THE CREDENTIAL INFLATION TRAP How India's Executive Coaching Market Is Failing Its Clients

India's executive coaching market presents a troubling paradox: credentialing institutions and training providers are expanding at pace while the majority of certified coaches struggle to attract paying coachees. This article argues that three reinforcing market failures are driving this inversion — the erosion of professional experience thresholds for high-level credentials, the structural absence of outcome accountability mechanisms, and organisational buyers' inability to distinguish coaching competence from credential volume. Drawing on signalling theory, human capital research, professional services market dynamics, and practitioner evidence from India's coaching landscape, we introduce the Credential Inflation Trap — a four-stage diagnostic framework that maps how credentialing systems degrade from reliable quality signals to market-distorting credential displays. Five empirical findings document the scale, mechanisms, and consequences of this inversion. A prescriptive playbook with sequenced actions and measurable KPIs is offered for three constituencies: CHROs and L&D leaders, ICF and credentialing bodies, and coaching training providers. The article closes with a research agenda for scholars and a first-week action list for practitioners.