If you’re a coach, career counselor, HR or L&D pro, leader, founder, therapist or helping professional, you already know one of the biggest questions - and sources of pain - for a huge number of people: figuring out the answer to one big question…
What is the work that makes me come alive, and how do I do more of it?
It is, in no small way, the question of our time especially now, when:
- More people are considering resigning or reimagining their work than ever before,
- Organizations are being called on to deliver more purpose, excitement, and a sense of joy and possibility
- Leaders are working to better align team-members with work-experiences to enhance motivation and performance, and decrease burnout, and…
- Individuals in the early days of work (or looking to start a career) are demanding so much more than just a paycheck.
Safe bet, you started doing what you’re doing because you grappled with this very inquiry (and, like most, may still be revisiting it on a regular basis).
At this point, you’ve done the work to be able to serve.
To help people navigate their reason-for-being in a constructive, but not contrived or “faddish” way, you’ve accumulated certifications, hundreds or even thousands of practical hours with clients, colleagues or reports, maybe even earned degrees. You are committed to helping people achieve their goals at the highest level. You get results.
Still, you’ve also come to learn that this giant existential question often takes not just time and experience, but a varied set of tools that allow for different paths to awakening and action. The typical process of inquiry and guided experimentation is rarely enough.
So, you turn to specialized quizzes, assessments, tools, and bodies of knowledge. Things like StrengthsFinder, VIA, DISC, MBTI, True Colors or the Enneagram, to name a few. Each has its own, well-established place in your toolbox. But, as with all generalized assessments, personality tests, and tools, they tend to give broader-stroke guidance.
And, they’re never quite spot-on when it comes to figuring out this specific inquiry -
How do clients find and do work that allows them to feel like they’re fueled by purpose, fully-expressed, fiercely-engaged and lost in flow? Shorthanded, work that makes them come alive. Work that sparks them?
Answering this singular question - building highly-specific tools, programming, certifications and other offerings that guide this life-defining quest - is our obsession at Spark Endeavors™.
It began with the development of the Sparketypes® - the world’s first purpose-expression-flow archetypes. This led to the Sparketype Assessment, an online tool that allows anyone to discover their Primary and shadow Sparketype. If you’re here now, we’re guessing you’ve already discovered yours, found value in it and want to learn more. The Sparketype Assessment has been completed by more than 660,000 individuals and organizations. Public response has been swift and extraordinarily positive. Still, we wanted more “hard data,” so we went deeper.
Our Phase II Inquiry Study showed even clearer, more granular correlations that match-up with what we’d been hearing and seeing:
The more your work aligns with your Sparketype, the more likely you are to feel energized and excited, filled with meaning, lost in flow and performing at your full potential at work.
And, interestingly enough, you’re also more likely to feel your life, in general, has a clear sense of purpose and direction - like you’re doing the thing you’re here to do.
Working to support the tremendous volume of people completing the Sparketype Assessment, we began to build more tools, like the groundbreaking book - SPARKED - published by HarperCollins Leadership, the Spark Your Work Virtual Workshop, along with a set of specialized tools focused more on organizational and group engagements, leadership, and engagement, like the Spark Canvas™
The feedback has been incredible. Still, people started asking for something more…
“Is there some way I can work with someone who knows this body-of-work and these tools to help me navigate them and more quickly Spark my work and life?”
Then, similar requests began coming in, this time from helping professionals and leaders like you -
- Coaches
- Career Counselors
- HR
Professionals - LEADERS & MANAGERS
- Teachers
- Workshop Facilitators
- Learning and development execs
- Retreat Leaders
But, this time, they weren’t looking for someone to work with, they were looking to be supported in better understanding and then tapping the potential of our intellectual property, tools, assessment, programs, and body-of-work, with their clients, colleagues and more.
They wanted a way to become well-versed in “all things Sparketype,” to better understand where the basic concepts came from, how they were designed, what they tell us, how to work with them in the context of individual client work, group work, and even organizational application.
Truth is, more than a few people shared how they were already sharing the Sparketypes and using them in their work “unofficially,” and how powerful they were. But, those same people also shared how often they’d get tripped up by the many questions that come up as you move deeper into the process of working with the Sparketypes, or the Spark Your Work process outlined in the book and the on-demand, self-guided virtual workshop. And, they began to ask if we might offer some level of support to develop a deeper knowledge and training in “how” to use these ideas and resources with clients, students, colleagues, teams, and beyond.
We decided it was time to make everyone happy. The tons of people who were clamoring for someone to work with, and the many helping professionals who wanted a more official way and authorization to work with the tools.
So, we went back into our instructional-design lab to create the Certified Sparketype Advisor training for coaches, HR, L&D, leadership, and other helping professionals.
The inaugural CSA certification will happen in December 2021 (Dates & Details below)
Here’s what we’ll explore together…
CORE CERTIFICATION CURRICULUM
PRE-WORK/QUALIFICATIONS
Before you arrive, you should have:
- Completed the Sparketype Assessment
- Familiarized yourself with your unique Sparketype Profile
- Read and studied the book SPARKED in its entirety
- Completed pre-work including the Spark Your Work program in the context of your own work and life and pre-assigned instructional videos
- Be a professional in the area of coaching, career counseling, HR/HCM, L&D, teaching, workshop facilitation, org-learning or similar by an accredited organization, established certifying body or educational institution
- Have a minimum of three years of experience in the field
This will help ensure that everyone arrives at the live-training with the same fundamental knowledge-set, allowing us to dive into a more detailed exploration more quickly.
TWO-Day VIRTUAL LIVE Intensive
We will spend two full days together in this virtual intensive. For those who choose to participate in the optional Group Facilitation training (see below), you’ll be given access to additional self-guided modules with videos, audio, worksheets, and transcripts that deepen into how to apply this body-of-work in a group context.
Over the course of two intensive days together, we will explore the
following in an interactive, conversational way:
Sparketype Foundations
Develop a deeper understanding of all 10 Sparektypes, the origins, development of the assessment and underlying philosophy/model, phase II insight study research and interpretation, including:
- Sparketype origins, core philosophy, what we’re measuring, research and data analysis
- Sparketype descriptions
- Sparketype comparison insights
- Fulfillment conditions
- Triggers and danger-zones
- The myth of good and bad pairings
- Common career paths and why it's harmful to start with them.
- Type-specific questions, issues and quirks
- Distinction between Sparketype, Purpose and Passion
- Distinction between motivation and Sparketype
- Job Title Fallacy/Job-alchemy
- Distinction between “Accomplished” and “Sparked”
- Distinction between “Skills,” “Strengths”, and “Sparks”
- Individualized applications
- Can your Sparketype change?
- What if you don’t agree with or want your Sparketype?
- The 4 categories of work
Working with individual clients:
- Spark Your Work “Alchemy” Process: Working in a step-by-step way with the core concepts, processes and tools:
- Discovery - Identify & deepen into profile
- Extract - 7- day Spark/Stifle activity-tracking
- EXPRESS - Spark Expression
- Inventory - Mapping tasks, topics, processes, tools, projects, channels, and more, in the context of the 4-categories of work.
- Reimagine - Working with the job, role of devotion to find or create new paths to express your Sparktype
- Expand - redefining work, and applying the insights and tools to all the ways we exert effort
- Refine - Optimize aligned work + life
- Structuring clients engagements and sessions
- Creating personalized client “Spark Plans.”
- Measuring progress & tracking growth
POSTWORK
In order to build early momentum and answer questions that may come up as you begin to integrate the Sparketype processes into your work, and ensure practical experience before official certification, we’ve created a specialized “Post-Work” experience that includes the following:
-
7-day Check-in: This helps ensure immediate action-taking and integration upon returning from the 2-day intensive (2-hour Zoom Session):
-
It is important that you begin to work with the Sparketypes and relevant programming immediately, so that you become not only comfortable but also fluent with the ideas and processes on a level that gives you confidence and provides sustained value for your clients and colleagues. It is also important to us, as a certifying body, that you embrace practical experience and application as soon as possible.
Toward this end, we require that, within the first 30-days, you meet the following practical requirements in order to be eligible for certification:
- Guide a minimum of three-people, clients or colleagues through the Sparketype processes.
- Complete and submit written reflections for each person (evaluation form to be provided)
- Complete an online assessment demonstrating knowledge of the Sparketype framework, tools and resources.
- 12-months of Virtual Office Hours: Your certification program also includes 12-months of monthly Virtual Office Hours calls with a Sparketype Master Trainer, to give you regular insights, problem-solving and ideas as you build your CSA offerings.
Annual Learning Hub Membership + Global CSA Directory...
As part of your CSA certification, you will also become eligible to be publicly listed on the searchable Global CSA Directory, which will be launched upon the completion of the inaugural cohort. Your listing will remain active (barring violation of our certification terms-of-use and code-of-conduct) for a full 12-months at no additional fee.
We will continue to develop and expand our ideas, research, tools, professional resources and trainings and serve our community of CSAs with monthly video Office Hours, case-studies, and more. In order to maintain the highest standards for all CSAs, it will be important for all active CSAs to keep current with the latest developments, advances and offerings.
To this end, in order to maintain active status beyond your first-year, we will require an annual membership, continuing education, and listing renewal fee (currently $500, subject to change over time). This will entitle you to continued access to all public and private components of certification noted above.
Certification Requirements, Scope & Expectations...
Here is what to expect upon completion of the certification process:
Provisional certification.
Immediately upon completing your Pre-Work and 2-Day Virtual LIVE Intensive, you will get “provisional” CSA status that grants use of the Sparketype intellectual property, tools and offerings for a limited 30-day window, while you complete the requirements for full certification.
Official Certification
Once ALL elements are completed and turned-in, we will review and confirm satisfactory completion, send an “official” certification letter, certificate and digital imagery suitable for sharing. You will then be set up with a CSA account and login for our online portal with access to training materials, the CSA community and a private “wholesale” store to purchase resellable materials for your clients and programs.
Once you’re out of the provisional window, as a CSA, you will be credentialed and authorized to guide individuals and facilitate groups using the specific tools, resources and programming covered in this training. We also expect to develop and make available in 2022 additional, more targeted training and credentialing opportunities tailored to corporate, educational and organizational settings with a specific focus on leadership, engagement, performance, team-dynamics , and communications applications.
Tuition alone does not entitle any participant to full certification.
Please note, we care deeply about not just sharing information, but also about true proficiency and impact. Payment, completion of the pre-work and simple attendance at the 2-day event does not ensure certification. In order to “graduate” to active, full certification and be eligible for the full suite of benefits of being a CSA, you must also complete all required practical hours and post-work within the first 30-days (extensions for extenuating circumstances or hardship may be granted on a case-by-case basis). When you say yes to taking a spot in the certification, we also expect that to be a yes to doing all necessary work to become fully certified. Failure to complete these final elements will result in denial of certification and does not entitle any participant to a refund.
What we are hoping to do here is raise the bar. To convey our commitment to curating and growing a powerful, inclusive, whole-hearted, action-oriented and motivated team of individuals who will come together to form a true impact-driven community. A group of leaders known for a rare devotion to service, intentionality and intelligence, kindness and connection and the ability to access and apply highly-differentiated concepts, tools, and resources that deliver real, measurable, life-changing outcomes.
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
- Maya Angelou
Put another way, we’re looking for people who will raise their hands to help us shake the world.
Maybe, that’s you!
This program might be a fit if YOU:
- Embrace the ideals of inclusivity, equality, service, kindness, elevation and impact
- Are already certified as a professional in the area of coaching, career counseling, HR/HCM, L&D, therapist, teacher, workshop facilitators, org-learning or similar by an accredited or established certifying body or educational institution.
- Have a minimum of three years of coaching/mentoring/consulting experience, so that you’ll be able to bring seasoned coaching skills and experiences to this specific set of offerings, and the conversation during the certification process can remain focused on the specific application of the Sparketypes and not on the fundamentals of coaching.
- See the world (and people) with a deeply-curious lens, are open to learning, feedback and enjoy participating in interactive, collaborative learning environments.
- Are willing to share, give as much as you get and come from a place of openness, inclusivity and kindness.
- Love the idea of becoming a leader in helping to share the impact of an evolving body-of-work that is moving quickly and looking to help people reclaim a sense of meaning, joy and expression through work.
- Would love the ongoing support of a well-aligned community as you develop your offerings and business.
Investment + How you will apply
We understand that the coaching, consulting and training market is tremendously competitive these days. Your ability to offer a set of next-generation concepts, tools and processes with a rapidly-growing public profile can be a real differentiator, both in terms of enabling faster, better outcomes, but also in your positioning in the marketplace.
As a CSA, you will become one of a select number of people who are officially trained, authorized and certified to offer our core programming and be discovered by the large volume (as of this writing, more than 1,000 people/day) of Sparketype Assessment takers in the searchable Global CSA Directory.
We wish we could accept all who apply, but because we are committed to fiercely-intentional growth and impact, fit is critically important. That means, admission is application-only, enrollment will be strictly-limited and each certification cohort will be filled on a qualified first-come/first-accepted basis (meaning, once qualified, we’ll extend invitations on a first-come, first-accepted basis) until capacity is reached and we close admission.
Should we be a fit, your investment will be $3,500.
This Includes
- All materials required for certification
- Access to our private online CSA resource portal
- Attendance at the 2-day virtual LIVE intensive
- All post-work, check-ins, written reflections, assessment, and certification
- Monthly virtual office hours calls for the first 12-months following certification
- Access to the online CSA community for the first 12-months following certification
- Listing on the searchable Global CSA Directory for the first 12-months following certification
How you’ll secure your place...
It’s all about fit, we never sell. You’ll complete a short application that will let us get a better sense for whether we’re right for each other. Then, we’ll schedule a 20-minute phone convo to trade questions, so we can get to know you a bit better and you have time to ask us whatever is on your mind.
If it feels like a great fit, we will offer you a space in the program on what we call a first-response basis. That means we will keep interviewing people and extending offers to well-qualified applicants and the first to confirm registration will be in the program. Once we hit our cap, the group will officially close. At that point, even accepted applicants will have to wait until the next available dates to participate.
If this sounds like something you would love to be a part of,
we invite you to apply below:
As a certified and credentialed coach with over 20 years of experience, I highly recommend the Certified Sparketype® Advisor Training Program. The Sparketype® Assessment, professional tools, and thoughtfully designed process have quickly become an essential part of my work as a transition, career, and leadership coach. I have found the Sparketype® Process to be a beautiful complement to my coaching work and appreciate how its flexibility and adaptability allows me to seamlessly integrate it with the other tools and methodologies in my toolkit. It’s a game-changer!
Best of all, my clients are loving the Sparketype® Process and are finding it to be hugely beneficial. This methodology lets me help clients deepen their awareness of what makes them come alive; thoughtfully reimagine or reinvent their work and career; and holistically assess new opportunities, make informed decisions and take aligned action. It’s powerful to witness my clients gaining clarity and connecting the dots between what sparks them, what matters most, what’s possible and what’s next!
The CSA Training Program is exceptionally well-designed and has equipped me with the knowledge, tools and resources I need to be able to effectively and confidently guide individuals, teams and groups through the Sparketype® Process. The Spark Team is clearly committed to: supporting CSAs during and after the training program; evolving the tools; building a connected and engaged CSA community; providing continuing education; and helping to increase awareness of CSAs through the CSA Directory.
As a corporate trainer, I have found that bringing Sparketype work into the business world is truly transformative for individual employees and the overall corporate culture as well. With each Sparketype workshop I lead, I see faces light up as employees discover new levels of understanding about how to engage their focus more in the work that energizes them and how to best navigate work activities that deplete them.
Sparketype work is the powerful key for building corporate culture of community and collaboration. When I share aggregate Sparketype results in my workshops and guide participants to ask each other questions about their approaches to various situations I see teams gain a deeper appreciation of individual differences and how to work together synergistically in ways they had not considered before. With Sparketype work group dynamics shift as teams learn how to leverage natural strengths and tendencies that each individual team member brings.
The CSA training was essential for gaining in-depth understanding of the material and preparing me to professionally share the Sparketypes, tools, and programming with clients. The brilliance of the multidisciplinary and ever creative CSA community has been an ongoing invaluable think-tank resource for many different innovative ways to bring this material to clients 1:1 and in groups.
Prior to the discovery of my Sparketypes, I believed that there were going to be some activities that were always going to be challenging no matter how much effort I exerted. I’ve come to realize that it is not so much about the tasks as it is about how to approach them within the context of our primary and secondary Sparketype imprints. Jonathan Fields and the Sparketype team have developed a truly amazing assessment, tools, and program to help people view work from a different lens than they are used to, and subsequently, take concrete and informed actions to engage in meaningful and purposeful work. If you are considering enrolling in the Certified Sparketype Advisor training, you will receive plenty of ongoing resources and support. Both Jonathan Fields and his team are vested in your success, and you have the flexibility to utilize the training in different work-related domains and clients.
As we experience life, we may lose our way or get in a rut or stuck along the journey. The Sparketype body of work is akin to a ‘compass for the mind’ – a wayfinder back to rediscovering who we are. The Sparketype assessment is a unique tool that can help reconnect to our true self. It evokes an internal re-awakening with what sparks and stifles us with clarity, allowing a conscious crafting of experiences to align with our inner nature and values system.
The CSA training content is expertly delivered by Jonathan and his Sparked Dream Team in an engaging and energising manner, with supporting materials that have been thoughtfully developed and refined over time. The training is designed to elicit, with a stunning degree of accuracy, what to embed into life’s experiences to have feelings of engagement, meaning, purpose and flow. The outputs distill the right information in an insightful approach that can be practically applied straight away in one’s journey of re-awakening..
I’ve found Sparketype to be a powerful addition to my coaching offering and one that my clients intuitively gravitate towards. No matter where they are in life, Sparketype helps people deepen their connection to the work that moves them most, providing tangible and practical ways to explore in more detail and start to integrate purpose in each day. I particularly love that the framework looks beyond the narrow confines of paid work as the sole source of meaning, and that it can be used across an entire continuum from subtle yet powerful life changes to more transformative decisions. As an Advisor/Sage, Sparketype is near to my heart, helping me to realize my own purpose of sparking learning and curiosity in those I work with. The CSA training itself was an amazing opportunity to connect with the dynamic Sparketype global community, try out the tools and framework, and learn how best to bring it to life with my own clients. I’d highly recommend the CSA Program for those looking to bring a new perspective and tool to their client work.
I thoroughly enjoyed the 2-day Certified Sparketype Advisor training. The opportunity to work directly with Jonathan and other students, all eager to gain a deeper understanding of this brilliant work, was a gift. I gained a sense of both how grounded the Sparketype assessment is in scientifically robust research and of how to incorporate the concepts in my work with clients.
I love being part of the Sparketype community and having the ongoing support of the Sparketype team and my fellow graduates as we learn how to put this amazing work to use in service of the growth and wellbeing of our clients.
I have used many 'type indicators' personally and in my coaching practice and Sparketypes is definitely the one that has had the most impact. Because I already have many certifications, I initially held back from signing up for the CSA training. I am so glad I changed my mind as the training took my understanding of the work to a whole new level. The Sparketypes team is very supportive, providing an abundance of well-designed resources to use with clients. I am also impressed with the generous sharing among the CSA community. I highly recommend the CSA training for anyone who wants to help others come alive with passion and purpose.
The Sparketype is such a valuable resource that I want to ensure my clients are getting the most out of it. With the two-day training, the support of the CSA Community, and the comprehensive set of tools provided, I feel confident in delivering thoughtful insight to my clients.
Participating in the CSA training has been a fantastic addition to my coaching and consulting practice. Jonathan and his team have been engaged and available to help develop my understanding of the suite of tools provided to serve my clients. I really appreciate the consistent thread of "holding lightly" the tools and perspectives, it provides the flexibility needed to work with these resources in alignment with my business and to customize the conversations to the best interest of my clients.
As a professional certified coach and consultant, I work with people who want to transform themselves, their teams, or organizations. Having a clear mission and a sense of purpose is crucial when embarking on any change endeavor.
The Sparketype® assessment is a powerful tool that offers individuals clarity around what makes them come alive and what depletes them. Having this insight empowers them to align their work with their core drivers and create strategies to offset what requires a heavy lift.
For teams, discovering their Sparketype® profiles provides a framework and common language to strengthen team communication, engagement, and Productivity.
The CSA training was essential for gaining knowledge about the 10 Sparketypes® and introduced me to various tools and techniques for multiple uses. I’ve been able to help my clients understand themselves better and take aligned steps forward to manage their careers, improve their communication approach, make better
decisions, and handle stress.
My learnings and uses continue to increase as I dive in and learn more from the ever-growing, dynamic CSA community.
I first heard about the Sparketype assessment and Jonathan’s work from a client. They lit up when they told me their Sparketypes and it generated one of our deepest and richest coaching sessions.
My client spoke with passion and energy about what lights them up and we used the data to drive what they described was a very helpful coaching discussion. I felt a shift in the session as well. I was very intrigued. My next step was to take the Assessment ( Advisor/Maven/ Performer), read Sparked and then attend Jonathan’s workshop.
After attending the workshop I scheduled a call with Jonathan to talk about his work, my work and how it had begun to inform my coaching. He was interested, engaging and thoughtful about his work and the community he is cultivating.
The CSA program was a fantastic experience. I have met some amazing people both in the community and on the Sparked team. I have a deeper understanding of the material and it has helped me in service to my clients.
I highly recommend it to others exploring tools and techniques to grow their skills as a coach.
Becoming a Certified Sparketype Advisor has allowed me to open up new doors of exploration with my coaching clients, particularly those seeking career transformation. The CSA training program is incredibly comprehensive, thoughtfully designed and extremely collegial! Jonathan and the Sparketype team do a brilliant job of illuminating all elements of the Sparketype Process, as well as the utility of its corresponding tools.
The suite of tools and community I now have access to as a CSA are proving invaluable in helping certain clients gain real clarity on how they actually want to spend their time and resources, personally and professionally. I would highly recommend the Certified Sparketype Advisor Training for those seeking an innovative, energizing, data-driven method to serve clients.
I feel so proud to be a part of the CSA Community! The Sparketype Assessment has had a profound influence on my own evolving work journey and I felt called to share it with others. I really valued the rigor of the training weekend and certification process, as well as the generous support from Jonathan and the SPARKED team. It's been fun and enriching to learn more about the Sparketype tools, integrate them into my coaching and consulting practices, and be witness to the amazing "ahas" and shifts that the Sparketype has inspired in my clients.
Life Coach & Chief Engagement Officer
Big Tent Consulting
I am eager to share my experience with the Certified Sparketype Advisor (CSA) program. About a year ago, I became a CSA, and it has been a significant milestone in my career as a storytelling coach.
I took the Sparketype assessment three years ago and discovered that I'm an advocate and advisor. It's no wonder I ended up advocating for everyone in my office to use the coffee machine when the executive leadership decided it was only for them! Advocacy has been a part of my life since I was young. I joined the NAACP when I was 11 years old, so advocating for others has been a passion of mine for a long time.
As an advisor and coach, the Sparketypes have been incredibly helpful in helping my clients identify their character within their own stories. Working one-on-one, the Sparketypes have allowed them to reframe their self-perception and achieve their goals. I've worked with an executive who was preparing for a significant summit and helped him overcome self-doubt. I also work closely with women seeking to make career and lifestyle changes. The Sparketypes have helped them identify their strengths and move forward with confidence.
Honestly, becoming a CSA has helped me build my practice and live a more sparked life. I'm thrilled to share the Sparketype message with others and help them find their own sparks!
Jonathan Fields
Jonathan Fields is a dad, husband, award-winning author, executive producer, and host of one of the top-ranked podcasts in the world, Good Life Project®. He is also the founder of a series of companies focused on human potential, currently helming Spark Endeavors, where he developed the groundbreaking Sparketype® Assessment. This tool has been tapped by over 500,000 individuals and organizations to identify, embrace, and cultivate work that makes people come alive, and help leaders unlock purpose, engagement, and potential. His latest book, SPARKED: Discover Your Unique Imprint for Work That Makes You Come Alive (HarperCollins Leadership 2021), is both a rally cry and a field guide to reclaiming work as a source of meaning, joy, and possibility. Jonathan also speaks and facilitates globally for groups and organizations of all sizes, both virtually and in person. His work has been featured widely in the media, including The New York Times, FastCompany, The Wall Street Journal, Inc., Entrepreneur, Forbes, Oprah Magazine, Elle, Allure, The Guardian, and many more.