ABSTRACT
Of the three aspects of coach development, competence is the most visible and obvious. Most coaching bodies have some sort of credentialing process, which entails one person assessing the skills of another person and declaring them to be competent (or not). This approach is common to other professional bodies too; doctors, architects and accountants, for example. This all makes absolute sense. If someone is going to remove my appendix, design me a house, or advise me where to invest my money, I want assurance that person has the right skills. So, does it make sense to adopt the same approach in the coaching world? Some say yes, others are not so sure. With reference to a wonderful article by the folks at Oxford Brookes University, 1 let’s have a look at some of the limitations of a skills/competency approach to coaching.
