Thinking About Becoming a Coach? Here’s What You Need to Know About Associate Coaching

What is an Associate Coach?

What do these organisations typically require?

Read more: Thinking About Becoming a Coach? Here’s What You Need to Know About Associate Coaching

• Accreditation from a recognised coaching body (e.g. APECS, AC, EMCC, EMCC)
• Experience: Usually 3–5 years in leadership or executive coaching
• Professional background: Psychology, leadership, or related fields

Rates vary depending on experience and the programme, but fees are often lower than private coaching rates for similar expertise. The percentage, the organisation takes varies, expect them to take a cut of 10-20% or more. There has been a shift to shift to subscription-based enterprise models and increasingly AI-driven personalisation and analytics are standard. There’s also been growth in specialised niches (sales, resilience, diversity & inclusion) and accreditation (APECS, AC, ICF, EMCC) and evidence-based approaches are increasingly expected.

Pros and Cons to Consider

The benefits of Associate Coaching are pretty clear, the organisations handle marketing and client acquisition, so there’s no need for you to find clients. Flexibility is another plus, you can usually set your own hours and work remotely. But what I appreciate most about associate working is the variety, as an associate I’ve had opportunities to coach diverse clients globally in a range of leadership roles.

The challenges to consider are lower rates compared to private coaching, but this isn’t always the case, I’ve had some of my highest paid work as an associate. Another potential downside is less autonomy, you’ll often work within the organisation’s framework, and this may not align with your usual way of working. And another factor to consider is there is usually less (if any) visibility of your personal brand.

My Experience

I currently work with four consultancy and leadership training organisations as an associate coach. These relationships came through my own networks, not formal applications, so onboarding, and fitting with their values and ways of working was painless. I enjoy the collaboration, respect the organisations. I also love the projects I’ve worked on over the years, they’re interesting, often opening up opportunities to work with bigger corporate clients than I would have been able to access personally, and most of all, I like the sense of being part of something bigger.

Organisations Offering Associate Coaching Roles

Here’s a comparison chart of some established and emerging organisations I found through a quick search. This is not a recommendation, I haven’t worked with these organisations and haven’t done due diligence. If you’re considering joining these platforms, check their accreditation requirements and pricing structures, they vary widely between enterprise-focused and individual coaching models.

Final Thoughts

Associate work can be a great way to broaden experience and work with a variety of clients. Many coaches combine associate work with building their own practice, if none of the listed organsations appeal to you I’d still encourage you to get out there and see who in your networks might benefit from working with an associate coach, I am living proof that you can create your own collaborations!

Let me know if you have any experience of working in this way, especially if it was with any on the organisations I mention.