Coaching Skills for Consultants
An accredited program of the International Coaching Federation
What do you do when your Client isn’t taking action on your advice?
You’re bringing the right diagnostics. You’ve clarified the problem clearly. You’ve given them a plan that would work. If only they’d do it. But they don’t. You’ve done the work you were hired to do. But nothing actually changes.
Instead of feeling it would be easier to do the work yourself, what if you learned new skills? Skills that can become as strong as your diagnostic and planning skills are now.
This isn’t about becoming something you’re not. It’s about adding a new set of skills.
You’re not failing as a consultant. You just haven’t been trained how to help them take action. The Quadrant 3 Leadership Coaching certification is an ICF-accredited program built for practitioners who are looking for an additional way to serve their clients. A service that helps clients take action.
What Q3LC Gives You
- A way to work with a client who has the plan but isn’t doing it
- A reason to follow up with clients who are between big projects
- Strategies for selling coaching as a service that clients will want to invest in
- A certification that’s not a decoration — accredited by the rigorous standards of the International Coaching Federation and taught by business owners who are really doing the work
- A community of consultants and coaches working on the same problems as you are who are with you long after the ten-week intensive ends
This is Quadrant 3 Leadership
Applications now open for the September 2026 Cohort
“I’m thrilled to add the Quadrant 3 Leadership coaching certification to my consulting practice. Not only has the training been helpful in improving my current work with clients but it’s opened up another line of services that I can offer to new and existing clients.
“This has created a wonderful opportunity to go back to previous clients and work with them again. I’m also able to add these services to prospective clients as a value-add, making proposals even more successful.
“If you’re currently consulting and want to improve your practice or add a highly in-demand revenue stream, this certification is an absolute must. I’m on track to get a 200% return on investment from this training alone in the next year!”
What You’ll Learn
In this ICF-accredited program, you’ll master:
- Coaching and Leading — where coaching fits alongside the consulting services you already offer, and where it doesn’t
- The Leadership Journey Framework — diagnosing which stage a client is actually in so you’re not coaching someone toward their own work when they’re actually looking for a system to copy
- Hardwiring and How It Shapes Leading — how personality assessments can help you navigate clients through doubt and inertia
- How Story Helps and Self-Sabotages — learning to identify the stories clients tell themselves and how these stories could be blocking their action
- Goal Setting for the Whole Person — why the goals clients agree to aren’t alwsy the ones they’re actually working on
- Mission and Values as a Compass — how helping clients identify their values and mission can help them make faster decisions in the midst of competing priorities
- Helping Clients Organize Their Days and Weeks — tools that help clients make plans that survive contact with their actual calendar
- Applying These Tools with Clients in Real Time — the Quadrant 3 system is non-linear so you’re meeting clients where they are instead of trying to force them into an artificial sequence of steps
- How to Effectively Market Your Coaching Work — bringing coaching into your existing practice: what to call it, what to charge, and how to offer it to your existing clients
Applications now open for the September 2026 Cohort
How Will You Change?
You will get the satisfaction of seeing a client make lasting changes. Now you’ll know the question that helps them realize what’s actually stopping them, instead of endlessly trying to restate different versions of your initial explanation.
No longer having to only chase new business. Now you’ll be able to grow long-term relationships. Now you’ll know how to reopen a conversation with a client you already have, without it feeling like you’re fishing for a consulting gig.
You get to see your deliverable grow. Now you’ll know how to build judgment in clients that outlasts the project, so your next project with them will actually build on the last one, not just repeat it.
Applications now open for the September 2026 Cohort
Program Details
Upcoming Cohorts
September 2026 (10 weeks)
January 2027 (10 weeks)
Format
- 10-week intensive program (standard)
- 5-week accelerated program (available on request)
- Live, interactive sessions on Zoom — no travel required
- Practical application between sessions
- 3 months of ongoing group coaching follow-up
Investment
$9,995
(or three installments of $3,500)
36 hours
Looking to certify more than one person on your team? Email Marc about a private cohort.
Partial Scholarships
A central goal of this certification is to provide a diverse experience for all participants and deep exposure to various perspectives and backgrounds. To help make that a reality, a limited number of partial scholarships are available. If you’re interested in being considered for a partial scholarship, please answer the scholarship question on the application
What You’ll Leave With
- An official Quadrant 3 Leadership Coach Certification you can list on your website and LinkedIn profile
- Professional license to use the Q3LC framework with your clients
- The actual slides for the Surprising Gift of Doubt keynote that you can start offering immediately
- Workbooks for each of the sessions
- Your own copy of both The Surprising Gift of Doubt and Coaching for Performance
- 3 months of follow-up coaching with the Q3LC community
- 36 International Coaching Federation CCE hours
“Beware the faint of heart: this program is not your average educational experience. This process – in conjunction with my own journey as a coachee – has been transformative. Not only did I add a whole bunch of tools to my toolbox, but I’ve really reframed and clarified the way I think about how best to support my clients in a way that honors and supports their inner awesomeness.
“Sure, I could have read the books on my own (and often I do). But there’s no way I would have come out feeling like I could actually do the thing. The difference for me was in Marc’s thoughtful design, masterful facilitation, and intentional community-building.”
Is Q3LC Right for You?
This program is best for consultants and coaches with three to five years of experience working with clients — earned across any combination of work, community, or professional contexts. Real-world experience moves the training from theory to action you can use immediately.
It also works best for those who have known failure. This program isn’t an academic exercise. It’s grounded in research but built for the real world. Consultants who have navigated client disappointment and setback tend to absorb what we teach more quickly — because they know what’s at stake when the tools don’t land.
The size of each cohort is limited to ensure personalized attention.
Join 45 Graduates Across Three Continents
Consultants, coaches, executives, managers, founders, and nonprofit directors from the United States to Kenya to Vietnam have come through this program. Some improved their work with their teams. Some added a service line. Some deepened the work they already do. All are using them regularly with clients.
Applications now open for the September 2026 Cohort
NO-RISK GUARANTEE
This program comes with a no-risk guarantee. If within 7 days you realize this isn’t the right fit, just ask for your money back.
Your Instructors
Marc A. Pitman, CFCC, CSP
Marc designed and teaches the Q3LC because he’s lived the problem it solves. A Certified FranklinCovey Coach since 2003 with a Master’s in Organizational Leadership, he’s spent more than two decades alongside leaders who were capable, experienced — and quietly convinced they were the only ones who didn’t quite have it figured out. They weren’t.
He’s the author of eight books including The Surprising Gift of Doubt, a member of the International Coach Federation, the International Enneagram Association, and the National Speakers Association, and serves as past-president of the ICF South Carolina chapter.
Emily J. Pitman, CPCC, ACC
Emily is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) and Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the International Coaching Federation. She brings 30 years of leadership experience across business, civic, and faith-based organizations — and a genuine ability to meet a leader exactly where they are.
At ejpitman.com, Emily works with leaders on paths of self-discovery, through seasons of feeling stuck, and during times of transition. She draws on strategic thinking, clear communication, and — yes — a pair of knitting needles to spark momentum and meaningful growth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this an accredited coaching certification?
How much does this certification program cost?
When are the next sessions?
The next cohorts run September 16 – November 18, 2026 and January 20 – March 24, 2027. If you’re interested in a private or accelerated cohort, email Marc at [email protected]
How much time will the course take?
This certification is accredited for 36 ICF continuing education credits, so it does require class time and work outside of sessions. In addition to ten 90-minute live sessions, you’ll be reading both The Surprising Gift of Doubt and Coaching for Performance (both sent to you upon acceptance). The rest of the program is designed to be done in the context of your existing client work — which means you’re applying what you learn in real time.
Where is the class?
What happens if I miss a class?
Is this program 5 weeks or 10 weeks?
Are there scholarship options?
I love this but I'm not sure if the timing is right.
One thing that helps is to ask whether this ten weeks is any worse than the next ten-week cohort. If it is, take the later one — we’ll hold your seat. If it isn’t, there’s no better time to start than with this cohort.
Applications now open for the 2026 Cohorts
Don’t just take our word for it
Mindy Jones, Amy Jones Group
Chris Baiocchi, Resolute Philanthropy
A central goal of this certification is to provide a diverse experience for all participants and deep exposure to various perspectives and backgrounds. To help make that a reality, a limited number of partial scholarships are available. If you’re interested in being considered for a partial scholarship, please answer the scholarship question on the application.
