Coach network

On this page

• Overview
• Join the network
• Internal and external coaching
• How to join

Overview

The coach network is a group of employees who provide coaching to leaders at all levels within the BC Public Service.

Network coaches adhere to public service values and standards of conduct and have valuable knowledge of and experience in the BCPS work environment and culture.

Network coaches engage in ongoing development and they adhere to the International Coaching Federation (ICF) code of ethics, standards and core competencies.

Network coaches do this work as part of, or in addition to, their regular job duties.

Join the network

If you are passionate about coaching and seeking opportunities to develop your career in the BC Public Service, the coach network could be for you.

Joining the coach network to coach others provides a variety of benefits and opportunities:

• Accelerates your leadership and coaching skills development
• Increases your impact on others and your ability to influence change
• Increases your network and exposure to other areas of government

Ideal candidates for the network are change agents who are:

• Passionate about coaching and supporting others to reach their fullest potential  
• Dedicated to ongoing learning and development as a leader and coach
• Supported by their supervisor to engage in network coaching activities
• Professionally certified (certified coaches) OR have taken PSA coaching courses and have a strong interest in advancing their coaching skills through coaching others (peer coaches)

Within the coach network, there are 2 types of coaches:

• Certified coaches:  BC Public Service employees who have a coaching certification (e.g., executive coaching, Royal Roads University) and have completed a coach orientation through coaching services
• Peer (non-certified) coaches: BC Public Service employees without a coaching certification who have completed the coaching services coaching courses and a coach orientation through coaching services as part of building their skills and capacity for coaching

Internal and external coaching 

Internal coaching refers to using existing employees as coaches while external coaching entails hiring coaches outside of your organization.

While both can be effective, choosing between internal coaching and external coaching can simply be a matter of:

• preference for a particular type of coach (is my need more specific?)
• availability of coaching resources (is my need urgent?)
• availability of budget (is there a cost?)  

Internal coaches

BC Public Service coaches are considered internal coaches who are either members of the PSA coaching services team or the coach network.

For further information on how to request an internal coach, review request coaching services.

External coaches

External coaches are most often engaged by organizations to accelerate the development of executives or aspiring senior leaders through psychometric testing, 360 debriefs and individual coaching.

For further information on how to contract and engage the services of an external coach, review the executive coaching page. 

How to join

To express interest in joining the coach network, or request further information, submit an AskMyHR (IDIR restricted) service request:

• Select My Team/Organization > Coaching & Performance Development > Coaching Services
• Add subject line 'internal coach application' to assist in processing your request.