FAQs
This is our FAQ page that provides answers to any common questions you may have, including information on qualifications, differentiators, coaching practice hours, ICF accreditation, tuition, and lots more. Use the table of contents to navigate to specific sections of interest.
Leadership + Performance Coaching Certification (LPCC)
ACT stands for Awareness —> Choice —> Transformation and this is the overarching coaching method used throughout the program. Whether it be Values, Purpose, Inner Critic, Emotional Presence or developing Range, we invite leaders to become aware so they can make an informed choice as to how they want to show up and the impact that they want to create, leading to Transformation.
A: Great question. LPCC trains you to become a Leadership Coach, credentialed through the ICF to ACC level. You will develop the ability to coach confidently, incorporating the ICF Level 1 / ACC Core Competencies. The content of our program is summarized on on Feedback Form page that you will use throughout the program. This includes:
4 Coaching Mindsets (e.g. Client is Naturally Creative, Resourceful + Whole)
22 Coaching Skills (e.g. Powerful Questions, Checking In, Acknowledging)
12 Coaching Concepts (e.g. Values, Inner Critic, Purpose, Range)
The program intersects with other disciplines, for example:
DE+I
Neuroscience
Leader Development
Setting Up Your Coaching Practice
We include these areas in the program, however these are not core concepts in the program. Some, e.g. Setting Up Your Coaching Practice, are not relevant to everyone. We offer Elective webinars (e.g. a live 90-minute session on DE+I after Module 2) and recorded webinars.
A: LPCC focuses on leadership and performance within an organizational context. The emphasis is on the individual, or client, making it similar to “life” coaching. The topics that clients bring to the sessions may not be work-related, but can still impact their performance and are therefore typically relevant for leadership coaching.
A: Most Alumni that we see on LinkedIn call themselves a “Leadership Coach”. 95% go on to complete their certification with the ICF, where they can also call themselves Associate Certified Coach (”ACC”).
A: Not necessarily. We have had people apply to the program who want to appeal to all types of audiences, including emergency room doctors, consultants, physicians, internal coaches from organizations, and coaches wanting to set up their own business. It all depends on how you want to use the coaching. Additionally, our program takes a whole-person approach, examining underlying assumptions and patterns of belief that influence behavior and impact.
A: Coaching involves helping individuals identify their vision and goals, and supporting them in working towards these goals. It is a process of peeling back layers, exploring underlying values and purpose and limiting beliefs that drive their behavior. When they become stuck, coaches do not delve into the past to understand why those issues arose. Instead, coaches help individuals work with those issues in the present, and explore how they want to show up with them and how they are currently impacting them.
Therapists are licensed professionals such as psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, or mental health counselors, and are trained in a wide array of modalities. The common goal of all therapists is to relieve suffering (mental health symptoms) and achieve a healthy state of being and functioning.
While these professions are distinct, there is also a lot of overlap and in recent years there has been much convergence around topics such as trauma, still with distinct lines of demarcation especially for when coaches should refer a client to a therapist.
This program contextualizes leadership ideas and concepts. We approach it from the perspective of helping individuals, managers, or leaders increase their effectiveness, performance, and interpersonal relationships. This work is applicable to everyone, but it is not specifically a career coaching course. Rather, it is geared more towards professional coaching.
LPCC Program Differentiators
A: The following article highlights the Top 10 differentiators of LPCC compared to other ICF-leadership coaching programs. Note: One independent study was done on LinkedIn.
ACT + Brown University
A: ACT shares Brown University’s mission to develop reflective leaders, to effect change in the world, and to improve human welfare. We believe that leaders are responsible for their impact and are responsible for creating positive, inclusive environments for people from all backgrounds to feel safe showing up as their authentic selves.
A: We recommend researching different coaching programs to find the one that best fits your needs. Some of our competitors hold informational sessions, so you will have opportunities to ask questions and make a determination. In terms of what makes our program unique, read the following link.
Some individuals may view having a certificate from Brown University as an advantage. Visit our website to view client testimonials and student experience webinars.
A: Unfortunately not. However, every two years, we host a 2-day Alumni Connect event in person at the Brown University School of Professional Studies campus in Providence RI, where all of our Alumni have the opportunity to meet, learn and network with each other.
Some individuals may view having a certificate from Brown University as an advantage. Visit our website to view client testimonials and student experience webinars.
ACT + The International Coaching Federation (ICF)
A: Yes. LPCC is a Level 1 ICF-credentialed program for 95 coach-specific training hours.
A: The ICF issues you with your ACC statement. The prerequisite for that is the Level 1 Certificate, issued through ACT and Brown University. In order to obtain your ACC, you need 100 hours of coaching practice and pass your online Credentialing Exam.
A: At least 90% of our Alumni apply for their Associate Certified Coach credential upon completion of LPCC.
A: ACT as a company is credentialed for Level 1 and Level 2. LPCC is Level 1. If you want to get your Level 2, we recommend doing our Next Level coaching program, which
A: Once you have successfully completed your Performance Evaluation with ACT, you then need a further 50 hours of coaching practice (100 total), to apply to the ICF. They will check your coaching log and then you will sit a proctored, online Credentialing Exam, which you will prepared for having completed LPCC. Once you have successfully passed this exam, you will be issued with your ACC Certification. To find out more about the ICF Credentialing Exam, click here.
Coaching Practice Hours + Charging Clients
A: Yes, you can count internal hours towards your credential as long as your job description includes the term “coach” or “coaching.” This can usually be achieved by speaking with your HR department about adding it to your job description.
A: Yes, that’s when you’re coaching hours begin from day one of module one.
A: The ICF provides a log on their website that you can use to document your coaching hours. They may ask you to verify the hours and sometimes they may even want to audit the log. Therefore, it’s important to have your hours documented in the log.
A: Not at all, it could be a dollar!
A: No, not with the ICF.
A: I would advise checking with ICF, but typically no. Unless you have gone through formal training, you cannot transfer any coaching hours, unless they were part of an approved program and can be used within that program.
A: Yes, it can.
A: It may be different for you, as you will need to find practice clients. Someone within an organization can coach and likely has available hours, so they won’t need to work as hard to find clients. We will assist you with the coaching exchange, but you will also need to reach out to friends, peers, and communities to find practice clients for the program. Everyone who participates in the program is required to find practice clients and work up to 100 hours.
We also offer a webinar on building your own business, where we discuss best practices, how often to hold coaching sessions, and what a thriving business looks like. Additionally, we partner with a business builder specialist, Phil Askew, who leads a group course called “Land the Clients Love” for ACT Alumni.
A: The 50 hours are not considered part of the curriculum, but they do count towards the required 100 hours for coaching practice.
We also offer a webinar on building your own business, where we discuss best practices, how often to hold coaching sessions, and what a thriving business looks like. Additionally, we partner with a business builder specialist, Phil Askew, who leads a group course called “Land the Clients Love” for ACT Alumni.
Finding Clients
A: The ICF discourages coaching of spouses or close family members due to potential personal bias. They also prohibit coaching of direct reports or anyone where the coach has influence over their performance appraisal.
A: We do not provide client matching services, but we do offer guidance on how to find clients. Additionally, we provide a coaching exchange setup with your peers, which can provide support for this activity.
A: We encourage you to start practicing right from the beginning, even if it feels like jumping in at the deep end. So, start as soon as possible. To complete our program, you need to accumulate 50 hours of practice.
ICF Level 1 Performance Evaluation
A: Upon completion of all LPCC programmatic requirements, students are eligible to submit a recording of a 30 minute coaching session to an ACT Performance Assessor, who will review the recording and provide a Pass / Fail, together with a formal review of your coaching. If you are successful, you will receive a “Level 1” Certificate, that you will submit to the ICF as part of your ACC application, once you have 100 hours of practice.
A: We have some linguists in our faculty, but unfortunately, we cannot support languages that they do not cover. Please let us know early on what language the recording is in, and we will do our best to let you know if we can provide support for it.
Application Process
A: To apply, complete our application and pay a $50 deposit. We ask that you give careful thought to your answers, particularly regarding why you want to be a Leadership + Performance Coach.
A: It depends. Some people who have taken the program previously do so to formalize their coaching skills. The entry point depends on what you want to achieve. At this stage, it would be good for us to set up a one-on-one meeting to understand your needs better. We require a one-on-one meeting with everyone who applies to ensure that this program is a good fit for you and for us, as we require your commitment.
Diversity, Equity + Inclusion (DE+I)
A: DE+I is integrated throughout the LPCC program and we believe is implicit in the principles of coaching. For example, the following coaching mindsets – Focusing on the Whole Person, Client is Naturally Creative Resourceful, Client is the Expert in Their life, support the client to explore their own lived experiences in a safe, judgment-free environment. ACT trainers and mentor coaches are trained to listen for “leading”, “advice giving” by student coaches. Where bias does seep into a “leading” question, loaded with assumptions and taking a client away from their lived experiences, this will be brought to the coach’s attention.
We explore both coach and observer unconscious bias when discussing giving and receiving feedback. In Module 2,
Our coach approach will not naturally land in all cultural concepts. So, as we introduce coaching skills and concepts, we discuss the importance of cultural contexts. For example, if you are introducing a metaphor, is it based on your cultural experience and will it land for your client?
DE+I concepts are weaved in from Day 1, for example when the cohort comes together and “Co-Creates Its Relationship”, we invite every participant to share and co-design an inclusive learning environment where everyone feels safe to show up and express themselves, while being responsible and respectful of their impact on the learning of every participant.
After Module 2, there is a live, 90 minute session with Carlon Howard from the Equity Institute and an ACT / Brown trainer. ACT is in partnership with the Equity Institute to research and experiment with DE+I concepts and how they can weave into the coaching model.
We also have recorded sessions, one at our last Alumni Coaching Connect event, where we had a panel of DE+I experts and another interviewing an Alumni who works in the DE+I space.
A: This is a Leadership + Performance Coaching program, that intersects with many different disciplines, DE+I being one of them. To the extent it is relevant to LPCC and our mission to make coaching accessible to everyone, regardless of background, we include it in the program. We believe the coaching model is an inclusive, client-centric approach, focusing on the Whole Person which builds self-awareness, exposes biases and promotes deep human connection. We explore identity formation and specifically marginalized groups, developing the coach’s responsibility in holding space for lived experiences, especially around systemic oppression.
When delving into core content such as Coaching Skills, we provide examples of how they might be met in different cultural contexts. We invite students to check their own biases and how this might show up in coaching and observing / providing feedback to other coaches.
There is a 90-minute live session after Module 2, focused specifically on identity formation and an invitation for students to look inwards to their own beliefs and how they might impact their coaching. This fosters a sense of responsibility required to be a professional coach.
Intellectual Property
A: Yes, we provide a participant guide for every module, which is about 70 pages each, and a workbook that covers all of the content in detail.
Team Coaching
A: The focus of LPCC is 1:1 coaching with an individual client, in line with the ICF Level 1 ACC standards. We have a separate Team Coaching program (also credentialed with the ICF) that focuses specifically on teams and is available once students have successfully completed LPCC. The content is similar for both programs, however applying it in a team context requires further training. Many LPCC Alumni have shared how they have integrated the coaching skills into their leadership style and are able to develop their teams, for example in communicating effectively, listening and asking questions differently.
Building Your Coaching Business
A: We have a separate 8-week program called “Land the Clients You Love” that focuses specifically on setting up your own practice. It costs $1200. However, LPCC students do receive guidance on the business of coaching in module one.
A: Many students have a fully fledged coaching practice build when they complete LPCC. Others take longer, using the time to reflect on the type of client they want to serve. Some focus on 1:1 Leadership Coaching, others integrate coaching into consulting, team interventions and other forms of organizational development.
A: The LPCC program does not provide branding or network support. After becoming certified, you can place yourself into ICF’s network of certified coaches, but they won’t help market you.
We partner with an experienced coach and mentor who offers an 8-week cohort based, practice building program called ‘Land the Clients You Love‘. This program is designed to empower you step by step to reach out to champions and allies, increasing your brand visibility, building your business and getting clients you really feel called to serve.
A: Around 75% of our students are working full time. Before applying to the problem, they will have designed their schedule to incorporate the 95 hours of coach training and 50 hours of coaching practice into their work schedule.
We partner with an experienced coach and mentor who offers an 8-week cohort based, practice building program called ‘Land the Clients You Love‘. This program is designed to empower you step by step to reach out to champions and allies, increasing your brand visibility, building your business and getting clients you really feel called to serve.
A: We have a webinar that runs through the best practices of starting a business, what to charge, frequency of seeing clients and we partner with a practice building expert who leads an 8-week virtual course for alumni called ‘Land the Clients You Love’.
A: We do not assist with job searches. Perhaps you could use our coaching to improve your skills within your organization, use it as an additional tool for one-on-one coaching in your own business, or work with specific groups or individuals in transition, depending on your goals. Additionally, the ICF Coaching Report provides information on salaries and related topics.
Tuition, Costs & Reimbursement
A: We do not offer financing plans, but we do offer scholarships that may be of service to you. Click on the following link to find out more about Tuition Costs and Reimbursement
Attendance Policy + Time Commitment
A: No. We offer multiple cohorts per year so please sign up for a cohort where you know you can attend every date.
A: The program has 3 live modules, each spanning 3 days. These modules are instructor-led with 2 instructors and run for full days. Depending on the cohort you choose, they may be held at different times.
A: Yes, you will need to attend the 9 days of instructor-led training with the same cohort in full, as well as the 7 hours of Mentor Coaching Group sessions. For the latter, there are 3 time options for each session.
You have flexibility in scheduling the rest of the program’s events, including Individual Mentor Feedback (3 hours), Coaching Practice Triads (10 hours) and Self-Paced Learning (journaling, reading, coaching demonstration videos). Additionally, there are other synchronous sessions, such as a 90-minute DE&I, the Business of Coaching, a Check-in call, and a Completion call, that are recommended but not mandatory (you can listen to the recording if you miss the live session).
A: Yes, you can transfer those coaching hours into our program.
Virtual vs. In-Person
A: We have written an article outlining the pros and cons of virtual vs. in-person. We have plenty of data to support either option and ultimately it depends on your personal learning preferences and circumstances. We also offer a hybrid model, where you can attend Modules 1 and 3 in-person and Module 2 virtually.
In summary, the quality of the coaching was marginally better with the virtual cohorts. However, the experience is different for sure. Those who attend in person love it, and those who attend virtually love it as well. The groups that are hybrid and experience both in-person and virtual say, ‘Wow, this is a bit different,’ but only because they have experienced both. Virtual programs have more geographical diversity, with people joining from all over the world, giving it a more international feel.
A: Please refer to the following link that lists all the program dates. In summary, Modules 1 and 3 are in-person at Brown School of Professional Studies in Providence RI and Module 2 is delivered virtually.
A: Yes, they run from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM Eastern Time. We’ve received feedback that our approach is engaging and we encourage you to be comfortable throughout the day. We will be presenting throughout the day, and we expect your commitment to engage and attend so that the coaching can truly become ingrained in you.
A: No, there is a price difference of $1000, and we offer an early bird discount. Please refer our webpage on tuition fees for more details.
A: You will receive the Brown University rate for hotels and sent a recommended list of hotels. On Day 3 of the in-person program, you receive a catered lunch and an opportunity for us to chat and answer questions.
A: Our programs run either from Tuesday to Thursday or Friday to Sunday, with different combinations for in-person, hybrid and virtual. Click here for a list of upcoming programs.
Cohort Composition
A: When the cohort is virtual, we have a much broader geographical spread. Currently, 75% of our participants are based in the USA or Canada. We are proud to have trained and worked with a diverse range of leaders from various backgrounds, including actors, musicians, government officials, healthcare professionals and nonprofit workers, who all share a common desire to serve.
When the cohort is virtual, we have a much broader geographical spread. Currently, 75% of our participants are based in the USA or Canada. We welcome a diverse range of individuals from various backgrounds, including actors, musicians, government officials, and nonprofit workers, who all share a common desire to serve.
A: We’ve had some very senior leaders in our program, as well as emerging leaders and everyone in between.
A: No more than 24 people. With few exceptions, every cohort is full.
A: In the application, you need at least 5 years of professional experience. There are a lot of senior people in our program, some retired, some as a second career, CEO, COO, consultants, educators. We look at your experience and how you want to apply. This is why we have 1-2-1 calls, to ensure this is the right program for you as well as for us, as it requires a lot of commitment. So that you can readily and easily apply these skills.
A: Around 75% of the cohort composition is from North America. Of the remaining 25%, students are spread geographically from around the world.
A: It depends. Are you an ICF-credentialed coach? If so, I would not recommend it.
Have you been trained in another style of coaching? We recommend checking whether this follows the ICF Core Competencies. We would recommend you schedule a call with one of our Program Advisors who can advise.
If you have been calling yourself a coach without an ICF-credential, you cannot count any of the hours as coaching practice. The ICF wants to make sure you are practicing the coaching from a credentialed coaching school.
ICF Level 2
Level 2 requires 125 hours of coach-specific training. Our LPCC Level 1 program provides 95 hours of training. To obtain your PCC, you will require an additional 30 hours of training. We offer two programs: Next Level and Team Coaching, which will provide you with over 125 hours of training. This will enable you to complete your level 2 Performance Evaluation and become eligible for your PCC.
To obtain the PCC with the ICF, you must complete 500 hours of practice.
A: 95% of students do LPCC Level 1 first, to obtain their ACC with the ICF. You could go straight for Level 2 (LPCC + receive 30 more hours of coach-specific training), however you will need 500 hours of coaching practice to obtain your PCC, so most opt for ACC first. For more information about Level 2, click here.
