We have strong and enduring relationships with the world’s largest professional coaching bodies, the International Coach Federation (ICF), the Association for Coaching (AC), and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). These connections and relationships are hugely important to us for four key reasons. Advocating For The Animas Approach Firstly, our strong relationships enable us to impact and influence the direction of coaching. Whether through research, speaking, writing, participation in steering groups or other ways, we recognise that the voice of Animas and our coaching alumni is vital to the way coaching develops around the world. As the world’s leading school of transformative coaching, it’s important to us that we share our perspective on coaching and the transformative approach. We do this through guest lectures, interviews, and written content. Supporting Our Coaching Alumni Secondly, our relationships with the professional coaching bodies enable us to support coaches who train with Animas in their journeys towards personal credentials with these bodies. Whether that’s through the training credentials we offer that are mapped specifically to the requirements of the ICF, AC and EMCC, or whether through our understanding of what’s needed, whom to contact and how to overcome some of the challenges along the way, we ensure that our graduates are able to achieve the important step of gaining professional credentials should they wish to. Credibility for Our Courses and Our Coaches Thirdly, in an ever more competitive market, credibility matters and our relationship with the coaching bodies as accreditors of our courses ensure that the coaches who train through us gain certification that counts in the coaching field. Our Accredited Diploma in Transformative Coaching is accredited by the International Coaching Federation, the Association for Coaching, and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council. Community Finally, we are big believers in the power of community. Community supports learning, helps maintain momentum, encourages the sharing of ideas, facilitates partnerships and creates a sense of belonging. At Animas, we have our own powerful community, the Animas Alumni, but there’s a bigger world outside of Animas and it’s important that we, and our students and graduates, get out in the wider coaching community. The ICF, AC, and EMCC enable this to happen. Summary The professional bodies in coaching matter. They set the standards that direct our profession and, although we each get to interpret these our own way to be unique as a coach, the principles and broad practices they promote, give a clear and powerful guide to the profession. As a school, we aim to advance the practice of coaching and make it fit for the 21st century challenges and we can only do this when we do it with others. That’s why we maintain such great relationships and why they matter.
