The leading coaching organization in the world, the International Coaching Federation, has ratified and approved the “ICF Ghana Chapter” after ICF member coaches in the community worked tirelessly to fulfil all the golden standards and requirements to become a chapter. The ICF Ghana Chapter makes it the 8th in Africa and 2nd in West Africa among the 141 chapters globally in more than 99 countries and territories.
Ghana embracing coaching as a vital tool for growth and development within the Human Capital Development sector is a strategic and imperative adventure. This officially establishes a coaching industry to augment the quest for Ghana’s development.
The demand for coaching has never been greater, considering how our world is changing at the speed of light and wrapped with many volatility, uncertainty, complexities, and ambiguities. All over the world, individuals, start-up owners, organizations, and governments recognize the profound impact and transformation coaching has on personal, professional, career, teams, leadership, etc. An ICF chapter and an established coaching industry provide many opportunities for coaching practitioners in Ghana. Consider some of the benefits below.
Global recognition and connecting Ghana to the world
The ICF Ghana Chapter bridges the coaching and human capital development sector and almost every human endeavour sphere. Coaching has been shown to be a stimulator of the brain’s prefrontal cortex to enhance cognitive functions. This will allow our clients and organizations to have leaders, executives, individuals, and teams hone their critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
As Ghana has connected to the global coaching community through the International Coaching Federation, it will afford the Ghanaian coaching community high standards of the culture of continuous learning, demonstrating high levels of competencies and credibility for personal growth. This will ensure our coaching members support their clients to drive and champion innovative solutions. At the same time, demonstrate the coaching competencies, values and ethics expertise that can benefit individuals and organizations nationwide. Reaching a chapter status for the coaching community also positions Ghana as a gateway and a hub for professional coaching and standardized industry practice.
Standardize ICF practice of excellence
The golden practice of ensuring excellence is non-negotiable to the International Coaching Federation, and it is our resolve as a chapter to adhere to and jealously guard it. When clients live their endeavours excellently, neuroscience experts say this can significantly reduce stress levels because coaching promotes self-awareness, workplace safety, well-being and emotional regulation. ICF Global Coaching Studies showed that clients who work with ICF-certified coaches report a 70% improvement in their work performance, 61% in their business management, and 57% in time management. To deepen this sterling growth born out of ICF’s rigorous standards, the ICF Ghana Chapter will ensure that member coaches will offer services in Ghana that meet and even exceed international best practices. Coachees are keen on individual well-being because it enhances and contributes to healthier lifestyles and more productive work environments in the private and public sectors.
Professional development and commitment to nurturing talents
Professional growth is at the heart of the ICF Ghana Chapter’s mission, considering the impact on clients and business a golden standard by the ICF. Because coaching influences the brain’s neuroplasticity, it reinforces the suggestion that coaching is one of the professional support mediums through which individuals can rewire their thinking patterns and behaviours. Such neural benefit improves leadership skills and extraordinary adaptability in such a vuca era in all sectors. Our chapter members and organizations will have access to cutting-edge pieces of training, varied coaching niches and methodologies through which our coaches will empower individuals to harness their full potential and propel them towards successful leadership roles, life satisfaction and mental wellness.
Market growth: A boon for coaches and clients
The ICF Ghana Chapter is positioned to cultivate a thriving coaching industry that benefits everyone involved. As many neuroscience studies reveal, coaching enhances empathy and social intelligence, which are golden qualities for effective leadership in the private and public sectors. The ICF Global Coaching Client Study found that coaching clients experience an average return on investment (ROI) of 539 %. In the Coaching Catalyst for Change publication, Intel Corporation’s ROI on their Coaching program facilitates a contribution of operating margins per year to 1 billion US dollars.
The ICF Ghana Chapter actively supports the growth of the coaching market in the country. We commit to forge innovative international partnerships and collaborations for the benefit of our clients and nation. Our commitment offers space for an emotionally intelligent and agile leadership cadre, leading to improved decision-making and problem-solving across various sectors.
Quality assurance: Building trust
Building trust is one of the eight (8) core competencies of the ICF to evoke strong and fluid coaching client partnerships and relationships. Various emerging neuroscience research demonstrates how coaching impacts and improves the brain’s capacity for empathy and compassion. They are crucial skills for building trust among colleagues and stakeholders. The ICF Ghana Chapter places a premium on quality assurance. Through accreditation and peer review processes, we ensure that clients receive high-quality coaching services, enhancing client satisfaction and building trust in coaching as a transformative tool. Embodied trust as a human phenomenon through coaching will solidify the professional reputation for quality in Ghana.
Our commitment to strategic and transformational growth through coaching is evident in the leadership voted to our Board of Directors to steer our affairs for the next two years at our maiden Annual General Meeting. The founding board of directors are;
President: Scofray Nana Yaw Yeboah, PCC, a Transformational Executive and leadership Coach
Vice President: Emily Margaret Nwankwo, an Executive Coach
Secretary: Bijou E.N.Y Attey, a Certified Master Coach
Treasurer: Frank Owiredu-Yeboah, Professional Life Coach
Organiser: Samuel Kumi Ayim.Esq, a Leadership Coach
Laison Francophone Officer: Patrick Sassou Abah-Dakou, ACC, Leadership & Executive Coach
In a nutshell, establishing and approving the ICF Ghana Chapter as the official representative of the International Coaching Federation in Ghana heralds a new era for coaching in our country. This possibility opens Ghana’s coaching culture and industry to global recognition, standardizes practices, nurtures professional development, fuels market growth, and assures quality.
To have a chapter and coaching industry is a mission-critical step in harnessing and exploring the power of coaching to drive personal, organizational, and national development. With the ICF Ghana Chapter leading the way, the future of coaching in Ghana is brighter than ever; by hitting our chest, we officially have a coaching industry to augment the human capital development sector of Ghana’s quest for rapid growth and development. The ICF Ghana Chapter becomes the go-to body for professional coaching for individuals, organizations and the government and the benchmark for any practising coach in Ghana. We make a clarion call on every strategic partner to come on board to shape a thriving professional coaching industry in Ghana, where excellence knows no bounds.
The ICF Ghana Chapter, [email protected]
