Results From IL Certified Coaches
Anyone can publish applause. This page is built as evidence: named graduates in their own words, and the verified numbers behind the program.
What Do the Verified Numbers Say?
Below you will find named graduates of the Intelligent Leadership Executive Coaching Certification, in their own words: the senior executives who built coaching practices, the experienced coaches who traded an improvised approach for a method, and the verified numbers behind the program.
Every number on this page is verified against a source and a date. Nothing is rounded up, and nothing is estimated. When the program publishes graduate outcome data, it will appear here with the same standard.
Taught by John Mattone, ranked the world's #1 executive coach by Global Gurus six times (2019-2026).
Coaches certified in the Intelligent Leadership method
JMG certification records, 2026
Countries with certified IL coaches
JMG certification records, 2026
Ranked the world’s #1 executive coach, six times (2019-2026)
Global Gurus, 2026
John Mattone Global coaches in the world's top 20
Global Gurus, 2026
Best Coaching Development Program
Global Gurus, 2025 & 2026
ICF CCE units in total: 150 toward Master Level plus 42 optional
ICF accreditation; breakdown confirmed by John Mattone
Graduate Stories, In Their Own Words
Three kinds of professionals earn this certification: senior executives building a second act, practicing coaches moving upmarket into executive work, and HR and talent leaders building coaching capability inside their organizations. The stories below are grouped so you can find the people who started where you are starting.
From the C-Suite to a Coaching Practice
These graduates led for decades before they trained as coaches. What they were buying was not coaching skills. It was a structured method, so 30 years of leadership experience did not have to arrive in the room as improvisation.
Jim
After 43 years in banking, Jim wanted the credential and the method to keep operating at executive level, this time as a coach.
Dragos
With a strong executive background, Dragos chose IL because it is a coaching system built for business, not a generic skills course.
Denise
A 30-year corporate veteran, Denise needed a system that measures leadership impact, not one that asks clients to take results on faith.
Rich
A senior leader who wanted a process that raised his coaching maturity to match his leadership maturity.
“For you to share, as you did, during the training, your heart, your experience, your significant body of work was quite something. Remarkable, I would say.”
Leading a team for 30 years and coaching one are different crafts. If you are weighing the move from operator to coach, start with the certification path for senior executives.
“What are you waiting for? If you want to help others in a way that is long-lasting and truly inspiring, this is the place to come.”
From Experienced Coach to an Executive-Grade Method
Many graduates arrive already certified elsewhere, some with ICF credentials and years of paying clients. They come for the same reason: a proprietary method and assessment suite that separates them from every coach competing on generic skills.
Lorraine
An experienced coach who wanted a framework that produces real transformation, not another certificate for the wall.
Madi
Multi-certified before she arrived, Madi still found Level 1 advanced and immediately useful.
“I like that your program has a structure to it but still has the ability to expand and contract. You have a roadmap a lot of other coaching training I have taken does not have.”
“I have done ICF, learned a lot and been using it. But this program is very practical ... By doing this, we are actually impacting not just the Leader but the whole organization.”
“It was intense, clear and meaningful. I realized the value of following a strong process.”
Building Coaching Capability Inside Organizations
HR, L&D, and OD leaders certify in the method for a different reason: a defensible, brand-name methodology they can stand behind in front of leadership teams and procurement.
“Through your diligence and hard work you have managed to capture many of the concepts I have held for years about developing leaders.”
Talk through what your version of this looks like
The fastest way to find out whether this program fits your background is a direct conversation, not a brochure. Bring your questions about the method, the Master Journey, and the market you want to coach in.
Book a CallWhat Do Graduates Say About the Method Itself?
The question behind every certification purchase is practical: will I know what to do in the room? Graduates answer it the same way. The Intelligent Leadership system, the MLEI, and the coaching process give them a diagnostic starting point and a roadmap, session after session.
“Compared with other training I've done, your content, process, and tools are the best I've seen. Rich quality content, a solid roadmap, inspiring message, and measurable results.”
“It has been a long time since I participated in a training that has positively challenged the status quo, and at the same time provoked me to think about the way I have been practicing my profession.”
“You have developed an incredible approach and worked hard to package it for others to benefit from your years of experience.”
The method these graduates describe is the one you train in from day one: inner core before outer core, character before competence, assessment before prescription. It is taught, not implied. See how the method is taught on the certification overview.
How Are Coaching Outcomes Measured?
Coaching results should be measured, not asserted. John Mattone Global tracks engagement outcomes through LeaderWatch, its proprietary ROI measurement system, which gathers stakeholder feedback at regular intervals across every phase of a coaching engagement.
Across coaching engagements of six months or longer, stakeholders (peers, direct reports, and supervisors) observe a 57% average improvement in overall leadership effectiveness, with gains of 52% in 1:1 communication and 49% in team culture. In the separate LeaderWatch 2026 dataset of 788 professional development goals, the average improvement in overall leadership was 52%, with the strongest gains in sensitivity and empathy, culture leadership, and strategic leadership. Full results are published on the success stories page.
For a certification buyer, the point is this: you are joining a firm that measures what its coaching produces, and you train in that same discipline. Graduates learn to run engagements where progress is tracked by the people around the leader, not just felt by the leader.
Average improvement in overall leadership effectiveness, stakeholder-observed
LeaderWatch, engagements of six months or longer, 2024
6 of the World's Top 20 Coaches, Under One Roof
In the 2026 Global Gurus rankings, six coaches from John Mattone Global rank among the world's top 20 executive coaches. The same body ranked the training program itself, twice over.
Best Coaching Development Program
Global Gurus, 2025 & 2026
Best Leadership Development Program
Global Gurus, 2025 & 2026
John Mattone
Ranked #1 six times, 2019-2026
Dr. Aldo Civico
Master Elite JMG Coach
Mark Nation
Master Elite JMG Coach
Dr. Barbara Dalle Pezze
Master Elite JMG Coach
Dr. Vincent Pieterse
Master Elite JMG Coach
Puja Talesara
Master Elite JMG Coach
The #1 and #2 ranked coaches in the world work under one roof, alongside four more of the top 20: John Mattone (#1), Dr. Aldo Civico (#2), Mark Nation (#5), Dr. Barbara Dalle Pezze (#9), Dr. Vincent Pieterse (#10), and Puja Talesara (#16). When you certify in the Intelligent Leadership method, this is the bench whose method you carry.
See Whether the Program Fits You
You have read what the graduates say. The next step is a conversation about your background, your market, and where you would enter the Master Journey. Level 1 is a three-day certification taught personally by John Mattone; the stages beyond it lead to the Intelligent Leadership Master Coach designation, and admissions will map them to your goals.