In today’s evolving professional landscape, blended coaching is more than just a trend – it’s a powerful evolution in how individuals enter the coaching profession and shape their niche. At its core, blended coaching is about integrating your existing knowledge and expertise with coaching. It’s an approach that values your background and incorporates your unique skills and knowledge. Then, if you combine this approach with an internationally recognized ICF-accredited coaching certification, you are aligning with best practices in coaching and setting the stage for a distinct, high-impact coaching career.
Audio on Blended Coaching With Merci Miglino, MCC
Recognition of Prior Learning: Your Experience is Your Asset
One of the key principles behind blended coaching is Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Many professionals fear they need to leave their former roles behind when becoming a coach, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Let’s say you’ve spent a decade in corporate leadership. You understand the stressors, decision fatigue, and politics of middle and upper management. When you combine that insight with ICF-accredited coach training, you can coach executives with a level of nuance that someone outside the corporate world might miss. Similarly, a former healthcare professional stepping into coaching can support nurses or doctors with burnout or career transitions, because they’ve walked that path themselves.
Case Example:
Sandra, a former HR director in a multinational company, decided to become a coach after experiencing burnout. She enrolled in an ICF accredited program at ICA and developed a coaching model that blended conflict resolution, leadership development, and emotional intelligence. Now, she works with rising leaders who want to avoid burnout and become better communicators. Her clients consistently say that her HR background makes her “get it” in ways other coaches don’t.
Unique Value Proposition: Why Blended Coaching Attracts Ideal Clients
When you blend your former expertise with coaching, you offer something that no template or textbook can replicate – a unique value proposition.
Traditional coaching strictly separates coaching from advising or consulting. But in real-world practice, many clients benefit from a more integrative approach; one that includes moments of mentoring, tools from industry experience, and deep listening honed by coach training. Blended coaching allows for flexibility while still remaining anchored in ICF Core Competencies like presence, active listening, and co-creating the relationship.
Example:
Jorge, a marketing strategist turned coach, works with small business owners. He helps them build confidence in decision-making while also identifying blind spots in their branding and messaging. He enarolled in the Advanced Coach Training Program at ICA and developed a coaching model that includes exercises from cognitive behavioral coaching, vision planning, and brand storytelling. A Coaching Model uniquely his own.
Clients are not just buying coaching sessions, they’re investing in you. The unique intersection of your lived experience and professional training becomes your edge.
An Abundance of Opportunities: Income, Impact, and Visibility
Blended coaching also provides fertile ground for building a profitable and purposeful coaching business. Rather than narrowing your path, blending expands it. You can create offers that span:
- One-on-one coaching programs
- Group coaching for niche audiences
- Speaking engagements and workshops
- Online courses that blend your insights with coaching principles
- Consultancy-coaching hybrids tailored to business environments
Example:
Alex, a former school principal, developed a coaching model for educators transitioning to leadership roles in the Professional Coach Program at ICA. Then she enrolled in our Team CoachinProgram (AATC) certification and created a coaching framework that helps teachers develop leadership presence and communication skills. Today, she runs a thriving group and team coaching programs for educators and is regularly invited to speak at education conferences.
Even if your previous roles were outside the corporate sphere, like parenting, teaching, caregiving, or the arts, they are still deeply relevant. Those lived experiences hold emotional intelligence, communication skills, and resilience – all valuable assets in a coaching practice.
ICA is the Perfect Training Ground for Blended Coaches
At International Coach Academy (ICA), we believe that no two coaches should sound the same, because no two lives are the same. We don’t just train students to become ICF-accredited coaches; we teach them to create their own coaching model, one that reflects who they are, where they come from, and the unique contribution they want to make.
Unlike other schools that train you to adopt a fixed model or coaching script, ICA’s curriculum is designed for integration and originality. We provide the framework and core competencies required by the International Coaching Federation – but within that, we empower you to:
- Choose your niche
- Blend prior learning into your coaching conversations
- Design a signature coaching model that aligns with your values and background
- Build a coaching identity that is authentic, ethical, and marketable
ICA offers not just training, but a transformation. We do this by encouraging our students to bring both heart and expertise to the table. The result is that all our graduates are not only certified as coaches, they are architects of their own coaching philosophies.
See Real Life Examples
Our students are given the opportunity to submit their unique Coaching Models for publishing to the ICA Coach Blog. Click here to see firsthand the diversity and range of experience in the Coaching Models from ICA Coaches. You might also like to listen to this podcast on Blended Coaching with Andrea Lee and Robyn Logan.
Turn Your Experience into a Powerful Coaching Practice
Whether you’re transitioning from corporate, education, healthcare, parenting, or entrepreneurship, your past can be a launchpad, not a limitation. With ICA’s ICF-accredited coach training and support to create your own model, you’ll craft a practice that’s aligned, authentic, and uniquely yours.
