Institute of Coaching

What Institute of Coaching does

The Institute of Coaching (IOC) is a nonprofit professional membership organization founded in 2009 and hosted within McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, which is a member of Mass General Brigham and the largest psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Its stated mission is to expand the integrity and impact of coaching through science, serving primarily professional coaches, leaders and executives, and healthcare professionals across 75 countries. The IOC operates as a community of 5,000+ members and runs an annual Coaching in Leadership and Healthcare Conference (now in its 16th year in 2026), supplemented by webinars, MasterClasses, virtual discussion groups, a podcast ('Coaching Revealed'), and a curated journals and research resources library.

The IOC's core offerings are content and community rather than technology: members gain access to journal databases, Research Doses summaries, webinar videos, expert interviews, COACHx videos, and a professional fellows directory, while researchers can apply to the Harnisch Researchers program and the ICF-IOC Coaching Research Grant Program. Underlying infrastructure consists of a Drupal-based public website (instituteofcoaching.org) hosting the resource library, event calendar, and member portal, with social channels on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram for distribution. No proprietary technology platform, mobile app, API, or AI/ML system is disclosed; technology is treated as a delivery vehicle rather than a product.

IOC's business model is subscription-based membership supported by tiered annual dues (pricing not publicly disclosed), event and conference fees, paid MasterClass and seminar registrations, research grants, and institutional sponsorship. The organization is funded primarily by an initial $2 million donation from the Harnisch Foundation (2009) and a five-year $575,000 commitment from the International Coaching Federation (pledged June 2021). Go-to-market is community-led: awareness is built through content marketing (blog, webinars, podcast), an annual flagship conference, a mid-funnel community layer (discussion groups, roundtables, professional fellows), and a top-funnel social/newsletter layer. Customer segments are horizontal across coaching professionals, healthcare professionals, and organizational leaders, with organizations and teams as a secondary segment.

Name

Institute of Coaching

Legal name

Institute of Coaching

Website

https://instituteofcoaching.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Institute of Coaching is a nonprofit membership organization based at McLean Hospital (Harvard Medical School affiliate) that serves 5,000+ professional coaches, healthcare leaders, and executives across 75 countries with evidence-based coaching science resources, webinars, conferences, and research grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Coaching Education and Research

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Professional and Management Development Training (61143), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Health Coaching & Lifestyle Coaching Education (EDAAAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Strategy, Decision-Making & Business Acumen Coaching (EDABANAH), General Health Coaching (HSADAGAA), Academic & Scientific Conferences (MPAGAGAD)

Keywords

• Professional coaching education
• Coaching science research
• Leadership development training
• Executive coaching programs
• Healthcare coaching conferences

Headquarters

HQ city

Belmont

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Global Membership: The IOC generates revenue through annual global community memberships that provide access to the coaching science resources, webinars, discussion groups, conferences, professional development courses, and member directory listings.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Institute of Coaching provides annual global memberships that give professional coaches, leaders, and healthcare professionals access to a curated library of coaching science resources, including peer-reviewed journals, webinars, MasterClasses, virtual discussion groups, and an annual Coaching in Leadership & Healthcare Conference. It complements membership with research grant programs (Harnisch Researchers and IOC-ICF grants) that fund evidence-based coaching science, operating as a nonprofit unit hosted at McLean Hospital with affiliation to Harvard Medical School.

Product overview

The Institute of Coaching (IOC) operates as a membership-based professional development organization offering a comprehensive suite of coaching science resources and community programs. The portfolio includes membership access with journal databases, webinars, MasterClasses, an annual Coaching in Leadership & Healthcare Conference (delivered since 2008), research grant programs, virtual discussion groups, a podcast series, and the Vision of Excellence Award. These offerings are unified under the IOC brand, with McLean Hospital affiliation providing academic credibility through Harvard Medical School connections.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IOC Global Membership Annual subscription offering professional coaches, leaders, and healthcare professionals access to the IOC journal database, thought leader connections, webinars, discussion groups, courses, and seminars.
• IOC MasterClasses

Quantifiable outcome

• 14 coaching conferences delivered since 2008
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• International Coaching Federation (ICF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2021ICF pledged $575,000 USD over five years to McLean Hospital and the IOC to advance coaching science research. Joint research grant program (IOC-ICF Coaching Research Grant Program) supporting evidence-based coaching research.
• McLean HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for the Institute of Coaching. McLean Hospital is a member of Mass General Brigham and the largest psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School, founded in 1811 as the top freestanding psychiatric hospital in the U.S.
• Harvard Medical SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic affiliation through McLean Hospital. IOC collaborates with Harvard Medical School on conferences and research initiatives.
• Mass General BrighamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent healthcare system for McLean Hospital. IOC is affiliated through the McLean Hospital relationship.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BetterUp: A venture-backed commercial coaching and mental health platform serving enterprise clients with on-demand 1:1 coaching. Competes with IOC for enterprise mindshare in the leadership coaching category but at much greater scale, with proprietary technology and a for-profit capital base.
• CoachHub: A global digital coaching platform serving enterprise customers with AI-matched coaches and development programs. Comparable to IOC in the executive/leadership coaching buyer category, but with a tech-enabled, scaled delivery model that IOC's small non-profit team cannot match.
• Korn Ferry: A global organizational consulting firm with a major executive coaching and leadership development practice. Comparable to IOC in serving senior leaders and HR buyers, with a much larger commercial footprint and ability to bundle coaching into broader talent and leadership advisory engagements.

Direct peers

• Association for Coaching (AC): A global professional membership organization for coaches, providing community, events, and resources. Directly comparable to IOC in serving individual coaches and corporate coaching buyers with a research- and ethics-informed agenda.
• Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching: A premier executive coaching methodology and education provider run by one of the most recognized names in leadership coaching. Directly comparable to IOC in training executive coaches and serving senior leaders, with a similar premium, research-adjacent positioning.
• Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): A leading global provider of leadership education and research, offering executive coaching, leadership development programs, and corporate offerings. Overlaps with IOC on leadership coaching content, research-driven practice, and serving senior leaders and HR buyers.
• International Coaching Federation (ICF): The largest global professional coaching membership body (55,000+ members). ICF is both a strategic partner (pledged $575K to IOC) and the most direct peer, since ICF also serves coaches with credentials, community, and continuing education—directly comparable in mission and audience to IOC.
• World Business and Executive Coach Summit (WBECS): A global online summit and community for executive and business coaches. Comparable to IOC's annual Coaching in Leadership and Healthcare conference as a flagship gathering for the coaching profession, with overlapping member base and continuing education focus.
• Columbia Coaching Certification Program (Columbia University): A university-based coach training and certification program offered at Columbia. Comparable to IOC's evidence-based coach education mission and shares IOC's positioning of coaching as a rigorous, research-grounded profession anchored by a leading academic institution.

Emerging players

• iPEC Coaching: An ICF-accredited coach training and certification school offering programs, community, and continuing education for professional coaches. Overlaps with IOC's core membership and education offering, though positioned as a for-profit training provider rather than a research-driven membership body.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Institute-of-Coaching-405683172824276
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institute-of-coaching-mclean-harvard-medical-school
• Instagraminstagram.com/theinstituteofcoaching
• Xx.com/instofcoaching

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Institute of Coaching