ICF Core Coaching Competencies
The following eleven core coaching competencies were developed to
support greater understanding about the skills and approaches used
within today's coaching profession as defined by the ICF. They will
also support you in calibrating the level of alignment between the
coach-specific training expected and the training you have
experienced.
These competencies are used as the foundation for the ICF
Credentialing Process Examination.
The core competencies are grouped into four clusters according to
those that fit together logically based on common ways of looking at
the competencies in each group. The groupings and individual
competencies are not weighted - they do not represent any kind of
priority in that they are all core or critical for any competent
coach to demonstrate.
A. SETTING THE FOUNDATION
1. MEETING ETHICAL GUIDELINES AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS
2. ESTABLISHING THE COACHING AGREEMENT
B. CO-CREATING THE RELATIONSHIP
3. ESTABLISHING TRUST AND INTIMACY WITH THE CLIENT
4. COACHING PRESENCE
C. COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY
5. ACTIVE LISTENING
6. POWERFUL QUESTIONING
7. DIRECT COMMUNICATION
D. FACILITATING LEARNING AND RESULTS
8. CREATING AWARENESS
9. DESIGNING ACTIONS
10. PLANNING AND GOAL SETTING
11. MANAGING PROGRESS AND ACCOUNTABILITY
NOTE: Each competency listed on the following pages has a definition
and related behaviors. Behaviors are classified as either those that
should always be present and visible in any coaching interaction (in
regular font), or those that are called for in certain coaching
situations and, therefore, not always visible in any one coaching
interaction (in italics).
A. SETTING THE FOUNDATION
1. Meeting Ethical Guidelines and Professional Standards -
Understanding of coaching ethics and standards and ability to apply
them appropriately in all coaching situations
1. Understands and xhibits in own behaviors the ICF Standards of
Conduct (see list),
2. Understands and follows all ICF Ethical Guidelines (see list),
3. Clearly communicates the distinctions between coaching,
consulting, psychotherapy and other support professions,
44. Refers client to another support professional as needed, knowing
when this is needed and the available resources.
2. Establishing the Coaching Agreement - Ability to
understand what is required in the specific coaching interaction and
to come to agreement with the prospective and new client about the
coaching process and relationship
1. Understands and ffectively discusses with the client the
guidelines and specific parameters of the coaching relationship (e.g.,
logistics, fees, scheduling, inclusion of others if appropriate),
2. Reaches agreement about what is appropriate in the relationship
and what is not, what is and is not being offered, and about the
client's and coach's responsibilities,
33. Determines whether there is an effective match between his/her
coaching method and the needs of the prospective client.
B. CO-CREATING THE RELATIONSHIP
3. Establishing Trust and Intimacy with the Client - Ability
to create a safe, supportive environment that produces ongoing
mutual respect and trust
1. Shows genuine oncern for the client's welfare and future,
2. Continuously demonstrates personal integrity, honesty and
sincerity,
3. Establishes clear agreements and keeps promises,
4. Demonstrates respect for client's perceptions, learning style,
personal being,
5. Provides ongoing support for and champions new behaviors and
actions, including those involving risk taking and fear of failure,
66. Asks permission to coach client in sensitive, new areas.
4. Coaching Presence - Ability to be fully conscious and
create spontaneous relationship with the client, employing a style
that is open, flexible and confident
Is present and lexible during the coaching process, dancing in the
moment,
1. Accesses own intuition and trusts one's inner knowing - "goes
with the gut",
2. Is open to not knowing and takes risks,
3. Sees many ways to work with the client, and chooses in the moment
what is most effective,
4. Uses humor effectively to create lightness and energy,
5. Confidently shifts perspectives and experiments with new
possibilities for own action,
66. Demonstrates confidence in working with strong emotions, and can
self-manage and not be overpowered or enmeshed by client's emotions.
C. COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY
5. Active Listening - Ability to focus completely on what
the client is saying and is not saying, to understand the meaning of
what is said in the context of the client's desires, and to support
client self-expression
1. ttends to the client and the client's agenda, and not to the
coach's agenda for the client,
2. Hears the client's concerns, goals, values and beliefs about what
is and is not possible,
3. Distinguishes between the words, the tone of voice, and the body
language,
4. Summarizes, paraphrases, reiterates, mirrors back what client has
said to ensure clarity and understanding,
5. Encourages, accepts, explores and reinforces the client's
expression of feelings, perceptions, concerns, beliefs, suggestions,
etc.,
6. Integrates and builds on client's ideas and suggestions,
7. "Bottom-lines" or understands the essence of the client's
communication and helps the client get there rather than engaging in
long descriptive stories,
88. Allows the client to vent or "clear" the situation without
judgment or attachment in order to move on to next steps.
6. Powerful Questioning - Ability to ask questions that
reveal the information needed for maximum benefit to the coaching
relationship and the client
1. Asks uestions that reflect active listening and an understanding
of the client's perspective,
2. Asks questions that evoke discovery, insight, commitment or
action (e.g., those that challenge the client's assumptions),
3. Asks open-ended questions that create greater clarity,
possibility or new learning
44. Asks questions that move the client towards what they desire, not
questions that ask for the client to justify or look backwards.
7. Direct Communication - Ability to communicate effectively
during coaching sessions, and to use language that has the greatest
positive impact on the client
1. Is clear, rticulate and direct in sharing and providing
feedback,
2. Reframes and articulates to help the client understand from
another perspective what he/she wants or is uncertain about,
3. Clearly states coaching objectives, meeting agenda, purpose of
techniques or exercises,
4. Uses language appropriate and respectful to the client (e.g.,
non-sexist, non-racist, non-technical, non-jargon),
55. Uses metaphor and analogy to help to illustrate a point or paint
a verbal picture.
D. FACILITATING LEARNING AND RESULTS
8. Creating Awareness - Ability to integrate and accurately
evaluate multiple sources of information, and to make
interpretations that help the client to gain awareness and thereby
achieve agreed-upon results
1. oes beyond what is said in assessing client's concerns, not
getting hooked by the client's description,
2. Invokes inquiry for greater understanding, awareness and clarity,
3. Identifies for the client his/her underlying concerns, typical
and fixed ways of perceiving himself/herself and the world,
differences between the facts and the interpretation, disparities
between thoughts, feelings and action,
4. Helps clients to discover for themselves the new thoughts,
beliefs, perceptions, emotions, moods, etc. that strengthen their
ability to take action and achieve what is important to them,
5. Communicates broader perspectives to clients and inspires
commitment to shift their viewpoints and find new possibilities for
action,
6. Helps clients to see the different, interrelated factors that
affect them and their behaviors (e.g., thoughts, emotions, body,
background),
7. Expresses insights to clients in ways that are useful and
meaningful for the client,
8. Identifies major strengths vs. major areas for learning and
growth, and what is most important to address during coaching,
99. Asks the client to distinguish between trivial and significant
issues, situational vs. recurring behaviors, when detecting a
separation between what is being stated and what is being done.
9. Designing Actions - Ability to create with the client
opportunities for ongoing learning, during coaching and in work/life
situations, and for taking new actions that will most effectively
lead to agreed-upon coaching results
1. Brainstorms and ssists the client to define actions that will
enable the client to demonstrate, practice and deepen new learning,
2. Helps the client to focus on and systematically explore specific
concerns and opportunities that are central to agreed-upon coaching
goals,
3. Engages the client to explore alternative ideas and solutions, to
evaluate options, and to make related decisions,
4. Promotes active experimentation and self-discovery, where the
client applies what has been discussed and learned during sessions
immediately afterwards in his/her work or life setting,
5. Celebrates client successes and capabilities for future growth,
6. Challenges client's assumptions and perspectives to provoke new
ideas and find new possibilities for action,
7. Advocates or brings forward points of view that are aligned with
client goals and, without attachment, engages the client to consider
them,
8. Helps the client "Do It Now" during the coaching session,
providing immediate support,
99. Encourages stretches and challenges but also a comfortable pace
of learning.
10. Planning and Goal Setting - Ability to develop and
maintain an effective coaching plan with the client
1. onsolidates collected information and establishes a coaching
plan and development goals with the client that address concerns and
major areas for learning and development,
2. Creates a plan with results that are attainable, measurable,
specific and have target dates,
3. Makes plan adjustments as warranted by the coaching process and
by changes in the situation,
4. Helps the client identify and access different resources for
learning (e.g., books, other professionals),
55. Identifies and targets early successes that are important to the
client.
11. Managing Progress and Accountability - Ability to hold
attention on what is important for the client, and to leave
responsibility with the client to take action
1. learly requests of the client actions that will move the client
toward their stated goals,
2. Demonstrates follow through by asking the client about those
actions that the client committed to during the previous session(s),
3. Acknowledges the client for what they have done, not done,
learned or become aware of since the previous coaching session(s),
4. Effectively prepares, organizes and reviews with client
information obtained during sessions,
5. Keeps the client on track between sessions by holding attention
on the coaching plan and outcomes, agreed-upon courses of action,
and topics for future session(s),
6. Focuses on the coaching plan but is also open to adjusting
behaviors and actions based on the coaching process and shifts in
direction during sessions,
7. Is able to move back and forth between the big picture of where
the client is heading, setting a context for what is being discussed
and where the client wishes to go,
8. Promotes client's self-discipline and holds the client
accountable for what they say they are going to do, for the results
of an intended action, or for a specific plan with related time
frames,
9. Develops the client's ability to make decisions, address key
concerns, and develop himself/herself (to get feedback, to determine
priorities and set the pace of learning, to reflect on and learn
from experiences),
110. Positively confronts the client with the fact that he/she did
not take agreed-upon actions.
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