Coach Development

As a coach, have you ever had a client look at you strangely or ask you to repeat a question? As a mentor, I listen to many coaching session recordings. Often in these situations, I notice that the ‘language’ the two people are using is not necessarily in synch. Let's take a look at the way we use language as coaches and where the ‘language of coaching’ may trip us up as we work with our clients. Language, in both its written and spoken form, is used for many different reasons. Its primary use is to be informative, expressive, and ...

Background The International Coaching Federation (ICF) is the world’s largest organisation of professionally trained coaches, with members in more than 140 countries worldwide and over 30,000 credential holders across more than 125 countries. The organisation was first established in 1995 to provide a space for all coaches to support each other’s development and help expand the profession of coaching. The ICF has grown rapidly during the past two decades, reflecting the development of coaching and its professionalisation. The ICF launched a single credential of Master Certified Coach (MCC), the first 34 of which were awarded in 1998. The following year, ...

As you know, Hilary and I are both passionate about continuous growth and learning as coaches. Well, I will share more of my insights to help you mature as a coach in a forthcoming book co-written with psychologist and coach Jonathan Passmore. Becoming a Coach: The Essential ICF Guide is for a coach of any experience level. Not only does it provide a strong foundation for coaching basics and standards, but it also takes you deeper into the art and science of coaching. And, for those of you craving more on the updated ICF Core Competencies model, this book delivers. ...

Choice: An act or the possibility of choosing between two or more options. Over the last few weeks, the word choice has been coming up for me and I wondered what it was saying to me. The reason it became so important during the last six weeks was that at the beginning of May, one day before my big birthday, I tripped on the Thames tow path and ended up breaking my left arm (the humerus bone). Having got back home from the Accident and Emergency dept., I had some immediate life choices to make about how to manage this ...

The International Coaching Federation (ICF) has introduced an updated Core Competency Model that comes into force in January 2021. The model sees the introduction of a brand-new competency: Embodies a Coaching Mindset. This addition underlines the need for coaches to consider how they are ‘being’ as well as what they are ‘doing’ when coaching. This blog will provide you with the details of this competency and will also give you insights on how to meet its requirements in practice. I will also explore the context and relevance of this competency and how it also informs and interweaves with other competencies ...

Over the last four weeks, I have created and delivered several webinars for my clients’ employees and for small business managers and directors on "How to transition to working at home and stay sane!". I specifically used the phrase "working at home" rather than "working from home" as I see a significant difference between the two. When people normally work at an office, and have a "working from home" day, by default it is not therefore a normal occurrence. What we are doing today is, for now at least, a "new normal" and for some it may continue to be ...

View the ICF Code of Ethics Every 3-5 years the International Coaching Federation (ICF) reviews the Code of Ethics to ensure that they continue to be fit for purpose, modern and take into account the changing landscape of the coaching world. In addition, any complaints that have been received globally during the intervening years are reviewed to ensure that any ethical issues arising also were taken into account. Starting in 2018, a large and diverse group of ICF-Credentialed coaches from around the world and who have a common interest and expertise in ethics, came together to review the code that ...

Whilst we have the expression to describe the “art and science” of something, Michael Grinder (2007) proposes that in fact it is the science that usually comes first when we are learning a new skill. We are often drawn to the pursuit of mastery, actively seeking out the magic of the artistic coaching conversation. However, in reality, our growth and development as coaches usually means that we go through learning and understanding the Science of coaching first and then we begin to develop the Art of Coaching. Grinder’s model of professional development for communication can be easily overlaid onto the ...

In addition to being a new year, we're also beginning a new decade. 2020 begs the question, "What clarity and vision do you have for the year ahead?" Each year I look ahead at what the coming year may bring for both my business and my life as a whole. I like to ask myself the following questions: What adventures would I like to go on? What experiences would I like to have? What will I need? What will be important to me? What will I carry over? How will I know that I have had a fulfilling year? I ...

Listening to audios of coaches, coaching and also teaching and mentoring around the ICF Core Competencies, I’ve noticed how often an assumption is made in terms of what is being said and what is being heard. How often do we hear what someone says and assume what they mean? Have you noticed yourself in a conversation, be it a coaching conversation or just with friends, when you feel you may be talking at cross purposes, or even that you or the other person may have accidentally ‘hi-jacked’ the conversation due to misunderstanding? When that happens, it could mean you or ...