Coaching Skills
Live Course
We are deeply committed to helping people engage in responsible practice.
That’s why we developed our foundational coaching skills program. This course introduces learners to the coaching relationship and provides an introduction to essential skills, professionalism, and ethical practice. Our instructional design emphasizes multiple learning styles and deep learning.
We train for mastery. We introduce skills, provide opportunities for practice and feedback, and discuss culture and other factors that might impact these skills. This course is appropriate for educators, therapists, managers, or those seeking to become coaches.
Learning Objectives:
- Sophisticated facilitation skills
- How to ask deep questions
- Tools for creating trust and safety for clients
- How to fast-forward positive client change
- An ethical approach to coaching
What you will learn
of Goals
and Motivation
and Mindfulness
for Change
for Addressing
Personal Values
and
Coaching Ethics
Your Instructor
This course is led by Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener. In 2024, Robert was named one of the 50 most influential executive coaches in the world by Thinkers50. He is a pioneer and thought leader in positive psychology coaching.
This 14-week distance learning program uses a “flipped classroom” design. Our industry-leading digital classroom provides readings, pre-recorded lectures, and other learning materials that you can access at your convenience. This means that our interactive sessions can be more experiential with a focus on demonstrations, discussion, and practice. We use Zoom for our interactive class sessions.
We offer high-touch personalized service to ensure you get the most out of this course.
Course Details
54 credits
Course Fee: $4600
Course Schedule
Starts on September 9, 2025
Ends on December 11, 2025
Note: There are no classes the weeks of October 21 and November 25
Class Times
Meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM to 10:30 AM Pacific
Generally, coaches with years of experience with a wide range of clients are not required to take coaching skills. Even so, formal training can be helpful in improving competency even for seasoned coaches. Even certified and experienced coaches take this course.
Coaching Skills includes pre-recorded lectures, readings, quizzes, reflections, and other learning materials. The more time you invest in these out-of-class activities the deeper your learning will be. There is generally 2.5 hours of out-of-class study per week. We encourage you to partner with a peer from the course to practice coaching each week and this is reflected in the 2.5 hours of out-of-class study.
Yes. This course is offered in a completely digital format. We recommend a reliable Internet connection.
We focus on coaching theories, frameworks, and specific competencies. We also address some research published in academic journals on coaching and psychology. We also provide additional reading, including research, for those wanting a deeper learning experience.
Yes, the hours in our courses are approved by the ICF and can be used for reaccreditation purposes.
100% refund available within 24 hours of registration.
90% refund available up to 3 weeks before the start of the course.
50% refund available within 3 weeks before the course begins.
Yes. We offer monthly payment plans with no additional fees. At checkout, you will have the opportunity to use a monthly payment plan. If the payment plan you prefer is not listed, email us at info@positiveacorn.com and we can get you set up!
Frequently Asked Questions
Have more questions?
Learning should be challenging and satisfying
We care that each and every student has a peerless learning experience. As a result, we listen to your specific needs and support your learning in a highly personalized way.
What our alumni say
A friend in the coaching industry pointed me to Positive Acorn and Robert Biswas-Diener. Her words were “Robert helped me realize just how legitimate and relevant the coaching industry really is”. After completing the ACC credential courses and mentoring program with Positive Acorn, I couldn’t agree more. I feel very lucky to have ended
up with Robert not just because of his undeniable qualifications and deeply considered teaching techniques, but also because of the very high level of students he attracts.
Jeffrey Mince
As a survivor of dozens of uninspiring professional development classes, I found Robert’s teaching style distinctive, refreshing and effective. Robert grounds every class in scientific evidence, then adds insights harvested from years of research, teaching, and coaching experience. He does not limit his focus to any one model or coaching approach and I valued the exposure to many. Key to my learning was Robert’s teaching style. He expected students to bring their A-game. He invited us to be prepared, to challenge assumptions, and to never lose sight of the ethics, competencies and humble curiosity that are foundational to professional coaching.
Carolyn Cumpsty-Fowler
This has been one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever had (and I’ve had some great ones!). The high calibre of my fellow classmates was very inspiring, and I have learnt so much from coaching with them – in class and beyond. I would wholeheartedly recommend Positive Acorn to any students looking for robust coach training.