Professional Coaching Certification Program
Develop Coaching Capability That Drives Leadership Performance
The Fisher Professional Coaching Certification equips leaders, HR professionals, talent development practitioners, and organizational leaders with practical coaching skills they can apply immediately in the workplace. Grounded in leadership and organizational science, the program helps participants develop talent, strengthen leadership effectiveness, navigate complex challenges, and support growth across their organizations.
Through immersive learning, guided practice, and real-world application, participants build the confidence and capability to create meaningful impact for the individuals, teams, and organizations they serve.
This program is designed for professionals responsible for developing people, leading teams and strengthening organizational performance.
Ideal participants include:
- People leaders and managers
- Executives and senior leaders
- Human resources professionals
- Learning and development practitioners
- Talent management professionals
- Organizational development leaders
- Internal coaches and mentors
- Healthcare, academic and public-sector leaders
Whether you lead a team, support employee development or drive organizational change, this program will help you elevate your ability to coach and develop others.
Program Design: Learn, Apply and Demonstrate
The Fisher Professional Coaching Certification is designed to help leaders build coaching capability through a structured learning journey that combines instruction, practice, feedback, and real-world application. Rather than learning coaching concepts in isolation, participants develop and apply coaching skills over time while receiving guidance from faculty, experienced coaches, and peers. Completion of each phase earns a standalone microcredential, with all three phases culminating in the full certification aligned with International Coaching Federation (ICF) Level-2 standards.
This immersive, on-campus experience introduces the core coaching capabilities leaders need to develop others more effectively. Participants learn how coaching differs from managing, mentoring, advising, and consulting while building foundational skills that can be applied immediately in the workplace.
Participants will learn to:
- Build trust and psychological safety
- Use active listening and powerful questioning
- Conduct coaching conversations that drive growth and accountability
- Apply coaching ethics and professional standards
- Increase self-awareness and emotional intelligence
Participants leave with practical tools and frameworks they can begin using with employees, colleagues, and stakeholders immediately.
Delivery Method: 5 full days, on-campus (~40 learning hours)
Dates: November 2-6, 2026
Cost: $7,500
Between intensive sessions, participants apply coaching skills in their professional environment while receiving structured support and feedback. This phase bridges the gap between knowing and doing, helping participants build confidence through repeated practice.
Participants will:
- Coach real colleagues, team members, or stakeholders
- Participate in observed coaching sessions
- Receive developmental feedback from experienced coaches
- Engage in mentor coaching and peer learning
- Reflect on their growth and coaching effectiveness
By applying coaching skills over time, participants learn how to navigate the realities and complexities of leadership within organizations.
Delivery Method: Remote instruction
Dates: Approximately 30 learning hours over several months
Cost: $1,950
The final phase focuses on advanced coaching applications, organizational systems, and integrating coaching into broader leadership practice. Participants deepen their ability to support leaders navigating ambiguity, influence change, and drive organizational performance.
Topics include:
- Coaching through resistance and uncertainty
- Working within complex organizational systems
- Coaching senior leaders and high-potential talent
- Measuring coaching effectiveness and impact
- Integrating coaching into leadership and talent strategies
The program concludes with advanced practice, formal evaluation, and demonstration of core coaching competencies.
Delivery Method: 5 full days, on-campus
Dates: May 3-7, 2026
Cost: $4,500
Program Details
Foundational Coaching Intensive Dates
November 2-6, 2026
Registration Deadline
October 6, 2026
Information Sessions
July 22, 2026 12 p.m. EST on Zoom | Register
August 6, 2026 12 p.m. EST on Zoom | Register
September 4, 2026 12 p.m. EST on Zoom | Register
During these sessions, you will learn about the curriculum, certification pathway, program format, and how organizations can strengthen internal coaching capabilities to support leadership development, employee growth, and organizational performance.
Cost
You may register for all three components at once, or one at a time. You must take the program components in order.
- Foundational Coaching Intensive: $7,500
- Coaching Practicum: $1,950
- Advanced Coaching Intensive: $4,500
Full Professional Coaching Certification: $13,950
Delivery Method
Coaching Intensives: 5 full days on-campus
Coaching Practicum: Approximately 30 hours of virtual learning
- Earn an Ohio State-issued Certification in Executive & Organizational Coaching
- Develop advanced coaching skills aligned with professional and ethical standards
- Gain extensive hands-on coaching practice with real clients
- Strengthen listening, inquiry, sensemaking and feedback capabilities
- Learn to coach leaders through ambiguity, change and high-stakes decisions
- Build confidence and credibility as a coach within their organization or professional practice
- Join a cohort of experienced professionals across industries and sectors
- Each major program component awards a standalone microcredential, allowing participants to demonstrate progress and value throughout the program, not only at completion
- Leaders who coach rather than command, strengthening engagement, accountability and retention
- Improved leadership effectiveness, communication and decision-making
- Increased internal coaching capacity without reliance on external consultants
- Greater readiness for change, succession and leadership transitions
- Evidence-based coaching practices applied to real organizational challenges
- A scalable leadership development investment that compounds as coaching capability spreads internally
- Participants actively apply coaching skills during the program, creating immediate and sustained organizational impact
Program Curriculum
- Foundations of Executive & Organizational Coaching
- Ethics, Professional Standards and Coaching Contracts
- Emotional and Social Intelligence in Leadership Coaching
- Coaching Presence, Listening and Inquiry
- Sensemaking, Reframing and Leader Judgment
- Coaching Within Organizational and Systems Context
- Accountability, Goals and Results in Coaching
- Assessment Literacy and Feedback in Coaching
- Applied Coaching Practice and Supervision
- Integration, Reflection and Professional Development as a Coach
At the conclusion of the program, you will be able to:
- Apply evidence-based executive and organizational coaching frameworks to support leader development, performance and decision-making
- Differentiate and appropriately apply coaching, managing, mentoring, advising and consulting based on role, context and organizational needs
- Demonstrate advanced coaching skills, including deep listening, powerful inquiry, sensemaking and feedback, in live coaching conversations
- Coach leaders effectively through complexity, change and ambiguity, integrating individual, relational and systemic perspectives
- Apply coaching practices within organizational contexts to support engagement, accountability, leadership development and succession
- Evaluate and continuously improve their coaching practice using reflection, supervision, feedback and evidence-based assessment
- Integrate coaching capability into their professional role (e.g., leader, HR, professional, internal coach, consultant) to create immediate and sustained organizational impact