Course Overview

Discover how to help your clients build on what’s right rather than constantly fixing what’s wrong. This 12-week course equips you to coach leaders through the CliftonStrengths assessment (formerly StrengthsFinder 2.0), guiding them to turn raw talent into refined, productive strengths.

You’ll learn to administer and interpret CliftonStrengths results, create Leadership Development Plans, and facilitate powerful coaching conversations around all 34 talent themes. Through live modeling of PCC and MCC-level coaching sessions, you’ll see how strengths naturally integrate with the ICF Core Competencies – and how your own unique strengths shape your coaching style.

What makes this different? Instructor Brent O’Bannon, MCC is the creator of the Strengths Champion® certification. This course uniquely integrates biblical wisdom with strengths science, helping you coach from a foundation that honors how God designed each person. You’ll gain not just technical competency, but a calling-centered approach to developing others.

By the end of this course, you’ll be certified as a Strengths Champion Certified Coach® – equipped to coach individuals, teams, and organizations in maximizing their God-given potential while managing weaknesses strategically.

Strengths-Based Coaching training course with CliftonStrengths certification and ICF accreditation
  • Course Length: 12 weeks

  • Weekly Commitment: 1 hour live class + 2-4 hours preparation/implementation

  • Format: Live via Zoom
  • Instructor: Brent O’Bannon, MCC

  • Prerequisites: Open to all coaches seeking to add strengths-based coaching to their practice

  • Price: Starting at $265/month

  • Course Length: 15 weeks
  • Weekly Commitment: 1 hour live class + 2-4 hours preparation/implementation

  • Format: Live via Zoom
  • Prerequisites: Open to all coaches seeking to add strengths-based coaching to their practice

  • Price: Starting at $265/month

Is This Course Right for You?

This course is designed for coaches who want practical, hands-on training in strengths-based development – not just theory, but tools you’ll use immediately with clients.

Executive & Leadership Coaches

You coach leaders who feel stuck or overwhelmed by their weaknesses. You want a proven framework to help them lead from their strengths, build high-performing teams, and create cultures of engagement—without the guesswork.

Ministry & Pastoral Leaders

You’re passionate about helping people discover their unique calling and gifts. You need a credible, faith-integrated tool to guide team members, volunteers, and ministry leaders toward sustainable fruitfulness in their service.

HR & Talent Development Professionals

You’re responsible for employee development, performance management, or team dynamics. You want an evidence-based assessment that goes beyond personality types to unlock measurable improvements in productivity and retention.

What You’ll Accomplish in This Course

This isn’t a theoretical overview – you’ll leave with practical skills and tools you can implement immediately in your coaching practice.

  • Administer and interpret CliftonStrengths assessments with confidence and credibility.

  • Coach clients through all 34 talent themes across the four leadership domains: Executing, Influencing, Strategic Thinking, and Relationship Building.

  • Create personalized Leadership Development Plans that help clients turn raw talent into refined strengths.

  • Facilitate the “4 Keys Coaching Guide” to enhance team engagement, productivity, and performance.

  • Integrate your own top strengths with the ICF Core Competencies to develop your unique coaching brand.

  • Identify and manage weaknesses strategically instead of wasting time trying to fix what’s not broken.

  • Build strengths-based cultures in organizations, teams, and ministries that drive sustainable success.

  • Earn your Strengths Champion Certified Coach® designation with lifetime access to ongoing learning resources and community.

Course Breakdown

Over 12 weeks, you’ll progress from discovering your own strengths to coaching others masterfully – building skills, confidence, and certification along the way.

Weeks 1-3: Foundation & Discovery

Explore the science behind CliftonStrengths, complete your own assessment, and learn how to turn raw talent into refined strength. Discover how your strengths shape your coaching style and where your potential blind spots lie.

Weeks 4-5: Integration & Application

Connect your top 5 talent themes to the ICF Core Competencies and craft your unique Strengths Coaching Brand. Learn to leverage your natural wiring while staying aligned with professional coaching standards.

Weeks 6-9: Mastering the 34 Themes

Dive deep into all 34 talent themes across the four leadership domains: Executing, Strategic Thinking, Influencing, and Relationship Building. Develop coaching questions and interventions for each theme in both “raw” and “refined” expressions.

Weeks 10-11: Coaching Practice & Mastery

Learn to coach through the “4 Keys Coaching Guide”. Listen to PCC and MCC-level coaching examples, analyze transcripts, and integrate biblical principles with strengths science.

Week 12: Certification & Championing Strengths

Complete your Strengths Champion® certification exam and learn how to build strengths-based cultures in teams and organizations. Leave equipped to champion strengths wherever God has called you.

Required Course Materials

These foundational texts provide the research, frameworks, and practical tools that undergird everything you’ll learn in this course.

StrengthsFinder 2.0 book cover by Tom Rath, required textbook for Strengths-Based Coaching training
Now, Discover Your Strengths book cover by Clifton and Buckingham, CliftonStrengths coaching course textbook
SOAR with Your Strengths book cover by Clifton and Nelson, required reading for strengths coach certification

Upcoming Courses

All courses are live via Zoom with built-in community and real-time coaching practice. Sessions are recorded if you miss a class.

March 2026

DAY: Mondays
TIME: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM Eastern
DATES: March 16 – June 8, 2026*
INSTRUCTORS: Brent O’Bannon, MCC

*NOTE: Class will NOT meet on 11/27.

September 2026

DAY: Thursdays
TIME: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Eastern
DATES: September 3 – November 19, 2026
INSTRUCTORS: Brent O’Bannon, MCC

Tuition & Payment Plans

Choose the payment option that works best for you – all plans include full course access, certification, and lifetime learning resources.

Full Payment

$750 / full pay

NO monthly payments

2 Payments

$390 / monthly

$780 total investment

3 Payments

$265 / monthly

$795 total investment

All payment plans include a $15 monthly service charge.

Real Results from Real Students

Coaches who complete this course don’t just earn a credential – they gain a transformational framework that shapes how they serve clients for years to come.

“Brent was a powerful example of strengths-based coaching in action – congruent with what he taught. This course helped me recognize the CliftonStrengths framework is worth mastering because it’s widely accepted and comfortable for clients. Last week, I helped a client navigate crucial life changes by identifying his primary strength and using curious questions to guide him toward solutions. The combination of ICF framework and strengths-based tools has dramatically increased the value I provide.”

“I highly recommend Strengths-Based Coaching to students looking to enhance their coaching skills. This training equips coaches with a powerful tool to help clients identify and leverage their strengths, leading to more effective and personalized coaching. By understanding when to lean into strengths and when to temper them, coaches can better support clients in achieving their goals. This valuable skillset has been a game-changer in my coaching practice, and I’m confident it will be for others too.”

“This course really helped me grow in how I see and support people. It gave me practical ways to recognize what’s already strong in someone and to help them build from that place with confidence and clarity. I found the mix of personal strengths and team strengths insightful, refreshing, and deeply useful. This elective shaped how I approach conversations with leaders and teams, helping them connect who they are with how they lead.”

Jen Dorrough, YWAM North Cascades