By Brian Geldin & Tianna Manon
Since the start of the pandemic, the life coaching industry has grown 62 percent.
And yet racial diversity among coaches continues to lag far behind. In fact, it’s estimated that Black life coaches make up only 8-10 percent and, for those at the executive level working with c-suite professionals and top businesses, it’s even fewer.
Sophia Casey, a master certified coach, said she’s often the only Black woman in these spaces and worries how the lack of diversity is shaping these leaders and the business industry at large particularly as the support for DEI continues to wane nationally. Casey, the creator of ICLI RISING, the International Coaching & Leadership Institute Rising, has been named the 2023 Best Coach for the Americas, worked with two federal administrations and more than 60 global retail, health, transportation and IT organizations. She has also trained hundreds of coaches, published several books and spoken at major events.
We sat down with Sophia Casey to understand her role in this industry and her insight on its future. (Editor’s note: This Q&A has been edited for clarity and brevity.)
BG: What is a Master Certified Coach (MCC) and what makes you different from others in your industry?
SC: It’s the highest level of credentialing in the coaching industry. There are three in total. The first level is an associate certified coach. The second is professional and then, the big kahuna, as I like to call it, is the master certified coach. There are actually only about 2,200 in the entire world. It’s very rigorous. To be eligible you need to have more than 2,500 hours of coaching experience and more than 200 hours of coaching education. Between experience and education, I relate to it as getting a doctorate degree.
It’s a big deal in the industry and by the time I submitted my application, I already had 3000 hours of coaching experience and probably more because I wasn’t tracking those hours as well as I probably should have. There is a lot that goes into becoming a master certified coach and it’s not required, but it does open many more doors, grounds your coaching work and helps you achieve the next level.
BG: Your work must take you to some cool places. Who are some of the most interesting brands and companies or clients you’ve worked with?
SC: I really have been fortunate to have a wonderful career and the opportunity to work with some large brands and companies. Some that I guess people would immediately recognize are Google, Target, TJ Maxx (TJX Corporation). I’ve also worked with a lot of U.S. Federal and state government agencies as well as international government organizations. I actually am a retired public servant from the US Federal Government so it was a really wonderful, full-circle moment to be able to go back and be a coach.
And most recently, I was featured in the Guardian because of my involvement in the history-making campaign call for presidential candidate, and current Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. It was an incredible experience and there were more than 40,000 other black women on the #WinWithBlackWomen Zoom cal. What was so incredible is not just that all of these women came together to support Harris, the other part that actually made me emotional was how quickly it happened. It happened from a social media post, people texting each other and those on Clubhouse. The fact it happened so fast still blows my mind. I’m so grateful I was a part of that inaugural call because having worked at the White House, again, it was another full circle moment.
BG: Tell us a bit more about working in your actual industry because the demographics skew mostly white. How do you deal with being one of the only at your level?
SC: I really appreciate that question and I do get emotional and passionate about this conversation. A very, very, very small percentage of master certified coaches are actually Black or identify as Black and one of my missions is to change that statistic and increase the number of Black credentialed coaches.
ICLI Rising is our coach training school and the journey to becoming credentialed was a very tough journey. We purposely spell our name in all capital letters to signify the bold, loud and powerful stand we are taking to strengthen and shift the coaching industry. I faced negativity and blatant racism. When I first received my master certified credential (MCC), there was a conversation about me being on a panel and a fellow coach told me that me being on that panel would be a square peg trying to fit in a round hole. Even retelling that story, I still feel it in my belly. Not every experience is like that but it is an example of the negativity in this industry that I personally faced.
I think there has been a shift and really a bigger focus on honoring diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB). There’s also a bigger understanding of the importance of diverse coaches but yeah, it was an interesting journey getting here. I’m still sometimes in rooms where I am the only one. There was a recent call with more than 100 people, and I was the only one. One commitment I made to myself is to begin hosting roundtables with other Black master certified coaches so we can be in community with people who look like us. Culturally, I think it’s very important and it’s something I didn’t have.
BG: What advice do you have for others who look around and don’t see people that look like them in their workspace?
SC: You know, as lonely as it is to exist as an only, there’s also this wonderful feeling of accomplishment for pursuing your career still. You realize “I’m the first Black woman to do this,” so there’s some good feelings but you don’t want to be the only long-term.
We’ve already graduated, close to 100 coaches, and many of them are BIPOC. I always tell people: “Make sure if you’re going to be the only, you don’t stay the only.” Support other BIPOC professionals and bring them into your space, help them rise through the ranks and get the same access that led you to where you are. For example, I mentioned the call with 100 other people and when I got off, I reached out to a few colleagues and said I need you to join me on this call. It helps when you’re in a space or leading a conversation to see people who look like you, reflect you back. And so yeah, overall, this can be very triggering where conversations can be so tough that I have to get up and take a quick walk to ground myself. Sometimes I’ll even turn my video off to reduce the likelihood of me being triggered.
So I would definitely say build that community. Build it in the space you’re in and outside of the space you’re in because you’re going to need it. I know when I am feeling triggered by this work, I can pick up the phone and call one of my fellow Black master certified coaches and it’s a great support.
Also, create what you need. If it doesn’t exist, make it! For example, my book. I never even considered myself an author but then things happen. My books were birthed out of need and about seven years ago, my husband had some serious, serious medical setbacks and as an avid journaler, I found myself with so much to say and my mind was all over. But out of that work came books that helped me and also many others. I quickly became an Amazon best seller.
The important thing is that you’re making what you need and then sharing your resources, your creations with others to help them on their journey as well.
BG: For people who find themselves inspired by your work, how can they follow you or learn more?
SC: Sophia Casey everywhere including on Instagram and LinkedIn. If you’d like to learn more about our trainings, workshops and resources for coaches, you can learn more about ICLI Rising at iclirising.com. We have a lot more information for those who are interested in the next step on their journey and I always welcome questions so please just reach out if you have any!
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