TED* Practitioner Certification
Become a Certified TED* Practitioner
Learn to teach, coach, and facilitate the work that helps people and teams untangle what's hard in relationships and get unstuck in ways that last
We are made to create
Victimhood shows up everywhere: in our relationships, workplaces, families, and inner lives. It looks like blame, avoidance, retreating, lashing out, and a resignation that things simply are the way they are.
At the heart of The Empowerment Dynamic is this belief: We are made to create. As humans, we can take conscious, purposeful, choice-filled action, build trust where ties have broken down, and inspire each other.
The Empowerment Dynamic gives people a way to make this shift. As a Certified TED* Practitioner, you help make this shift happen.
The Course
A hands-on certification program for teaching, coaching, and facilitating TED*
The Certified TED* Practitioner course is an in-depth learning experience that gives you the structure, tools, support, and embodied practice to confidently help people make the shift from reacting to creating in their work, relationships, and lives.
Instruction
Live, instructor-led training across four days with real practice and feedback, comprising 20+ hours of instruction and practice time.
Framework resources
The core framework, exercises, and tools to deliver a structured workshop or to adapt into your existing work.
Assessment
Certification in the TED* Empowerment Orientation Profile™, a validated instrument you can administer and debrief with clients.
Materials
Trainer and Learner guides (physical and digital) to use directly with your clients and teams.
Credentials
Official certification from the Center and listing in the Center's directory of Certified TED* Practitioners.
Community
One year in the global TED* Community of Practice — a network of practitioners sharing tools, insights, and real-world stories.
This certification is one of the most transformative professional experiences I've encountered in over three decades of leadership development and coaching. The program does far more than provide another "tool" or "framework" – it fundamentally reshaped and refined how I think about human dynamics, responsibility, and choice.
Fall 2025 Participant
The Program
An Integrated Learning Experience
The virtual program takes place two days one week, two days the next, so you have time between sessions to practice, absorb, and bring the work into your own life. Every day follows the same arc: learn the content, work it live as a facilitator, then practice facilitating it yourself. Here's what you'll walk away able to do:
Coach the Problem to Outcome Orientation shift
Learn the nuance of coaching and facilitating the Problem and Outcome orientations, then work a real-world problem in pods. Leave knowing how to move a client from what they don't want to an outcome they have passion toward.
Facilitate the Shift from Drama to Empowerment*
Experience the six roles in an embodied way. Gain specific tools and exercises for facilitating the Drama Triangle and The Empowerment Dynamic. Leave with the tools and language to name drama dynamics without triggering defensiveness.
Coach the Move into Action
Learn Dynamic Tension and the Action Planning Process. Facilitate the shift in pods and receive direct feedback. Coach your peers through a real scenario to move into action. Leave with a powerful tool to help clients move from indecision into committed action.
Facilitate Your Capstone, Earn Certification
Facilitate a full segment under peer and facilitator evaluation. Build your personal practice plan, learn to package and scale the work, and complete your certification. Leave with a plan to scale your practice and resources to engage with the community.
Training Details
Upcoming Trainings
Trainings are held both live and in-person. See below for our next upcoming cohort, or view other dates for future cohorts.
Next Scheduled Training
Schedule
October CohortOctober 8, 2026
11:00 am – 4:00 pm ET · Virtual
October 9, 2026
11:00 am – 4:00 pm ET · Virtual
October 15, 2026
11:00 am – 4:00 pm ET · Virtual
October 16, 2026
11:00 am – 4:00 pm ET · Virtual
Prior to training, you will be shipped a full set of Trainer materials, including Facilitator manuals, participant guidebooks, and a code for the TED* Empowerment Orientation Profile, a validated self-assessment.
Format & Pricing
Format
Live Cohort · Virtual
Duration
4 days · 20+ hours of live instruction
Materials
Full Trainer & Participant materials included
Community
1-year membership to the global Community of Practice
Investment
$2,995
Payment
Payment plans available
The Outcomes
Grow your practice. Impact your clients.
As a Certified TED* Practitioner, you will be able to help your clients:
- Surface the hidden costsAddress hidden team dynamics that cost time, money, and momentum. Untangle what's hard in relationships and discover what to do about it.
- Fix root causes, not symptomsBreak the cycle of problems that get fixed, disappear, and resurface later. Reorient from problems to outcomes, so people solve for what's wanted and needed instead of what's wrong.
- Lead well under pressureNavigate emotionally charged moments without rescuing, blaming, attacking, or retreating. Shift teams from fixing people and problems to leading with empathy, vision, and accountability.
- Change the dynamic at the personal, leadership, and culture levelsApply a repeatable framework for driving honest awareness that results in integrated action and behavior. Shift how work gets done through the people that are doing the work.
As a participant in the Certified TED* Practitioner program, you will:
- Embody the workExperience the Empowerment Dynamic in your own life first — then move fluidly through the framework and teach the complexity behind the simplicity.
- Get a vetted systemWalk away with a tested method for transferring the TED* ways of seeing, thinking, relating, and acting to individuals and teams.
- Get certified on the assessmentAdminister and debrief the TED* Empowerment Orientation Profile™, a validated measure of how people orient to drama and empowerment — with confidence built through real practice and peer feedback.
- Stay supportedQuarterly practitioner calls, a resource library, ongoing content updates, a community to learn from and refer to, and a listing in the Center's directory of certified practitioners.
While TED* is easy to understand, the chance to deeply embody it within yourself and witness others doing the same will make you a far better facilitator of the work. I have known this work for years, I now embody it thanks to this course.
Spring 2026 participant
Faculty
Learn from Trusted Guides
Learn from other Certified Practitioners who have taught and coached with this work.
Jim Anderson
Donna Zajonc
Daniel Rellaford
Barry Rellaford
Jennifer Herold
Hoh Kim
Why It Works
What makes this work different
It gives people a shared language
Common language is the benefit people name most often after learning this work. When a hundred people can say the same thing about what's happening between them, accountability stops feeling like conflict — and change becomes possible.
People use it the same day they learn it
Speed is the currency of real work. People move from understanding this to applying it faster than almost any framework they've encountered — even in high-pressure settings.
Simple to grasp. A lifetime to practice.
The concepts are simple enough to learn in a day and deep enough to practice for a lifetime. It sticks with people when many things fade, creating a powerful tool for lasting change.
It bridges the leadership complexity gap
As complexity increases, the gap between ability and need widens. This work fundamentally helps leaders embody a higher stage of awareness and self-leadership.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Coaches, facilitators, consultants, HR and Learning & Development professionals, and leaders who want a proven way to help people and teams get unstuck.
Yes. Please read either The Power of TED* or 3 Vital Questions by David Emerald. To prepare for an emphasis on coaching, please read Who Do You Want To Be On The Way To What You Want? by Donna Zajonc.
Live sessions - delivered virtually and in-person. Please check calendar for format and dates.
The Certified TED* Practitioner is the new flagship certification and replaces the earlier 3VQ Trainer/Facilitator Certification.
You join the TED* Community of Practice and receive ongoing support from the Center as you put the work into practice.
Complete the course, agree to certification requirements, demonstrate your understanding, and practice the work with real people and your peer cohort.
Because of the new redesign of this course, it is not yet credentialed with ICF. We are working to get this included. Practitioners may submit course materials for study credits.
$2,995, with payment plans available.
A recognized credential, a vetted system for teaching the work, ongoing support, and a global community of practitioners.
Still deciding?
Schedule time with our CEO, Daniel, and see whether it's the right fit.