How coaches can leverage EQ-i 2.0 certification to better serve corporate clients

Corporate clients are looking for structured, scientifically valid approaches to developing leaders and employees, and coaches want to be able to demonstrate they have what these clients are looking for.

In our 30 years of experience, we’ve had the privilege of certifying many coaches to use the EQ-i 2.0. They are interested in expanding their practices and serving more corporate clients, and they see the EQ-i as a valuable addition to their toolkit.

We’ve learned that most leadership and executive coaches who pursue the EQ-i 2.0 certification with us are looking for a credible, evidence-based assessment that goes beyond personality type assessments. They want an assessment tool that is focused on developing critical career and leadership skills.

The challenge for some coaches is having sales conversations with potential clients, and answering such questions as:

1. “How do you measure results?”
2. “What makes your approach different?”
3. “Can this scale across our leaders and organization?”

Being certified to administer the EQ-i 2.0 to clients makes it easier for coaches to demonstrate the business case for coaching. Let’s see how it can be done.

Reflections from a coach: How the EQ-i 2.0 can expand business

Prior to the EQ-i 2.0 / EQ 360 certification course, one of EITC’s certification course participants had a growing coaching practice working with individual leaders who were looking to become more effective as leaders. Her goal was to expand her coaching practice and serve more corporate clients.

Her challenges included:

• The effectiveness of coaching felt difficult to demonstrate
• Corporate prospects were not always able to see the ‘business case’
• Pricing conversations were inconsistent.

Then she got certified

Through EQ-i 2.0 / EQ 360 Certification with EITC, she gained:

• A scientifically validated emotional intelligence assessment
• A structured coaching and debrief framework
• A way to connect emotional intelligence to workplace and leadership performance.

What changed immediately

Within weeks of certification, she approached a corporate prospect again.

But this time, her positioning shifted.

Instead of saying: “I provide leadership coaching.”

She said:

“I assess and develop emotional intelligence using a validated framework correlated with workplace and leadership effectiveness.”

She walked them through:

• A sample EQ-i 2.0 leadership report
• How leaders and employees could be assessed and developed over time leading to measurable organizational results
• A structured approach to developing leaders

She secured the contract.

Why the EQ-i works in corporate environments

The EQ-i 2.0 / EQ 360 framework has been used as the basis for building leadership development programs within many organizations. Companies like Nike, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, American Express, Samsung, CIBC, the Canadian, and the US military, to name a few, have relied on this framework for many years. Here’s why:

• Scientifically validated, linking EI to leadership performance: Since the original research by Dr. Reuven Bar-On in the 80s, there has been over 40 years of research and data collection to support its contribution to leadership and organizational effectiveness. Research has shown that higher EQ-i 2.0 scores are associated with better job performance, stronger work attitudes, and lower retention issues.¹
• Measurable and actionable insights: the EQ-i 2.0 assessment consists of 15 subscales or EQ competencies, which gives individuals precise insights into how effectively they are using these competencies. This is important for coaches because now they have a client-focused blueprint for EQ development based on the client’s results. And clients benefit from EQ coaching that is personalized and targeted.
• Variety of Report Types: the EQ-i 2.0 Workplace Report emphasizes an individual’s workplace performance, and the EQ-i 2.0 Leadership Report, which focuses on an individual’s leadership effectiveness through the lens of emotional intelligence.

We don’t stop at certification

Many coaches want to deepen their understanding of EQ skills and how to help clients develop them. Following the certification course, we offer an exclusive 1 day Developing EQ course to meet this need.

Staying connected matters to us. We continue to provide our alumni with ongoing learning, including follow up coaching and support. We host EITC monthly EQ Labs, webinars and provide access to the EITC Alumni Network. Coaches appreciate being part of a community of practice where they can build relationships and continue to increase their skills.

We also love seeing our alumni coaches grow their offering beyond coaching, using our resources: 

• Delivering leadership training programs within organizations (we provide EITC alumni with ready to use training materials from our Developing EQ Course)
• Facilitating workshops and webinars
• Supporting organizational initiatives.

Designed for coaches who want more

The EQ-i 2.0 certification is ideal if you want to:

• Expand your practice in the corporate market
• Demonstrate increased value
• Differentiate yourself as a coach
• Add structure and credibility to your work.

Our certification course is accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) to provide CCE units to our certification course participants. Upon completion of the course, you can gain:

• 9.25 Core Competency Credits, 
• 6.75 Resource Credits for the certification alone,
• 8 additional Resource Credits for the Developing EQ course.

If you’re not ICF certified yet, the certification course can bring more credibility to your coaching practice, by leveraging the most scientifically validated assessment tool to measure emotional intelligence skills and leadership effectiveness.

Ready to position yourself as an EQ coach?

If you’re committed to working with organizations and differentiating your coaching brand from peers in the industry, the question isn’t whether you’re a good coach.

It’s whether you have: the tools, the structure, and the credibility to compete at that level.Take the next step towards creating greater demand for your coaching practice by registering for the next EQ-i 2.0 / EQ 360 certification course.

1.  “The EQ-i 2.0 and Leadership: A recognized link between transformational leadership and high emotional intelligence.” Multi-Health Systems. Leadership paper URL (PDF).

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