Coaching Academy

The intention of the RIHEL Coaching Academy is to develop confident and capable coaches who support others with maximizing their personal and professional potential. Through a comprehensive training experience, participants are prepared to effectively practice professional coaching.

The RIHEL Coaching Academy provides an accredited and robust six-month coach training experience that prepares participants with the skills and practices essential to providing an effective and valuable coaching experience. The program is limited to 15 participants per class and is open to graduates of one of RIHEL’s comprehensive leadership programs, or anyone who has completed an introductory coaching workshop and has experience being coached by either a peer or professional coach.

At the Regional Institute for Health & Environmental Leadership (RIHEL), we believe that Coaching is the art of being a strategic thinking partner. It is both a communication skill and a development tool for oneself or others.

One of the basic philosophical underpinnings of coaching is that individuals are creative, resourceful and whole. They don’t need fixing. In fact, more often than not, they have the answers to the challenges they face within them. A good coach can help individuals evoke those answers and become aware of possibilities, working alongside them to set goals and craft action plans. Coaching is a collaborative effort that expands a person’s capacity to take effective action.

The context for coaching is a dialogue. It is an ongoing partnership or a sustained alliance between a coach and a person being coached to enhance learning, growth and effectiveness. It is a one-to-one relationship in which the focus is on developing the individual, challenging and supporting that person to become more effective, and to reach his/her own highest levels of competence and ability. Coaching is about unlocking a person’s potential in order to reach new levels of performance. It’s about helping people learn, rather than teaching them.

It is important to note that coaches don’t develop people per se; rather, they guide individuals to develop themselves. Coaches serve as a catalyst for development. A coach is a respectful yet truthful listener, and an unbiased accountability partner. A major role for a coach is to ask good questions that elicit knowledge, wisdom or strategy from the person being coached.

• 86 hours of coach-specific training (accredited by the International Coaching Federation for 86 Approved Coach Specific Training Hours)
• 29 training modules
• A small class size (max 15 participants!) with individualized guidance and instruction
• Interterm assignments, including 5 observed coaching sessions with personal feedback
• An online learning management and learning community platform
• Coaching tools and resources
• Optional Coaching Practicum

This program typically consists of five two-day training sessions. However, due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the schedule is shifting to an all online program. The dates for the next class are listed below. Participants must attend ALL program sessions.

• Wednesdays, January 27, 2021 – July 14, 2021
• Sessions will range from two to six hours in length, including breaks, with most averaging around three hours total (exact session times will be confirmed when registration opens in December).
• In addition, each student will participate in five (5) observed coaching practice sessions between March 15th and June 30th. These sessions wil be scheduled directly between participants and program faculty.

Location: online videoconference via Zoom

Hours: The length of each session varies from two to six hours (including breaks)

The Coaching Academy is limited to 15 participants per class and is open to:

Graduates of one of RIHEL’s comprehensive leadership programs:
• Advanced Leadership Training Program (ALTP)
• Advanced Physicians Leadership Program (APLP)
• Leadership for Healthy Community Design (LHCD)
• Primary Care Movers and Changers (PCMAC) program

OR, anyone who has completed the following requirements:
• The RIHEL Introduction to Coaching workshop (or an equivalent training)
• Experience being coached by either a peer or professional coach (see RIHEL’s personal coaching services)

Time Commitment. Participants must commit the time required to complete assignments and participate in all of the training sessions.

• The sessions take place via videoconference using Zoom and will be held in January through July 2020 (see program schedule above).
• Assignments between sessions include readings, self-assessments, on-line discussions, and observed practice coaching labs.

Technology Resources. Participants must have access to the hardware and software to participate in distance learning. The program cannot assume any costs for the computer and communication systems used by participants.