How long does it take to become a certified executive coach?

iPEC®’s Coach Training Program takes 7–9 months, part-time. The optional COR.E® Leadership Dynamics track is self-paced and usually takes 1–4 months.

Is executive coach certification worth it?

Executive coach certification is more than worth the investment for a number of reasons. In addition to equipping you with the skills and expertise needed to enjoy a long and successful career in coaching, earning your certification from an ICF-accredited program is also one of the best ways to attract clients in growing your practice. With iPEC®'s Coach Training Program, you'll gain: - 160 ICF-accredited hours of world-class coach training - Two distinct certifications, with the option to add more - 1-1 feedback and support along the way from your peers and professional coaches certified at the highest levels - A vibrant, engaged community of fellow coaches - Access to a massive resource library of content for you to leverage in your role as a leader or business owner - And much, much more

Become a Certified Executive Coach with iPEC's Coach Training Program

How do you become a certified executive coach?

Complete an ICF-accredited coach training program, practice with real clients, and add executive-focused training if you want it. iPEC®’s Coach Training Program is ICF Level 2 accredited, with 160 training hours, and no prior coaching experience is required.

Train in three live 3-day modules over 7–9 months, part-time, in person or virtual, with 10 hours of mentor coaching.
Earn your Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner (ELI-MP) certifications. The ELI-MP lets you give the Energy Leadership Index® assessment to the leaders you coach.
Add the optional COR.E® Leadership Dynamics track for 40 hours of executive-focused training.
For an ICF credential, log the client coaching hours ICF requires, then apply.

Start with Coaching Fundamentals, see class dates and locations, or talk with an admissions coach.

Updated November 2026

The iPEC® Coach Training Program gives you the coaching skills, experience, and tools to be able to coach anyone, on anything, at any time.

You'll attend three live training modules, learn iPEC®'s Core Energy Coaching™ methodology, and earn two industry-recognized certifications in 7–9 months.

Want to go even deeper? You'll have the option to enroll in our advanced COR.E® Dynamics program and earn an optional third certification as a COR.E® Leadership Dynamics Specialist, complete with 40 additional hours of niche-specific training, a deeper dive into the Core Energy Coaching™ methodology, and access to over 200 downloadable assignments and exercises.

iPEC® Coach Training Program Features

iPEC®’s ICF Accredited Coach Training Program gives you everything you’ll need to be a successful executive coach. Whether you earn your executive coach certification online or in person, you can expect:

At a glance

Accreditation: ICF Level 2, with 160 ICF-accredited training hours
Format: three live 3-day modules, about 3 months apart, in person or virtual
Length: 7–9 months, part-time
Certifications: Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and ELI-MP, with an optional COR.E® Leadership Dynamics Specialist credential
Requirements: 18 or older, with a high school diploma or equivalent. No prior coaching experience required.
Tuition: $9,995, which includes Coaching Fundamentals. The optional track is $1,995.
Experience: 27+ years of coach training and 25,000+ graduates
Next step: see the full program, check class dates and locations, or start with Coaching Fundamentals.

Attend 3 live, interactive training modules that last 3 days each and are spaced 3 months apart—with self-study, live webinars, and practical skill-building in between.

We provide our students with a safe space to practice and receive feedback, so you can graduate with everything you need to begin your coaching practice with maximum confidence.

Learn iPEC®’s signature Core Energy Coaching™ methodology for getting to the root of your clients’ challenges and creating sustainable change.

In addition, become trained and certified to use the Energy Leadership Index® (ELI) assessment, a research-backed assessment tool that helps clients tangibly understand how they show up in different areas of their life. As a certified practitioner, you’ll use the ELI to help clients expand their self-awareness and make transformative changes in their health, wellbeing, and all aspects of their lives.

Receive individualized coaching feedback from an ICF-credentialed coach who will offer strategies and suggestions to refine your coaching skills and uncover your natural gifts. You’ll complete 10 hours of mentor coaching, including one-on-one sessions with your iPEC® Mentor Coach, where you’ll get real-time feedback on your skill development.

At the heart of your experience lies our highly-trained Lead Trainers, all of whom are masters of the Core Energy Coaching™ curriculum, so you can be sure you're receiving the same world-class experience, no matter who’s delivering the material.

iPEC®’s 17 lead trainers are all ICF MCC or PCC credentialed.

With 20+ years as an ICF-accredited coach training program, iPEC® stands out in the world of coach training with accreditations and partnerships that show the world you’ve received the highest-quality training.

Students Graduate with two certifications in 7–9 months: Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and Energy Leadership Index® Master Practitioner (ELI-MP).

When you complete the iPEC® Coach Training Program, in addition to two certifications you’ll also earn:

67 Professional Development Credits (PDCs) toward SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP recertification
70 Credit hours toward HRCI recertification
120 Credit hours towards Board Certified Coach (BCC) credential recertification

Your tuition includes access to a massive resource library fully stocked with specialized tools, templates, wisdom, and ready-made course materials, so you’ll be fully equipped to thrive as a professional coach, without starting from scratch.

We’ve designed our coach training to be as useful and impactful for adult learners as possible, with plenty of flexibility built in. Choose the environment that’s best for you, with options like in-person vs. virtual modules, midweek vs. weekend training, and flexible timing for your self-study assignments.

Specialize in Executive Coaching through our COR.E® Dynamics Curriculum

With its exclusive curricula and niche-specific tools and skills, COR.E® Dynamics helps executive coaches increase their impact (and revenue!), attract their ideal clients, and excel as industry leaders.

This is not a cookie-cutter approach to executive coach training. It’s uniquely designed to help you support your clients in creating their own personal formula for success and becoming an expression of themselves at their best. (Not to mention, you’ll get to experience a sense of fulfillment unlike anything you’ve experienced before.)

Core Energy Coaching™

Inside our Coach Training Program, you will be immersed in the transformative Core Energy Coaching™ curriculum throughout the course of three live modules, in addition to diving deep into Energy Leadership® and the role it can play in your overall development.

Our proprietary Core Energy Coaching™ methodology goes beyond the methods of traditional coaching, offering a proven path for getting to the root of clients’ challenges and creating sustainable transformation. Founded on more than 10,000 hours of research and application over 30 years, this is the foundation of coaching you want.

Core Energy Coaching™

Establish foundational skills and tools to help shift your clients from functional to thriving
Facilitate conscious energy shifts and sustainable change
Connect those you work with to their inner purpose and passion, so they can achieve their outer goals and desired actions

Better understand how someone experiences the world
Help those you work with understand how they show up energetically, especially when under stress
Add an externally validated, statistically reliable tool to your toolbox to win over even the biggest skeptics

Skyrocket your coaching business or career growth
Specialize in one of four growing, in-demand fields
Gain access to incredible, ready-to-use tools and content for individual clients or the teams you lead

Do Executive Coaches Need to Be Certified?

Earning your executive coach certification is the best way to establish a solid foundation and ensure you're both mentally and emotionally equipped to help clients achieve the life and career they desire. Whether you earn your certification through executive coach courses online or in person, you'll unlock the skills needed to assist clients in reaching and living out their professional aspirations. This also helps you grow your executive coaching practice by differentiating you from competitors and making you more attractive to prospective clients.

What coaching methodology does iPEC® teach executive coaches?

iPEC® teaches Core Energy Coaching™, a method for getting to the root of a leader’s challenges and creating sustainable change. Coaches pair it with the Energy Leadership Index® (ELI), an assessment that shows how a leader shows up, especially under stress, so coach and client can measure change over time.

See how Core Energy Coaching™ works with executives and what the research shows.

Energy Leadership® and the ELI Assessment

In completing the iPEC® Coach Training Program, you'll also receive your Energy Leadership Index® Master Practitioner (ELI-MP) designation, which includes completing and learning to administer the Energy Leadership Index® assessment (ELI). The ELI is a research-backed assessment that measures your ability to lead yourself and others to take positive, productive, and sustainable action in their lives. Best of all, it produces a tangible result by giving you awareness about who you are and your level of engagement in the world.

Plus, bonus! Take the power of Energy Leadership one step further with the SCOPE® Mobile Assessment App. When you complete the optional COR.E® Dynamics program, you’ll gain access to this advanced tool you can utilize with clients to measure their in-the-moment energy around a specific task, and prescribe actions to increase performance.

Energy Leadership® and the ELI Assessment

0

One of the first internationally recognized coach training programs ever to be accredited by the ICF

0

Number of Graduates

0

Years of Experience

0

NPS Rating (95% of iPEC graduates reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their iPEC training.)

Today, more than 25,000 powerful coaches around the world bear the iPEC® credentials—and are using them to make an impact in communities and organizations worldwide.

There are many accredited coach training companies out there today, each with its own proven approach backed by different methodologies and techniques designed to deliver lasting results. But iPEC® is different, all because of one thing: our philosophy that there is vast, unrealized potential in every one of us. We believe the key to awakening that potential is to access deeper self-awareness and higher levels of consciousness.

“iPEC coaching was one of the best developmental opportunities I have ever invested in. As I went through this program, my level of confidence grew as a coach and my ability to lead my team and help them maximize their potential expanded. This program taught me about mastery orientation vs. performance orientation, which are two very different processes and views on how we lead and learn in our lives. If you are looking for a top notch program where you can easily move into the magical world of coaching, IPEC is the school for you.”

– Jennifer McDaniel, iPEC Graduate

Recent data from the Lumia annual coaching survey shows that the average pay for coaching ranges from $62,500 to $245,000 per year. Coach Pony indicates that executive coaches can make $100–$400 per hour, while the 2021 Center for Leadership Studies indicates that executive and life coaches can make $150–$650 per session.

Your exact level of earnings will hinge largely upon how you approach the process and what decisions you make regarding your learning and investment opportunities. For more information, read our blog article on The 3 Factors That Influence a Coach's Salary.

There is a high demand for executive coaches around the world today. The International Coaching Federation’s 2025 study estimated that the coaching profession generated $5.34 billion in revenue over the past year, up 17% from its 2023 study. And it's expected that the field will continue to expand, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected job growth of 10% through 2031—higher than the national average for all careers.

While both business coaching and executive coaching involve supporting leaders in their professional endeavors and improving organizational outcomes, there are some key differences. For one, executive coaches tend to work with C-suite leaders and other high-level decision makers within larger organizations, where the coaching relationship is more focused on the individual; on the other hand, business coaches often help entrepreneurs and business owners address business roadblocks and reach their potential, where the coaching is often more focused on business needs and tends to be more action-oriented.

Executive coach certification is more than worth the investment for a number of reasons. In addition to equipping you with the skills and expertise needed to enjoy a long and successful career in coaching, earning your certification from an ICF-accredited program is also one of the best ways to attract clients in growing your practice.

With iPEC®'s Coach Training Program, you'll gain:

160 ICF-accredited hours of world-class coach training
Two distinct certifications, with the option to add more
1-1 feedback and support along the way from your peers and professional coaches certified at the highest levels
A vibrant, engaged community of fellow coaches
Access to a massive resource library of content for you to leverage in your role as a leader or business owner
And much, much more

Executive Coaching Certification Program

Executive Coaching Certification Program

How do you become a certified executive coach?

Life Coaching

Executive and Leadership Development Coaching

Health and Wellness Coaching

Sports and Performance Coaching

What Is an Executive Coach?

Learn to Help Leaders Navigate Common Challenges and Gain In-Demand Skills, Including: