UK ICF’s Post

"I almost lost the opportunity to retain my associate coaching role a few years ago. Want to know why? When I joined the organisation that I was an associate for, there wasn't a requirement to have an accreditation as a coach although a qualification was essential. During the pandemic, the coaching industry boomed. And what that meant was that businesses and organisations were levelling up their requirements for coaches who were offering services under their business name and umbrella. One of the requirements was to hold a higher levelled qualification and / or credential / accreditation with a reputable body. It was at this time that I made the choice to chose the ICF, the International Coaching Federation. To apply for credentialling with the ICF I had to prove that I had coached for 100-plus hours to achieve my ACC, and that I had completed an ICF-accredited programme. In addition to that, I also had to take a Coach Knowledge Assessment, which is now called the Credentialling Exam, which meant that I was adhering to the ethical standards and guidelines outlined by the ICF, read the code of conduct, and an awareness of the key coaching competencies. Once I'd done all of that, I retained my associate position and continued to coach and earn some money. It was process, but totally worth it. And this year, I am applying for my PCC which I am super excited about (although not excited about the paperwork!) Organisations and businesses are becoming more and more informed of what coaches need to pass their procurement process - don't be missed out. Want to get your accreditation too?" - Rebecca Daniel - ICF ACC Coach, Coach Trainer and Coach Supervisor - We are hosting a 'Meet the Mentor' session next Monday 17 June 11:00-12:00. Please email [email protected] and we will send you a calendar invite. #thecoachingcatalysts #icfcoach #mentorcoaching #elevateyourcoachingpractice #coachdevelopment #coaching

9/11/01: The day that indelibly changed our country. Like many of you, I remember exactly where I was when I heard news of the attacks. It's that innate power to recall such impactful experiences that led me to make a new memory today. At 9A, 23 years later, I sat for the International Coaching Federation (ICF) Associate Certified Coach (ACC) exam. While 9/11 will always conjure a somber undertone, it also signifies the power of life changing events.  Our lives are changing every day. We initiate some of those changes while others are out of our control. My formal journey to become an internationally certified Coach began in June 2023. Over the past 15 months I spent 300+ hours in formal training, dedicated 100+ hours to coaching clients, and today, I completed a grueling 2.5 hour exam. I am so thrilled to announce that my actions have paid off and today, I earned this Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential. 9/11 reinforced the hard truth that tomorrow is not promised. So, while I have no idea what the future holds, this ACC certification represents my dedication to spend my time doing what I love. As a coach I provide a neutral, safe space for thoughtful reflection and emotional connection with my clients. I use curiosity and penetrating questions to support them through personal and professional transitions. We could all use a caring, compassionate partner with whom to share our dreams and work through our barriers. What's holding you back from prioritizing your next transition and consider hiring an ICF certified Coach?

The Professional Coach What makes a coach professional and how might someone differentiate in choosing to work with one? I thought it might be useful to set a rule of thumb for anyone commissioning or hiring a coach. 👍Clear Offering: that the coach isn’t trying to be all things to all people, that they have a clearly defined audience and don’t coach ‘anybody’ 👍Qualified and Accredited: does the coach have a recognised qualification relevant to their offer? Do they have any other accreditations like psychometric or other tools? 👍Professional Membership: that they belong to a an appropriate professional body. Coaching isn’t yet regulated but it’s important to have relevant membership and they are committed to developing their practice 👍Undergo Supervision: it’s important for the coach to maintain best practice, to be self aware and to ensure they are fully resourced, so they should access to some form of supervision. Do they have that? 👍Clearly Defined Process: from the initial ‘discovery’ meeting through ‘contracting’ and the culmination of the relationship; the coach must have a clear process of working 👍Transparency of Terms: how much is it? How long for? And what happens if..? There should be a clear proposition, up front 👍Insured: need I say anything about making sure they have indemnity? Perhaps my fellow coaches and ILM alumni can chip in on the comments. What makes a professional coach? I’m John; a coach to executives in large public bodies like Universities, as well as a Business Coach to solo entrepreneurs and small business owners. I’m a qualified executive coach at Level 7 and hold numerous accreditations in diagnostics and I’m a member of European Mentoring and Coaching Council, adhering to the Global Code of Ethics. I run my own group supervision sessions as well as have access to personal supervision. I am fully indemnified. It all starts with a free no obligation ‘discovery’ session via my web site where people can see if I am a good fit. #coaching #executivecoaching #businesscoaching #ethics #supervision #ilm #bestpractice

I've recently renewed my ACC - Associate Certified Coach credentials with the International Coach Federation (ICF). Why? Because I believe that in the non-regulated sector, adhering to an international code of ethics and showcasing integrity is vital. This accreditation reassures my clients about the training I undertake and the credentials I hold. My accreditation is current until August 2027, when I'll look to renew again. This three-year renewal reaffirms my dedication to upholding the ICF's high ethical standards and coaching framework. It also ensures I remain skilled and relevant in my coaching practice. The renewal process required me to document ongoing continuing education hours in relevant coaching areas. Additionally, I completed 10 hours of mentoring with senior coaches and committed to ongoing peer supervision through monthly reflective practice to develop my coaching-specific skills further. What's involved in renewing your ICF accreditation? Earning criteria: 💜 Completion of at least 60 hours of coach-specific training that meets ICF guidelines for credentialing. 💜 Completion of at least 100 hours of client-coaching experience since the start of their coach training. 💜 Completion of 10 hours of mentor coaching with an eligible mentor coach. 💜 Submission of a completed application for the Associate Certified Coach Credential. 💜 Pass both knowledge and performance assessments at the Associate Certified Coach level. It's a lot of work, but work I'm intent on — to keep committed to professional growth and excellence in coaching. If you're curious about what it looks like to work with an Associate Certified Coach, get in touch. I'd love to chat about how professional coaching can help you.

😎 Chuffed to share that I'm an ICF ACC credentialed coach! The 10-month journey towards Associate Certified Coach (ACC) was rigorous: 📒 60 coach education hours 👨🏫 10 mentor coaching hours 🔍 1 coaching performance evaluation 🤝 100 coaching experience hours 📘 1 4-hour exam Last October I was scouting for a good coach training academy and I zeroed in on Coacharya. Best decision ever! Prakash Rao is a teacher par excellence, and every session was filled with conversations, demos and discussions rich with learning! I lucked out with the most amazing cohort too – we all started out nervous and uncertain, but with frequent reciprocal peer coaching and plenty of guidance and feedback from Prakash, we gained confidence and skills. Grateful to Cindy Muthukarapan MCC, ACTC for her wisdom shared. I usually take major decisions like embarking on a journey towards becoming a coach, with a lot of research, thinking and over-thinking. This was the first time I jumped in feet first. 😰 Worries aplenty reared their head – How would I achieve the 100 hours? How would I network? What would clients think of me? Could I actually help people with my coaching? ✊ In Kungfu Panda – when the student is ready, the teacher appears; I took the leap of faith and the road revealed itself. I found coach communities – deepest gratitude to Sunil Sathyendra PCC and Srikanthan Kumarasamy for all that they do to bring coaches together. I was blessed to meet, network and work with incredible coaches at different points on their journey – many blew me away with their coaching presence and skills. 📚 The credentialing exam was rigorous and brought alive to me the meaning of the word 'nuance’- with complex scenarios that really tested my understanding of International Coaching Federation ethics, values and core competencies. While it was pretty challenging to think through the best and worst responses to each scenario, I truly felt like the exam itself was another mode of training coaches for real-world coaching settings. 😀 Excited to continue on the coaching journey and full of gratitude and positivity. 

Don’t take it from me.   See what our EMCC Global Practitioner Award in Coaching participants have to say about their experience of our programme…   “I have learnt so much! Love the combination of information and practice in such a lovely and supportive environment.”   “Deep thinking and new learning about myself as much as the client. Excellent facilitation! Feel like I've been on a massive self-learning journey already. Learning so much and loving it!”   “The Learning has been HUGE! As I started my own business at the beginning of the programme, this has offered a huge amount of support.”   “Supportive group. Confidential place to practice in a non-judgemental way. Could drill down on issues that have arisen with an experienced coach.”   You see, we’re different in the way we train you to coach. We’re passionate about coaches understanding themselves in the coaching room and beyond as much as coaching techniques, theories, and the psychology of coaching. Why? Coaching is all about the relationship and it’s pretty hard to be in relationship with your client if you don’t understand how your stories might affect and hold back the potential in the relationship. So, we teach our participants to work relationally and use their whole self to help the client move forward. Interested, curious or baffled?   Registration for January 2025 Cohort now open.   Interested? Get in touch to book your virtual call with one of our faculty now: https://lnkd.in/edibJT6T [email protected] Sarah Fox Matt Dechaine PS. Hello if you’re new to my world, to KP&A: Lead Without Limits and The Curious Coaching Company! I’m Katherine – a person-curious EMCC UK coach and coaching supervisor who helps Executive Leaders to feel more confident to lead just as they are, helps coaches lean into curiosity rather than triggers, and trains humans to become fully qualified and professional coaches. Curious? Get in touch: https://lnkd.in/gdNXeBn or [email protected]   #execcoach #actionlearning #coaching

6 coaches spent their weekend doing a deep dive on the ICF Core Competencies. It all started 2 months ago. I did a paid masterclass on “Establishes and Maintains Agreement” - one of the ICF core competencies. After the masterclass, a PCC coach, who is also a faculty in a coach training institute, reached out to me personally. She said: “I learnt a lot from the masterclass. Can you do the same thing for the remaining 7 Core Competencies as well?” This got me thinking. I wanted to do a residential multi-day workshop for coaches at various stages with diverse needs. I put this program together as an experiment and floated it by some of the coaches I'm mentoring. There were 6 coaches who showed up: → 3 PCC coaches on their MCC journey. → 2 ACC coaches on their PCC journey. → 1 ICF trained coach working towards ACC. And they were all extremely surprised at how simple these topics really are. The feedback I got was very humbling for me. “I have never met a mentor like you”. “No one has simplified these topics like you”. “You have a gift for simplifying complex ideas”. “No mentor of mine has gone out of their way to make sure I understand these topics and know how to put them into practice”. I'll be doing this once again in a few months. If you're an ICF trained or credentialed coach looking to understand how to: → Establish a tight agreement → Facilitate new client awareness → Move clients from awareness to action → Have truly transformational conversations → Develop heightened presence and intuition And so much more, please DM me “Workshop” and I will inform you when it happens next!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩? It is very interesting to read this insightful research, very recently published in the International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching Coaching & Mentoring, written by Prof. David Clutterbuck, Duminda Rajasinghe Bob Garvey, Alexandra Barosa-Pereira & Stephen Burt. The study revealed that how coaches resource and support themselves, influences, and grounds their development. Life events impact professional growth and becoming a coach affects personal identity. Rather than the transmission and mastery of a pre-determined set of skills and knowledge, facility and investment in reflexive learning emerges as the key motor of coaching excellence. (Credited to the Authors noted above). I particularly associate with this extract from the Conclusion: "𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔, 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆. 𝑺𝒐, 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕, –𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔." Would my fellow Coaches wish to add additional insight about how best to continue professional and practitioner development? Becca Sweetman Julie Foxcroft MSc Gaurav Arora, MCC (ICF) Johnny Hammond ICF PCC Helen Yu Francoise Orlov, PhD Marc Evans Trayton Vance Julie Starr Elaine Cox Tatiana Bachkirova Brenda Bence, Ranked Top Ten Coach Globally Jenny Rogers 📚 Michael Bungay Stanier Jonathan Passmore Rebecca Jones Auriel Majumdar Sarah Leach (MSc, PCC) Dr Amy Stabler https://lnkd.in/eCM897Vg International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring 2024, Vol. 22(2), pp.80-97. #coachingdevelopment #reflexivepractice #continualdevelopment

Coaching is a bit like financial advice - you can get it from your friend but if you're serious you go with a professional. I've spent last week at SXSW Sydney and I can't tell you how many times I met someone who was "coaching founders" or they were "career coaches" - and NONE of these guys had ever even heard of the International Coaching Federation. NONE of these had any coach relevant training or credentials. Ok - what's the point? Why care? 1️⃣ Coaching is not mentoring or giving advice 2️⃣ Coaching is a craft that needs to be learned and honed 3️⃣ Coaching is a powerful methodology - you only get full value if you work with someone who actually knows how to do it 4️⃣ Coaching requires a solid ethical foundation and commitment to professionalism - conflicts of interest, biases, boundaries all need to be managed through a coherent set of standards (like the ICF Code of Ethics) 5️⃣ Just like financial advice, it can be dangerous listening to a well-intentioned amateur Look - I'm not advocating for a "tick box" certification mentality. Certification isn't everything, but it's a solid foundation. As an ICF certified coach myself, I know certified coaches: ✅ Have undergone rigorous, professional coach training ✅ Have demonstrated real-world experience applying their training ✅ Have signed up to a high standard of professionalism ✅ Have pledged to abide by a stringent Code of Ethics ✅ Are proficient in demonstrating the 8 ICF Core Competencies I've just renewed my ICF Membership and you can verify my ICF credential through the ICF website by searching for my name under their "Find a Coach" -> "Verify a Coach" tab. ‼️ Call to action: before working with a coach, verify their credentials with the International Coaching Federation! 🤔 What do you think - should coaching become a regulated industry with mandatory accreditations? Let me know in the comments below! #coaching, #professionalism, #leadership, #ICF, #Ethics, #regulation

A must-attend talk for all those coaches who are planning to take the ICF Credentialing Exam. Learn from these shared experiences of coaches who have successfully passed the test! ICF Hong Kong Chapter Eleni Symeonidou (She/Her) David Tsui and others. #icfcoaching #icfcredentials #pcc #coaching