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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.
Finally, these competencies
were 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.
View
Professional Coaching Core Competencies As PDF File
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
a. Understands and exhibits
in own behaviors the ICF Standards of Conduct (see list),
b. Understands and follows all ICF Ethical Guidelines
(see list),
c. Clearly communicates the distinctions between coaching,
consulting, psychotherapy and other support professions,
d. 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
a. Understands and effectively
discusses with the client the guidelines and specific
parameters of the coaching relationship (e.g., logistics,
fees, scheduling, inclusion of others if appropriate),
b. 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,
c. 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
a. Shows genuine concern
for the client's welfare and future,
b. Continuously demonstrates personal integrity, honesty
and sincerity,
c. Establishes clear agreements and keeps promises,
d. Demonstrates respect for client's perceptions, learning
style, personal being,
e. Provides ongoing support for and champions new behaviors
and actions, including those involving risk taking and
fear of failure,
f. 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
a. Is present and flexible
during the coaching process, dancing in the moment,
b. Accesses own intuition and trusts one's inner knowing
- "goes with the gut",
c. Is open to not knowing and takes risks,
d. Sees many ways to work with the client, and chooses
in the moment what is most effective,
e. Uses humor effectively to create lightness and energy,
f. Confidently shifts perspectives and experiments with
new possibilities for own action,
g. 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
a. Attends to the client
and the client's agenda, and not to the coach's agenda
for the client,
b. Hears the client's concerns, goals, values and beliefs
about what is and is not possible,
c. Distinguishes between the words, the tone of voice,
and the body language,
d. Summarizes, paraphrases, reiterates, mirrors back what
client has said to ensure clarity and understanding,
e. Encourages, accepts, explores and reinforces the client's
expression of feelings, perceptions, concerns, beliefs,
suggestions, etc.,
f. Integrates and builds on client's ideas and suggestions,
g. "Bottom-lines" or understands the essence
of the client's communication and helps the client get
there rather than engaging in long descriptive stories,
h. 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
a. Asks questions that
reflect active listening and an understanding of the client's
perspective,
b. Asks questions that evoke discovery, insight, commitment
or action (e.g., those that challenge the client's assumptions),
c. Asks open-ended questions that create greater clarity,
possibility or new learning
d. 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
a. Is clear, articulate
and direct in sharing and providing feedback,
b. Reframes and articulates to help the client understand
from another perspective what he/she wants or is uncertain
about,
c. Clearly states coaching objectives, meeting agenda,
purpose of techniques or exercises,
d. Uses language appropriate and respectful to the client
(e.g., non-sexist, non-racist, non-technical, non-jargon),
e. 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
a. Goes beyond what is
said in assessing client's concerns, not getting hooked
by the client's description,
b. Invokes inquiry for greater understanding, awareness
and clarity,
c. 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,
d. 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,
e. Communicates broader perspectives to clients and inspires
commitment to shift their viewpoints and find new possibilities
for action,
f. Helps clients to see the different, interrelated factors
that affect them and their behaviors (e.g., thoughts,
emotions, body, background),
g. Expresses insights to clients in ways that are useful
and meaningful for the client,
h. Identifies major strengths vs. major areas for learning
and growth, and what is most important to address during
coaching,
i. 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
a. Brainstorms and assists
the client to define actions that will enable the client
to demonstrate, practice and deepen new learning,
b. Helps the client to focus on and systematically explore
specific concerns and opportunities that are central to
agreed-upon coaching goals,
c. Engages the client to explore alternative ideas and
solutions, to evaluate options, and to make related decisions,
d. 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,
e. Celebrates client successes and capabilities for future
growth,
f. Challenges client's assumptions and perspectives to
provoke new ideas and find new possibilities for action,
g. Advocates or brings forward points of view that are
aligned with client goals and, without attachment, engages
the client to consider them,
h. Helps the client "Do It Now" during the coaching
session, providing immediate support,
i. 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
a. Consolidates collected
information and establishes a coaching plan and development
goals with the client that address concerns and major
areas for learning and development,
b. Creates a plan with results that are attainable, measurable,
specific and have target dates,
c. Makes plan adjustments as warranted by the coaching
process and by changes in the situation,
d. Helps the client identify and access different resources
for learning (e.g., books, other professionals),
e. 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
a. Clearly requests of
the client actions that will move the client toward their
stated goals,
b. Demonstrates follow through by asking the client about
those actions that the client committed to during the
previous session(s),
c. Acknowledges the client for what they have done, not
done, learned or become aware of since the previous coaching
session(s),
d. Effectively prepares, organizes and reviews with client
information obtained during sessions,
e. 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),
f. 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,
g. 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,
h. 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,
i. 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),
j. Positively confronts the client with the fact that
he/she did not take agreed-upon actions.
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