching. Six of the training organisa-
tions (38 per cent) offered two types of
coach training, executive coaching and life
coaching, and a further five training organi-
sations (31 per cent) offered executive,
business or general (non-specified) coach
training.
In our search we also found three further
training organisations (19 per cent) who
offered coach franchises but did not offer
public executive coach training courses. In
addition one coach training organisation
from the above 16 offered executive,
business, and life coach training in addition
to offering a coach franchise.
The legitimacy of qualifications, certifications
and accreditations
The coach training organisations included
in this study used three ways to establish the
credibility and legitimacy of their courses:
(a) accreditation through the Australian
Government Vocational Training Framework
(Australian Qualifications Framework,
2002); (b) accreditation by the International
Coach Federation (ICF); and (c) self-accred-
itation or accreditations through a range of
miscellaneous organisations. Of the 16 exec-
utive, business and coaching franchises
included in this study, nine stated in their
promotional materials that their courses
were accredited by an external accrediting
body.
The most common accrediting body was
either the ICF or a relevant Government
body. Four training organisation stated that
they offered an ICF Accredited Coaching
Training Programme, and a further four
training organisations stated that they
offered a course that was within the frame-
work provided by the Australian Qualifica-
tions Framework and National Training
Information Service, which allows for RTOs
to provide recognised qualifications that are
accredited by Australian jurisdictional
Government training organisations. One
training organisation had obtained accredi-
tation from both the ICF and the relevant
Government agency, a further training
organisation stated that it was in the process
of becoming an ICF accredited coach-
training organisation.
Of the remaining coaching organisa-
tions, three offered coach franchises and did
not include any details about their training
or support services, and a further four
coaching organisations did not detail any
affiliations with accrediting bodies.
Course cost, duration and assessment
In relation to the cost of the coach training
courses offered, five organisations did not
detail the costs involved in undertaking their
courses on their web sites. Of those who did
give this information, the cost of courses
varied considerably ranging from AUS$3245
for a certificate IV of Life Coaching that
provided for speciality executive and
business coaching streams to AUS$9990 for
an executive coaching course that provided
for three levels of self accredited training
with an organisation who had not yet
obtained accredited from a recognised body
and AUS$14,795 for a Diploma in Life
Coaching with an executive coaching stream
available through a coaching organisation
that was a registered training organisation.
Financial information about the
coaching organisations that offered coach
franchises was very limited. One organisa-
tion that did provide some information on
the financial cost of becoming involved in
62 International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008
Anthony M. Grant & Blythe O’Hara
the coach franchise, detailed that it would
involve a ‘Fixed monthly royalty fee plus five
per cent of your gross revenue’.
The quality of information publicly avail-
able about the length of courses varied
considerably, with the 10 of the 16 organisa-
tions (53 per cent) providing no clear infor-
mation on how long it could be expected
that their courses would take to complete.
The other six organisations provided infor-
mation in relation to their length of their
courses in hours, total number of days, weeks
or months. The time frame for completion
of these courses ranged from 16 days to 12
months.
In relation to assessment processes, six
organisations did not provide any informa-
tion on the assessment procedures for
students completing the course. Of the
remaining seven organisations offering
coach training, a variety of assessment
processes were detailed including practical
components, evidence of coaching skills,
written assignments, exams, workshop atten-
dance and supervision.
Marketing claims
In relation to marketing claims; the informa-
tion obtained from the school’s website was
found to fall into four main categories:
(a) marketing claims about the school;
(b) marketing claims about the course;
(c) marketing claims about the teachers or
owners; and (d) general marketing claims.
Marketing claims about the training organisation.
Marketing claims about the training organi-
sation fell into four key themes: (a)
longevity; (b) being the best trainers; (c)
reputation particularly in relation to global
standing; and (d) setting the standard. Table
1 provides a number of quotes taken from
the websites in relation to these claims.
Marketing claims about the course. In
relation to marketing claims about the
course offered by the school four key themes
emerged: (a) comprehensiveness; (b) inter-
nationally/nationally recognised creden-
tials; (c) price effective; and (d) flexible.
Table 2 provides an overview of the types of
claims made in relation to the course.
Marketing claims about the teachers or owners.
A number of claims were made regarding
the teachers or owners of the coaching
schools included in this study. Table 3
provides an overview of the types of claims
that were made in relation to the key
personal involved in the coach training
organisation. These can be incorporated
into three key themes; claims about: (a)
academic affiliations; (b) personal charisma;
(c) relevant experience; and (d) relevant
philosophies.
General marketing claims. A number of cate-
gories of general marketing claims were
delineated. These can be characterised into
four themes: (a) work success and earning
potential; (b) building a better lifestyle; (c)
profession of coaching and qualifications;
and (d) claims in relation to franchise
opportunities. Tables 4 and 5 provide exam-
ples of quotes that characterise these
themes.
Trainers’ qualifications
The information detailed on the websites in
relation to the actual academic qualifications
of the trainers or owners of the coaching
organisations was collected and analysed. Of
the 16 coaching organisations included in
the study, four provided no information in
relation to the academic qualifications of the
trainers or owners, seven of the coaching
organisations provided comprehensive
details of the academic qualifications of the
trainers or owners and a further five organi-
sations provided some limited information
in relation to some of the academic qualifi-
cations of some of the staff. It appears that
some of the above coach trainers had no
academic qualifications whatsoever.
In relation to the relevance of the
academic qualifications that were detailed,
the information that was available from the
coaching organisations’ websites was
analysed in regard to three categories, those
International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008 63
Key characteristics of the commercial Australian executive coach training industry
Type of Example of claim about the training organisation
claim about
the organisation
Longevity ●‘Established in 1999 as a centre of excellence for executive coaching.
Since that time we have trained over 1100 coaches and have become known as
one of Australia’s most respected coaching and coach training organisations.’
●‘XXX emerged as an overnight success in 1993 when XXX began conducting
seminars and workshops…’
●‘We’re happy to answer any questions you have about the industry we pioneered
and continue to develop’.
●‘XXX offers one of the world's leading coach training curriculum’s, with thousands
of coaches having gone through our programmes across Australia and
New Zealand.’
Best school ●‘Our school is the first Australian based school to gain ICF accreditation and
we are very proud of our achievement.’
●‘We intend to be the leader provider of coach training in the world.’
●‘XXX is a school of the future, where adults learn in a global community with
a high degree of flexibility, while sharing with and supporting each other.’
●‘XXX is Australia's leading workplace and business coaching organisation.’
Reputation/ ●‘With over 3500 students from over a dozen countries going through our
Global programmes since 1998, XXX is a truly global coaching organisation.’
recognition ●‘We have trained more coaches in Australia in the last four years than any other
coach training company and are now expanding into other regions.’
●‘Since 1998 we have trained thousands of personal, business and executive
coaches across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, the USA and
Europe. These coaches help thousands of executives, managers, professionals and
business owners every year to be more effective in their career and their lives.’
●‘The XXX clients’ include some of the region’s best known organisations.’
●‘XXX is Australia's leading provider of accredited life coach training and coaching
services, is award-winning, and is dedicated to the provision of thorough and
comprehensive life and executive coaching training courses.’
●‘Run by experts in the fields of life coaching, psychology and human behaviour,
our nationally accredited courses are renowned for their advanced and valuable
content.’
●‘Dedicated to the provision of excellence in service, advanced training and
outstanding student support, XXX is considered the market leader throughout
Australia in coach training.’
●‘Since then thousands of coaches across Australia, New Zealand and South-East
Asia have become some of the over 30,000 coaches to be trained in the XXX and
Corporate XXX programmes.’
Setting the ●‘Why the XXX sets the standard that others aspire to’
standard ●‘Welcome to the XXX…setting the standard for coaching worldwide’
●‘Coaching is here to stay. The XXX has established the benchmarks.
It will continue to be the nation’s premier life coaching body at the forefront
of personal development.’
●‘At XXX Coaching we offer you the answers and an opportunity to experience
an accredited, structured and profoundly effective programme for human
development.’
Table 1: Marketing claims about the coach training organisations.
64 International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008
Anthony M. Grant & Blythe O’Hara
Type of Example of claim about the course
claim about
the course
Compre- ●‘Our suite of individual coaching training programmes provides everything yo
hensiveness need to become a professional coach, whether you are interested in personal,
business or executive coaching.’
●‘This programme covers nine units and is the most complete and comprehensive
coaching programme in Australia.’
●‘XXX courses are designed to be extremely thorough without being difficult or
complex. XXX courses have more than double the educational content of courses
offered by other coaching educators’
●‘The XXX coach accreditation programme is based on experiential learning and is
rigorous and highly practical.’
●‘Developed in Australia by XXX the courses have been specifically designed to
meet the needs and demands of professionals and business leaders in the
workplace.’
●‘The most complete workplace and business coaching qualifications.’
●‘XXX is committed to not just providing coaching skills but also to provide
some of the most complete programmes that will allow coaches to become
successful in their chosen field.’
Inter- ●‘XXX courses are developed by highly qualified and experienced professionals to
nationally/ world recognised standards’
Nationally ●‘The training programmes are rigorous and qualifications internationally
recognised recognised.’
credentials ●‘Your meta-coach qualification is recognised worldwide. You'll hold the most
highly regarded and sought after accreditation in your field.’
●‘News Flash… you now have the opportunity to become a leading coach in your
workplace and business with Australia's first government accredited,
Certificate IV and Diploma of Workplace and Business coaching.’
Price ●‘Simply put our qualification is the most competitively priced coaching
effective qualification available in Australia.’
●‘Achieve your aspirations in coaching for only 20 per cent to 50 per cent of the
investment of other providers.’
●‘The XXX training is one of the most valuable courses you can take for a better
future…the choice is yours and the course fees are modest compared with other
professional training courses.’
Flexible ●‘Our life coach training programmes are designed to fit your lifestyle.
We have a range of international class times to choose from – all supported by
an online learning environment that enables you to complete your education
from anywhere you have access to a phone and a computer.’
Table 2: Marketing claims about the course.
International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008 65
Key characteristics of the commercial Australian executive coach training industry
Type of Example of claim about the teachers or owners
claim about
teachers
or owners
Claim to ●‘XXX educators maintain the highest academic and experiential standard of any
academic coaching educator in Australia – safeguarding you from professional
credibility misadventure and maximising your understanding.’
●‘As an adjunct lecturer at XXX University I co-created a coaching certificate
programme.’
Personal ●‘XXX is a developer, researcher, coach, trainer and prolific author…XXX brings
charisma playfulness and humour to training and is renowned for his passion
of teachers and integrity.’
●‘XXX is an inspiring international master coach, speaker, author, trainer and
founding CEO of XXX, one of the fastest growing coaching organisations in the
world. XXX passion for growth and development, her insightful communication
and her persistent belief in her clients potential, make her an inspiring coach and
ambassador for learning.’
●‘Driving the growth and development of the XXX system is its charismatic
founder and best selling author…’
●‘Knowledgeable, motivated, interesting, funny, entertaining presenters who only
preach what they have practiced. The presenters are all successful business people
and more importantly, happy, well-balanced people who really want to share their
strategies of success with YOU.’
Relevant ●‘XXX has authored and published more than 30 books to date.’
experience ●‘Best selling author and designer of a number of multi-award-winning business
tools that are now being used by more than 60,000 companies around the world.’
●‘An international consultant and trainer, XX has worked or consulted for large
public companies in three continents. XX has lectured in tertiary institutions,
conducted training programmes for small and large businesses and held a variety
of senior management positions.’
●‘Faculty members are full-time coaches, so you will be learning from professionals
who coach every day. Our faculty members are experts in understanding what
motivates, inspires, influences and develops them.’
●‘It is designed and presented by experienced educators with a strong background
in curriculum design and delivery as well as experience in coaching hundreds of
individuals and teams across the country.’
Relevant ●‘Our coaches and trainers are at the forefront of human development.
philosophies They are committed to their own growth and development and impassioned
about your self-development and self actualisation.’
●‘XXX is a team of committed, positive and successful people who are always
striving to be balanced, integral and honest.’
Table 3: Marketing claims about the trainers and owners.
66 International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008
Anthony M. Grant & Blythe O’Hara
Type of Example of general marketing claim
claim
Work ●‘As an accredited life or executive coach trained with XXX your life or executive
success/ coaching success is assured.’
Earning ●‘Being an executive coach is a perfect way to transition from the workplace
potential into your own business.’
●‘We urgently need new network members who wish to establish their own
coaching business. We will train you and provide you with the software and
templates so that you can easily provide business coaching and business planning
services to the market. We will train you, give you proven systems and even
send you leads.’
●‘Our business coaches are well trained and add real value to their clients'
businesses, but they also enjoy a great lifestyle, whilst building their own
business into an asset.’
●‘Business coaches on average charge $150 to $500, although the buoyant market
is driving prices up and some coaches are earning more. One well-known business
coach earns $5,000 per hour.’
●‘Why wait? This opportunity is on the tipping point of massive return so get in
now whilst the returns are at their peak.’
●‘We find an average of 90 per cent of our students are doing formal structured
coaching within three months of beginning their training.’
Building a ●‘Learn more about how to become successful, wealthy, healthy and happy.’
lifestyle ●‘Imagine being a business coach with a proven programme and working the hours
that you choose, working from your own home office and delivering coaching
by telephone or in person. As a XXX coach you can do this – this lifestyle can
be yours.’
●‘Many young coaches are living the lives of retired doctors who move to
Queensland and see clients on a referral basis whilst working limited hours.’
●‘At last there is an opportunity for you to utilise your skills, expertise, talents
and enthusiasm to create a lifestyle you have always wanted.’
Profession ●‘Become a coach and train as a professional coach anywhere in the world.’
of coaching ‘Coaching is not another how to course. It is a powerful alliance between two
and people that produces exceptional results.’
qualifica-
tions
Table 4: General marketing claims.
International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008 67
Key characteristics of the commercial Australian executive coach training industry
Type of Example of franchise marketing claim
claim
Franchise ●‘Our business is booming and we're seriously looking for people ready to find out
oppor- more about how becoming a member of XXX business coaching team is going to
tunities be the best decision you've ever made.’
●‘Smart people choose to go with the winners. Even smarter people choose
franchises that not only give them every chance of surviving the first few years
in business but ones that maximise their chances of succeeding through having
proven systems to support them every step along the way.’
●‘If you are looking for a white collar business opportunity to build yourself a
lifestyle, an income, a way to take control of your life and to always get great
personal satisfaction…then you've just found the world's best team…
now its about finding out if you've got what it takes to really enjoy and thrive
in this amazing business opportunity.’
●‘This is a secure, proven, result driven new business category (that's guaranteed)…
Save yourself now from an exhausting career climbing the corporate ladder.
Be happier, healthier and make more money helping others. There is only now.’
●‘XXX has been internationally franchised since 1997 and currently has hundreds
of franchisees operating in 19 countries.’
Table 5: Example of claims made about coaching franchise opportunities.
qualifications that were directly relevant to
executive and business coach training, such
as psychology, education, applied science,
arts, those classified as somewhat relevant
included business, law, management, human
resources, economic and commerce and
marketing qualifications, and those qualifi-
cations not considered to be relevant
included qualifications veterinary science,
homeopathies, dentistry and botanical medi-
cine. Figure 1 provides a diagrammatic
representation of this analysis. Table 6
provides information in relation to the qual-
ifications provided by the organisations on
the internet.
Mental health issues
In relation to how the organisations in this
study dealt with mental health issues, three
questions were of interest; (a) does the
coach training organisation make a distinc-
tion between coaching and therapy or coun-
selling; (b) does the coach training
organisation detail the manner in which
their course will equip students to recognise
and appropriately deal with mental health
issues, and (c) does the coach training
organisation claim that coaching can deal
with issues more appropriately dealt with by
therapy or counselling? Information about
organisations that only offered a coach fran-
chise was not included in the analysis.
Four categories were used in analysing
this information. The first category applied
to those schools who made a very clear
distinction between mental health issues and
coaching (that is, who explicitly detailed the
differences between coaching and therapy
or counselling). The second category
applied to those schools who provided a
somewhat clear distinction (that is who
mentioned that coaching was different from
therapy or counselling). The third applied
to those schools who did not address or
mention mental health issues at all, and the
fourth applied to those schools who claimed
that coaching could be used to treat mental
health issues, and thus blurred the bound-
aries between mental health treatment and
coaching practice.
68 International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008
Anthony M. Grant & Blythe O’Hara
Table 6: Details of academic qualifications.
Area of qualification Number
Directly relevant
Adult education 2
Education 13
Arts 11
Science (including psychology) 7
PhD 4
Cert IV in workplace training 5
Somewhat relevant
Communication/Marketing/Management 5
Human Resources 3
Business 13
Law 2
Public Health 1
Philosophy 1
Economics/Commerce 6
Less relevant
Certificate IV in fitness 3
Vet Science 1
Botanical medicine 1
Homeopathy 1
Dentistry 1
Figure 1: Relevance of academic qualifications of owners/teachers.
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Directly
relevant
Somewhat
relevant
Less
relevant
Relevance scale
Number of qualifications
International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008 69
Key characteristics of the commercial Australian executive coach training industry
Eleven of the organisations did not artic-
ulate a distinction between mental health
issues and coaching at all, and two organisa-
tions provided a somewhat clear distinction.
Examples of those coach-training organi-
sations that provided a somewhat clear
distinction between mental health issues and
coaching are given below:
●‘Counsellors are in the business of
recovery, whereas coaches are in the
business of development.’
●‘Just some of the things you will learn…
how to know the difference between
coaching, therapy and counselling.’
Comparison with information obtained in
previous life coaching study
The information obtained in this study was
compared to the information obtained in
the previous Grant and O’Hara (2006) study
which examined the characteristics of
Australian life coach training organisations.
This information was compared in relation
to: (a) accreditation; (b) course cost and
duration; (c) marketing claims; and (d)
mental health issues.
Accreditation: The results indicate that, in rela-
tion to course accreditation, life coach
training organisation are more likely to have
obtained accreditation from either the ICF or
a relevant Government agency under the
Australian Qualifications Framework than
executive coach training organisations (21.4
per cent of life coaching schools compared
with 43.8 per cent of executive coach training
organisations had obtained accreditation for
the courses offered by their organisation). It is
also worth noting that the three of the coach
training organisations having obtained accred-
itation from a Government agency as a Regis-
tered Training Organisation in the category of
life coaching, also used this training category
to offer executive coach training and/or
business coach training and it was not clear
from the information presented by these
organisation if they had in fact been granted
approval to offer Government accredited
executive coach training programme.
Course cost and duration: The information
collected in relation to the course cost and
duration was highly similar for those
coaching organisations offering life coach
training those who also offered executive
coach training.
Marketing claims: Information was analysed
for both the present study and the previous
Grant and O’Hara (2006) study in relation
to marketing claims regarding the organisa-
tion, the course, the teachers/owners and
general marketing claims. Varying themes
arose from the information obtained from
the coaching schools websites. The nature of
these themes was compared and analysed
and it would appear that the marketing of
executive coach training organisations and
coach franchise organisations have some
similar themes and as well as some different
emphasis. In relation to marketing claims
regarding the organisation, the themes were
very similar, themes of ‘longevity’, ‘best
school’ and ‘reputation’ (particularly in rela-
tion to global recognition) were apparent
for all coach training organisations.
There appeared to be a greater emphasis
on executive coach training organisations
‘setting the standard’ for other schools to
aspire to, whereas life coaching schools
studies by Grant and O’Hara (2006)
appeared to promote ‘best practice’ as an
important mark of difference. In relation to
marketing claims about the course both the
present study and the Grant and O’Hara
(2006) study revealed themes in regard to
the ‘comprehensiveness of the course’
offered and the gaining of ‘recognised
credentials’. Executive and business coach-
ing organisations appeared to place a
greater emphasis on promoting the ‘price
effectiveness’ of the course being offered
compared to others in the market place and
this did not seem to be as apparent in infor-
mation pertaining to life coaching schools.
In relation to marketing claims about the
owners, teachers and trainers, both life and
executive coach training organisations
examined in the present study made claims
70 International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008
Anthony M. Grant & Blythe O’Hara
about the academic qualifications of the
teachers/owners, their personal charisma
and their relevant experience. Executive,
business and coaching franchise organisa-
tions seemed to place a greater promotional
emphasis on the personal philosophies of
the owner. There appeared to be a greater
emphasis on marketing claims in relation to
‘earning potential’ made by life coaching
schools compared to executive coaching and
coaching franchise organisations, who
appeared to place more emphasis on the
‘success’ of the profession more generally.
Executive coaching and coaching franchise
organisations also seemed to place a greater
emphasis on the ‘lifestyle’ associated with
their type of coaching rather than the more
general benefits associated with a growing
‘profession’.
Mental health issues: The information
collected in relation to mental health issues
show a similar trend: the majority of both
executive coach training organisations (84.6
per cent) and life coach training organisa-
tions (64.3 per cent) do not provide infor-
mation on the delineation of therapy and
counselling and coaching. A small number
of both executive coach training organisa-
tions and life coach training organisations
provide a somewhat clear distinction, 15.4
per cent and 28.6 per cent respectively in
relation to mental health issues. It appears
that, in compared to the life coach training
organisations studied in the Grant and
O’Hara (2006) research, the executive coach
training organisations in the present study
fare slightly better than their life coaching
counterparts with little evidence of a blur-
ring of the distinction between therapy and
coaching being found on the information
collected.
Discussion
The present study into Australian executive
coach training organisations, builds on and
extends past work which examined the char-
acteristics of Australian life coach training
organisations (Grant & O’Hara, 2006).
In the present study, 16 Australian executive
coach-training organisations were identified.
More than half the schools examined
offered more than one type of coach
training, and we identified four organisa-
tions who offered a coaching franchise.
Overall, a comparative analysis of the infor-
mation obtained in this study and the Grant
and O’Hara (2006) Australian life coach
training organisations study shows similar
trends in relation to accreditation issues,
course cost and duration, marketing claims.
The most common accrediting bodies
that coaching organisations utilised to add
legitimacy to their qualifications was either
the ICF or the Australian Government Voca-
tional Training Framework. The information
made available by these organisations about
course cost, course duration and assessment
processes varied considerably. The cost of
courses ranged from AUS$3245 to
AUS$14,795 thus the actual costs of these
courses varied greatly, and it is not clear what
students actually get for their money. Neither
is it clear which course offers greater value, or
which ‘qualification’, ‘certification’ or
‘accreditation’ carries the most cache. For
example, does a Government accredited
Certificate IV in Life Coaching (which is
ostensibly equivalent to a one-semester unit
of study in an undergraduate degree) taught
by a novice coach trainer or unqualified
person, have more real value than a self-
accredited Master Coach ‘certification’
taught by a highly experienced and respected
coach who has relevant postgraduate
business or psychological qualifications?
Of some concern was the great variation
in the information about the owners’ and
trainers’ qualifications. Of some additional
concern was the finding that some coach
trainers had no qualifications at all. The
question that then arises is, how can
someone with no qualifications at all provide
coach education and training and meaning-
fully ‘certify’ others?
However, it must be emphasised that
from the information that was provided, the
majority of trainers held some qualification,
International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008 71
Key characteristics of the commercial Australian executive coach training industry
and the majority of qualifications that were
held by coach trainers were directly relevant
to the field of coaching. The high
percentage of coach trainers who held rele-
vant degrees is reassuring. This finding,
coupled with the fact that the average age of
these organisations was over six years and
eight months, and at the time of writing
eight of these had been in existence for over
five years, may indicate that the executive
coach training industry is maturing and
becoming increasingly professionalised.
As regards mental health issues: Over the
past five years there has been an increasingly
sophisticated level of debate in the coaching
literature about the nuanced differences and
similarities between counselling and
coaching (Bluckert, 2005; Claps et al., 2005;
McKelley & Rochlen, 2007). So it was rather
disappointing to find over-simplistic state-
ments such as ‘counsellors are in the business
of recovery, whereas coaches are in the
business of development’. Such crass carica-
tures of the differences between counselling
and coaching are somewhat out of date with
contemporary research and theory recog-
nising that the boundaries between coun-
selling and coaching (Berglas, 2002) and
clinical and non-clinical issues are somewhat
blurred (see, for example, Berglas, 2002;
Grant, 2007; Keyes, 2003; Sheldon, 2004).
However, it appears that Australian exec-
utive coach training organisations do make
somewhat better distinctions between coun-
selling and coaching than Australian life
coach training organisations (see Grant &
O’Hara, 2006, for a discussion of this issue).
This difference may be reflective of different
student populations in that executive coach
training may be more likely to attract profes-
sionals such as human resource manage-
ment and organisational development
professionals, and these individuals may
have an existing awareness of health and
safety issues (including mental health issues)
that may be of relevance in the workplace.
Final observations and
recommendations
To the best of our knowledge, this study is
the first formal study into the characteristics
of the Australian executive coach training
industry, and as such provides a useful
benchmark from which to conduct future
research. In light of these findings it may be
useful to make a number of observations and
recommendations.
Firstly, it appears that the executive coach
and business coach training industry in
Australia is small but becoming mature.
Secondly, the longevity of many of these
organisation suggests that executive
coaching has moved well beyond being a fad.
Thirdly, organisational longevity may not
necessarily be associated with organisational
maturity. Despite the longevity of some of
these organisations some of the promotional
claims are more suited to late night televi-
sion infomercials than claims representative
of a genuine profession.
We recommend that, in order to further
professionalise and develop the Australian
executive coach and business coach training
industry, all coach trainers should be properly
qualified, issues related to identification of
mental illness be incorporated into executive
coach training, and organisations offering
coach franchising provide clear and unam-
biguous information to prospective clients.
Finally, we suggest that coach training organi-
sations temper their use of hyperbolic claims.
Given that one hallmark of a profession is
professional behaviour, the coaching industry
would do well to advance its claims to profes-
sional status by communicating the advantages
of specific approaches to coach training in a
moderate and genuinely professional fashion.
Correspondence
Dr Anthony M. Grant
Coaching Psychology Unit,
School of Psychology,
University of Sydney,
Sydney, NSW 2006,
Australia.
E-mail: anthonyg@psych.usyd.edu.au
72 International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008
Anthony M. Grant & Blythe O’Hara
Auerbach, J.E. (2001). Personal and executive coaching:
The complete guide for mental health professionals.
Ventura CA: Executive College Press.
Australian Government Department of Education
Science and Training (2006). National training
system glossary. Retrieved 28 July, 2006, from:
www.dest.gov.au/sectors/training_skills/
policy_issues_reviews/key_issues/nts/glo/
rtot.htm#Glossary_-_C
Australian Qualifications Framework. (2002).
Implementation handbook (3rd ed.). Carlton South,
VIC: Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF)
Advisory Board.
Berglas, S. (2002). The very real dangers of executive
coaching. Harvard Business Review, June, 87–92.
Bluckert, P. (2005). The similarities and differences
between coaching and therapy. Industrial &
Commercial Training, 37(2), 91–96.
Carr, R. (2005). A guide to credentials in coaching: Types,
issues, and sources. Victoria, BC: Peer Systems
Consulting Group Inc. Retrieved 26 July, 2006,
from: www.peer.ca/credentialing05.doc
Cavanagh, M. (2005). Mental-health issues and
challenging clients in executive coaching.
In A.M. Grant, M. Cavanagh & T. Kemp (Eds.),
Evidence based coaching (Volume 1): Contributions
from the Behavioural Sciences. Queensland:
Australian Academic Press.
Claps, J.B., Katz, A. & Moore, M. (2005).
A comparison of wellness coaching and reality
therapy. International Journal of Reality Therapy
24(2), 39–41.
Clegg, S., Rhodes, C., Kornberger, M. & Stilin, R.
(2005). Business coaching: Challenges for an
emerging industry. Industrial and Commercial
Training 37(5), 218–223
Dagley, G. (2006). Human resources professionals’
perceptions of executive coaching: Efficacy,
benefits and return on investment. International
Coaching Psychology Review, 1(2), 34–45.
Grant, A.M. (2003). The impact of life coaching on
goal attainment, metacognition and mental
health. Social Behaviour and Personality, 31(3),
253–264.
Grant, A.M. (2007). A model of goal striving and
mental health for coaching populations.
International Coaching Psychology Review, 2(3),
248–262.
Grant, A.M. & Cavanagh, M. (2007). Evidence-based
coaching: Flourishing or languishing? Australian
Psychologist, 42(4), 239–254.
Grant, A.M. & O’Hara, B. (2006). The self-
presentation of commercial Australian life
coaching schools: Cause for concern?
International Coaching Psychology Review, 1(2),
21–31.
Green, L.S., Oades, L.G. & Grant, A.M. (2006).
Cognitive-behavioural, solution-focused life
coaching: Enhancing goal striving, well-being
and hope. Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(3),
142–149.
Gyllensten, K. & Palmer, S. (2005). Can coaching
reduce workplace stress? A quasi-experimental
study. International Journal of Evidence Based
Coaching and Mentoring, 3(2), 75–85.
Infopeople (2006, 7 October 2005). Best search
engines: Quick guide. Retrieved 17 April, 2006,
from: http://infopeople.org/search/guide.html
Jarvis, J. (2003). Coaching and buying coaching services.
London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development.
Keyes, C.L.M. (2003). Complete mental health:
An agenda for the 21st century. In C.L.M. Keyes
& J. Haidt (Eds.), Flourishing: Positive psychology
and the life well-lived (pp.293–290). Washington
DC: American Psychological Association.
Kilburg, R. (1996). Toward a conceptual
understanding and definition of executive
coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice
and Research, 48, 134–144.
McKelley, R.A. & Rochlen, A.B. (2007). The practice
of coaching: Exploring alternatives to therapy for
counseling-resistant men. Psychology of Men &
Masculinity, 8(1), 53–65.
Passmore, J. & Gibbes, C. (2007). The state of
executive coaching research: What does the
current literature tell us and what’s next for
coaching research? International Coaching
Psychology Review, 2(2), 116–128.
Search Thingy. (2006). Top 10 search engines.
Retrieved 17 April, 2006, from:
www.searchthingy.com/search.asp
Sheldon, K.M. (2004). Optimal human being:
An integrated multi-level perspective. Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Spence, G.B., Cavanagh, M. & Grant, A.M. (2006).
Duty of care in an unregulated industry: Initial
findings on the diversity and practice of
Australian coaches. International Coaching
Psychology Review, 1(1), 71–85.
Spence, G.B. & Grant, A.M. (2004). Individual and
group life coaching: Findings from a randomised
controlled trial. In A.M. Grant, M. Cavanagh & T.
Kemp (Eds.), Evidence based coaching (Volume 1):
Contributions from the Behavioural Sciences.
Queensland: Australian Academic Press.
Stern, L.R. (2004). Executive coaching: A working
definition. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice
and Research, 56(3), 154–162.
Thach, E.C. (2002). The impact of executive
coaching and 360 feedback on leadership
effectiveness. Leadership & Organization
Development Journal, 23(3/4), 205–214.
References
International Coaching Psychology Review ●Vol. 3 No. 1 March 2008 73
Key characteristics of the commercial Australian executive coach training industry
UC Berkeley Library. (2006). Recommended search
engines: Tables of features. Retrieved 17 April, 2006,
from:
www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/
Internet/SearchEngine.html
Williams, P. & Thomas, L.J. (2004). Total life coaching.
New York: Norton & Company.
