The Coaching Education category recognizes coach educators and ICF accredited providers who are leading and innovating coach education. Candidates for each of the subcategories must be from or are ICF accredited provider with faculty or staff who have been ICF members in good standing for at least two years. Nominations for the Coaching Education category may be made by anyone.

• Distinguished Coaching Education Provider: An ICF accredited coaching provider that has exhibited the highest standard of excellence in the profession, demonstrating outstanding leadership and strong moral character. The provider must be currently accredited by ICF and have held ICF accreditation for a minimum of five years.
• Distinguished Coach Educator: An individual coach or instructor who exhibits the highest standard of excellence in their field, demonstrating outstanding leadership and strong moral character. Candidates must be an ICF member for at least five years and have been affiliated with an ICF accredited provider for at least five years. They must also either have an ICF credential or at least eight years’ experience teaching coaching education programs.
• Emerging Coach Educator: An individual coach or instructor who exhibits the highest standard of excellence in their field, demonstrating outstanding leadership and strong moral character. Candidates must be an ICF member for at least five years and have been affiliated with an ICF accredited provider for at least two years. They must also either have a current ICF credential or five years’ experience teaching coaching education programs.

The organizations category celebrates businesses and organizations that built strong coaching cultures and that demonstrate the positive effects of coaching. Nominations for the organization category must be made by an ICF-credential holder.

• Distinguished Organization: A company or organization that has built a strong coaching culture and demonstrates the positive effects of coaching.
• Emerging Organization: A company or organization chosen by the evaluators based on the impact that coaching has had on their organization and the number of years the coaching program has been in place.

The Professional Coaches category honors individual coach practitioners who have made an impact in the profession and at ICF. Nominations for the Professional Coaches category may be made by anyone. You may nominate yourself or another coach for any of these subcategories.

• Distinguished Coach: Coach practitioners who have made their mark on ICF and the coaching profession. Candidates for this award hold an active ICF Master Certified Coach (MCC) credential and have been an ICF member for at least seven years.
• Accomplished Coach: Coach practitioners who have made their mark on ICF and the coaching profession. Candidates for this award must hold an active ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential and have been an ICF member for at least five years.
• Emerging Coach: Coach practitioners who are poised to lead ICF and the coaching profession into the future. Candidates for this award must hold an active ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential and have been an ICF member for at least three years.

The Social Impact category is a new category aimed at recognizing exceptional individuals and/or organizations that are making an profound contributions to society through the application of coaching principles. This innovative category goes beyond conventional recognition, diving into the heart of social impact, and celebrates those who have harnessed the coaching mindset to create lasting positive change. Nominations for the Social Impact category may be made by anyone.

Within the Social Impact category, we are please to introduced two distinct subcategories:

• Distinguished Coaching Catalyst: Influential world leaders and organizations who are a catalyst for change and who exemplify a coaching mindset in their approach to leadership, decision-making, and engagement with others.
• Emerging Coaching Catalyst: Social Impact leaders and organizations that have been doing outstanding work but lack widespread recognition and remain relatively unknown to the public.

Membership and Affiliation: Candidates for the Coach Educator and Coaching Education Provider awards must be ICF members in good standing.

• For the Distinguished Coach Educator award, candidates should be affiliated with an ICF-accredited organization for a minimum of five years. For the Emerging Coach Educator award, the candidate should be affiliated with an ICF-accredited organization for a minimum of two years.
• For the Coaching Education Provider award, the organization must maintain at least 50% of faculty members who have been ICF members in good standing for a minimum of two years.

Qualifications: Distinguished Coach Educator candidates must be ICF members in good standing for at least five years and either hold an ICF credential or possess a minimum of eight years of experience teaching in coaching education programs. Emerging Coach Educator candidates must be ICF members in good standing for at least five years and either hold an ICF credential or possess a minimum of five years of experience teaching in coaching education programs.

Accreditation: For the Distinguished Coaching Education Provider award, the organization must have maintained an accredited program with ICF for a minimum of five years and currently hold accreditation.

Leadership and Integrity: Candidates for this category must demonstrate outstanding leadership qualities and uphold strong moral character.

Inspirational Influence: Candidates and organizations should have a positive image, reputation, and the ability to inspire fellow ICF members, with an emphasis on teaching and coaching excellence.

Contribution to the Profession: Candidates and organizations should maintain a substantial record of service to the coaching profession, including efforts to further educate fellow professionals and contribute to the advancement of coaching education.

Award Subcategories

• Distinguished Coaching Education Provider: An ICF-accredited coaching provider that has exhibited the highest standard of excellence in the profession, demonstrating outstanding leadership and strong moral character. The provider must currently hold ICF accreditation and have held ICF accreditation for a minimum of five years.
  • Download blank submission form for Distinguished Coaching Education Provider. 
• Distinguished Coach Educator: An individual coach educator or instructor who exhibits the highest standard of excellence in their field, demonstrating outstanding leadership and strong moral character. Candidates must be an ICF member for at least five years and have been affiliated with an ICF-accredited provider for at least five years. They must also either hold an ICF credential or possess at least eight years’ experience teaching coaching education programs.
  • Download blank submission form for Distinguished Coaching Educator . 
• Emerging Coach Educator: An individual coach educator or instructor who exhibits the highest standard of excellence in their field, demonstrating outstanding leadership and strong moral character. Candidates must be ICF members for at least five years and have been affiliated with an ICF-accredited provider for at least two years. They must also either hold a current ICF credential or possess five years’ experience teaching coaching education programs.
  • Download blank submission form for Emerging Coaching Educator . 

Coaching Culture: Organizations must exhibit a strong coaching culture and demonstrate the positive effects of coaching within their operations.

A coaching culture is assessed based on impact, standards, strategy, and sustainability.

Impact: Assessing the effectiveness of coaching initiatives through workforce engagement, testimonials, return on expectations (ROE), return on investment (ROI), and workplace engagement data.

The impact criteria for evaluating an organization’s coaching culture requires broad engagement, with at least 70% of the workforce participating in coaching (or having participated already). The nomination must include over five employee testimonials, at least two ROE measurements, two or more financial outcomes demonstrating ROI, and more than three key employee indicators validating impact on workplace engagement and well-being.

Standards: Evaluating the adherence to coaching standards such as ICF credentials, code of ethics, coaching skills development, education/training, and mentor coaching/supervision.

Organizations must maintain high standards in coaching, including a mix of MCC, PCC, and ACC credential holders, ensuring confidentiality measures align with the ICF Code of Ethics, and providing coach-specific education for managers and internal coaches. Ideally, coaches should undergo at least 125 hours of accredited training, and participate in quarterly mentor coaching or supervision sessions to support ongoing professional development.

Strategy: Analyzing the clarity of coaching goals and objectives alignment with organizational goals, mapping to current objectives, resource allocation, and coaching evolution over time.

Organizations must strategically align coaching with organizational goals, demonstrating at least three examples. They should demonstrate direct support for current objectives, allocate resources accordingly, and illustrate coaching evolution over time with four examples.

Sustainability: Examining the sustainability of coaching efforts through budgetary commitments, coaching champions, positive changes in leadership styles, and integration into talent/organizational development strategies.

Organizations must demonstrate lasting impact through sustained initiatives. This includes establishing a dedicated budget line for coaching and impactful actions that advocate for coaching. Evidence of coaching’s positive influence on leadership styles must be provided in at least two instances, showcasing its ongoing effectiveness. Additionally, organizations must integrate coaching into talent and organizational development strategies in at least two instances, cementing its role as a long-term contributor to organizational growth.

Program Start Date: Coaching initiatives within the organization must have commenced on or before January 1, 2023.

Nominations: Only an ICF-credentialed coach may nominate.

Award Subcategories

Subcategories: The review panel will select winners for the “Distinguished Organization” and “Emerging Organization” subcategories based on the coaching’s impact within the organization, adherence to standards, sustainability, and alignment to strategy.

• Download blank submission form for Organization’s Sub Categories. 

Eligibility: The awards are open to ICF members in good standing with a current ICF credential. Nominees must maintain active membership and credential status throughout the nomination, selection, and recognition process. Lapsed memberships or credentials may result in disqualification.

Nomination Process: Nominations may be submitted by the nominee themselves or by a peer, client, colleague, or other relevant party.

Evaluation Criteria: Nominees will be evaluated based on their demonstrated impact on the coaching profession, contributions to ICF, thought leadership, social impact, and adherence to credentialing standards.

Award Subcategories

• Distinguished Coach: Recognizes experienced coach practitioners who have significantly contributed to ICF and the coaching profession. Nominees must hold an active ICF Master Certified Coach (MCC) credential and have been an ICF member for at least seven years.
  • Download blank submission form for Distinguished Coach.
• Accomplished Coach: Honors accomplished coach practitioners who have made notable contributions to ICF and the coaching profession. Nominees must hold an active ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential and have been an ICF member for at least five years.
  • Download blank submission form for Accomplished Coach.
• Emerging Coach: Celebrates coach practitioners who show promise in shaping the future of ICF and the coaching profession. Nominees must hold an active ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential, renewed at least once, and have been an ICF member for at least three years.
  • Download blank submission form for Emerging Coach.

Coaching Mindset: Nominees demonstrate an appreciation for and application of coaching principles to empower and support others in achieving their goals. They drive meaningful change, foster personal growth, and empower the communities they serve. They demonstrate the impact of their coaching approach on society and the community.

Collaborative Leadership: Nominees exhibit the ability to foster collaboration, inclusion, and diversity within their spheres of influence, creating environments that inspire growth and development among team members and stakeholders.

Impactful Change: Nominees implement strategies that lead to significant and positive outcomes within their respective domains, resulting in improved performance and overall well-being for individuals and communities.

Global Influence for Distinguished Coaching Catalyst: Nominees should possess influence and impact that extends beyond national boundaries, contributing to the advancement of coaching principles on an international scale.

Social Impact: Nominees demonstrate a strong commitment to addressing societal challenges or advancing the UN Global Goals, making a significant positive impact in the world.

Scalability and Replicability: Nominees’ approaches have potential for wider application, leading to greater positive impact.

Sustainable Vision: Nominees have a clear, long-term vision for continued growth and impact, with a commitment to sharing learnings with society or the community.

Anyone can nominate a Distinguished Coaching Catalyst and an Emerging Coaching Catalyst.

Award Subcategories

• Distinguished Coaching Catalyst: This subcategory focuses on recognizing influential world leaders who serve as catalysts for change and embody a coaching mindset in their leadership approach, decision-making, and engagement with others.
  • Download blank submission form for Distinguished Coaching Catalyst.
• Emerging Coaching Catalyst: This subcategory aims to recognize and elevate the efforts of social impact individuals and/or organizations that have been doing outstanding work but remain relatively unknown to the public.
  • Download blank submission form for Emerging Coaching Catalyst.