Transcription
And in that, what we will do is we will look at the introduction of coaching. We will look at the ICF code of ethics because this program is specifically focused on what is the ICF way of coaching and how can we get accredited to the ICF and how do we follow the code of ethics, but also what are the ICF competencies. We will dive deep into the foundation of the competencies, and then we will do some reflections and some scenarios.
With that, I'm going to ask you here, do you kind of recognize people on the screen here? Do you know them? If so, speak up. Tell us who all do you see? And there's a lot of numbers. There's a few numbers on here as well. What do these numbers tell you? Anybody familiar with these faces?
>> There's Marissa Pier on the top left. There's Robin Sharma on the right.
>> Absolutely.
>> Um, and that's Tony Robbins in the middle.
>> Yeah. I see Adam Grant as well on the chat. Yes, absolutely. We have Tony Robbins, Marshall Goldsmith, we have Jack Canfield, we have Marisa Pierce, Robin Chararma.
And in a way, we want to look at a little bit of where does coaching come from, right? Coaching seeds were kind of planted in therapy, in sports psychology, and in personal development workshops. It kind of started in 1971. That is when coaching really took off. People were looking for action-oriented alternatives to therapy to focus on action, to focus on the future. There was a lot of rise at that time as well of individualism, entrepreneurship, and remote work came around that time. All of that created space for personal growth, and hence organizations started realizing that coaching would lead to an increase in performance, an increase in leadership, an increase in sustainable leadership.
I've put the number 60,000 on there because the ICF currently has 60,000 members and it was founded in 1995 by Thomas Leonard. Um, and the aim of the ICF was to kind of, because it started in 1971, right? And it went all over the place, and then the ICF said, you know what, let's make sure that we have some professional standards, let's make sure that we have a code of ethics. And hence, we want to, the ICF wanted to make sure that this would be a distinct, credible profession. And hence, right now, the ICF is a recognized global, um, organization that is there to kind of set the standards. There's also the EMCC, the European Mentoring and Coaching Association, which is a different part. It's more focused on mentoring. But the ICF is very specifically for, for coaching.
Okay, with that, I'm going to put on screen a few pictures, and I would love all of you to look at this and tell me, when you look at the picture, and again, I'm inviting you to just open up the mic when you want to speak. Tell us, have a look at it in detail, and then tell me or tell us, what picture do you believe best illustrates what coaching is and why? Let's hear. Okay. Who wants to go first?
>> Can I go first?
>> Okay.
>> Sure. Home, please go ahead.
>> Okay. Um, in my opinion, picture four and picture six is, uh, describing coaching well because coaching is something that makes or shows you the ways how you can increase your performance, how you can go upwards in your career or in whatever thing you want to go up. And there is someone who is showing you the way and, um, who is taking you upwards. This is my opinion.
>> Okay. Thank you. Thank you for giving your insights. Who wants to go next? What do you think?
>> I would like to go next. So for me, I think it's picture six because, um, it is an actual depiction of what coaching is. It is, it signifies a journey of movement upwards while, uh, you know, with the support of somebody, um, who's who's giving out their hand and helping you, you know, showing you direction, um, and taking you to your specific goal. So this is probably the closest depiction of of coaching to me.
>> Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for your insights. For me, I think that it would be picture three. Uh, because I feel like coaching helps you grow. Uh, it doesn't necessarily have to be you, uh, your, they're learning on the way, right? So I think it helps you grow you, and you already are on the path, and then you connect with a coach, and they lead you towards it. So they're just helping you grow in that way. Okay. Okay. Thank you for that insight. I see Nian also has the hand up.
>> Hello everyone.
>> I, um, I think it's the picture too because sometimes we do not have the clear direction, and, uh, we know that where to reach, but we do not know how to execute and which direction we have to move forward first. So I think so, uh, picture two, and I think the same under picture two, there is a, there is a conversation going on between the coach and a girl that she's going up, so he's explaining her something. So I think so picture two, uh, and picture four. Yeah.
>> Got it. Thank you for that insight.
>> I'll go, uh, that I think for me, like I have a very ADHD mind. So for me, it's a mix of everything. So how I think and how I look at things. So, um, sometimes, you know, what you want to do, but you're just not really clear. So, and then more ideas popping up. So there's just confusion and there's not clarity. So for second me, it just seems like a whole ongoing process, amalgam of everything, and then it sounds like coaching. But if I have to just concise it to the picture number, second, even the third one as well, because it's just ongoing process, you're lost, and then you help someone to nurture, then the slowly steadily, you know, push you to the right direction. So, I mean, it's really hard for me to do just choose two or one because my purpose of choosing coaching was that because I've been always lost all through my my journey, asking questions like I had questions, I have ideas and stuff, but the redirection was always, you know, ambiguous. So I guess it's an ongoing process, it's a, it's a whole journey. So one cannot be a part of a phase and then, you know, they are out. So that's how I approach. Yeah.
>> Okay. I hear you. Thank you, Bakar. Michael, I see you put some numbers on the chat. Help us understand what makes you decide those.
>> Yeah, I, if I was, if I had to choose, I, I agree with Bakau as well, like, you know, you can, we could unpack elements of all of them and being coaching, but I do feel that three and four, um, you know, obviously the, the, the watering and really trying to grow those around you. And then number four obviously is paving that pathway in in front of you. In my mind, number six, I know a couple of, um, people on the call felt number six. I would see number six more as as mentorship where where you're actually, you know, really, it's, it's, it's more of, um, instructing them or pulling them along as as as the the saying goes for coaching. Is that more of like, you know, asking questions, which I would see more coming through in in image number four. Of course, number six does reflect coaching, but I might see it more as mentorship as well. So, if I had to decide, number three and four really growing and inspiring those, and then number four is paving that pathway out out in front of them, people that you're growing around you.
>> Got it. Can I ask a question, uh, Michael, around that picture number four?
>> Yes.
>> Yeah. In your view, whose hand is drawing the pathway? That somebody is drawing, right?
>> Yes. I, I would obviously say the coach, um, is is drawing the pathway, um, you know, and paving the pathway for the coaches, um, you know, and, and I guess that could be resemble the the the questions that they're asking them, um, and that sort of guidance that they're they're giving them as well. Um, I guess you could say as well that's it's an element of mentorship there as well. Um, you know, paving that pathway and giving them that structure, um, in in in front of them.
>> Okay. Okay. Thank you for for clarifying. I see somebody, Nushian, you put one, one and two first clear, then further. Help us understand what made you decide one.
>> Yeah. Uh, it, it's second one, but you know, sometimes we do not have that clarity as Baktavar said that everything is popping up to our mind. So mostly we used to be confused to, uh, to find out where we have to reach. So sometimes I feel here, the first picture and the second picture is the direction towards our goal where we want to reach. So these both sometimes, uh, it was coming to my mind, so I just mentioned in the chat as well.
>> Yeah. Oh, awesome. Thank you, Nish. So, do I have to, do I understand then in the first picture, right? So you indicate, so all of these people who are seated, they have questions, and then the coach gives them the answers to the questions.
>> I have figured it out that it's a target where they have to reach, and coach is just guiding them that what is the goal? What is their goal? He's just guiding them and, uh, uh, in the second, providing a pathway. But the first picture, he's clearing their mind and giving them clarity that where they want to reach, which I figure it out.
>> So, so that means that the coaches do not know the goal, and hence he helps them, he tells them what the goal is.
>> Yeah, Sarah, sometimes I felt it, even a few years ago, even I was in the same position that I didn't know that where to reach. So, I feel that sometimes we need a mentor or a coach, somebody who just, uh, who just, you know, play with our mind and guide us in a way that we figure it out with clarity where we have to reach. This is the first thing, because our goal should be clear where we want to reach. One, then in the next picture, he is giving us direction as well, that this is the pathway, this is the roadmap, you have to follow it and reach there.
>> So, so you're saying the coach gives the pathway and tells them this is what you have to follow.
>> Yeah, a coach, uh, is a, sometimes as I told you earlier, that we do not have clarity, and if we figure it out that this is our goal, but how to reach there, what will be the direction, which targets we have to achieve, step by step, what are the, you know, baby steps we have to cover. So in the next picture, he's telling us the roadmap, the direction, and these are because first of all, the clarity is important. Sarah, I think so, being a coach, you know that where you have to reach, number one, then second, which baby steps you have to take, which can be guided by a coach.
>> Okay. Okay. I hear you. Thank you so much. I see Muhammad, you have put picture two. Help us understand what made you decide picture two.
>> Okay. Um, I believe when I was going through my coaching sessions with my coach. So he never actually gave me the, uh, gave me the direction. He said, you have to explore it yourself. So he was there to, to map my thoughts and guide me through, but he was never asking me what to do. So in the second picture, I see the person is showing the mirror, or maybe reflecting the other person, showing the reflection of his mind, and, um, making him, making him to move towards his own choices through his own reflections. So, there is a difference between, I found out there's a difference between mentoring and coaching. The mentor is the one who might show you the direction that this is the best way to do as per his understanding. But coaches actually makes you to realize what is better for you, and which gives more clarity towards the vision. So second picture is more closer to me.
>> Got it. Got it. Um, Muhammad, help me understand what makes you decide it's not picture three.
>> Picture three could be like he was, I would say yes, it could be one of those that is nourishing the mites, but picture two was more closer to my thoughts of being being ghosted.
>> Got it. Got it. Awesome. Anybody who has some additional thoughts before we move on to the next?
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> I, I just wanted to add that, um, in a lot of the pictures, it shows the coach leading the way, the coach watering people, the coach lending out a hand. And I feel like when we are the coaches, the, the not student, but the person you're coaching should lead the way. And, you know, I feel like the coach is like the shadow person to them and help them, uh, find their root. So if we had to look at the third picture, for example, I would visualize the person watering themselves. Um, we can give them the watering can, but they need to water themselves. So ask them questions and help them figure out how they can reroute their own mind and, and kind of find a direction within themselves, but I wouldn't be giving them the direction. So in that sense, the second, the second image, um, feels closer to what a session would look like. Um, asking them questions, helping them map out their mind, that looks like a mind mapping exercise to me. Um, wherein they, we like I would help them take lead in finding their goals and targets and what their solution is, because in a way, in that third picture, I'm questioning if, if the tall person would be the coach and the coach gives water, what if they stop working with the coach, then they don't get any water anymore.
>> Yeah, exactly. Why I feel like that that doesn't look like a coaching situation for me. I feel like as a coach, you would give them the watering can or like be the watering can for them, but they should be watering themselves.
>> Got it. Got it. Okay. Any additions on this?
>> Just to add to that, my my interpretation would be is that the water resembles the questions that we're asking. Um, okay. As a coach to a coach. Um, and obviously the better the questions we ask, we hope that that is going to grow them and and inspire them to to take action. So.
>> Got it. Okay. Okay. Got it. Okay. A lot of different views and, um, changing views and very interesting to hear. Let me ask a few questions in terms of statements about what coaching could be. Um, and I'm going to simply give a statement and you put in the, um, in the chat, um, if you think this is true or not. Maybe what you can do is, um, we can put it with the hands. Thumbs up means yes, this is true. Thumbs down means you don't, you disagree with the statement. Right? So let's use those emoticons. Okay. First one, coaching is giving advice. True or not? Put your thumbs up or thumbs down on the screen so we can see what you think. Mariam Aisha, what about others? Thumbs down. Oh, seems like everybody thinks nobody thinks coaching is giving advice. Okay, seems like everybody agrees on this. Coaching is not giving advice. That means a coach would not tell them what the goal is. That also means a coach would not tell them what the pathway is. Because if we tell them what the pathway is, then we give advice, right? But I'm just asking, I'm putting it here. Okay.
Okay, let's look at the next statement. Coaching is the same as therapy or counseling. Thumbs up or thumbs down? Yes. Okay. I see multiple hands indicating no, it's not the same. Nian thinks it's the same. Okay, let's hear who thinks it's not the same. Anybody wants to speak as to why it would not be the same?
>> Yes, I do not agree. It is not the same as therapy or counseling because, um, therapy in particular comes from a place of, um, healing from any past traumas or, um, life situations. It is more of a personal journey, um, in terms of your personal healing. But coaching is more towards, you know, your, um, your professional growth or a particular goal where you want to which you want to achieve, and your journey towards it. So, yeah, that's my opinion on it.
>> Got it. Thank you. And I think we have one person who, uh, thought differently. Um, Nucin, did I see correct? Nin, you indicated, um, oh, and somebody else as well. Aisha, any of you indicated?
>> Yes.
>> Well, so I don't know, but I feel like in my experience of having been coached and also done therapy. Um, yes, one is more professional and the other one is more personal. But, um, in in both scenarios, the similarity was they both, uh, both different people provided me with tools that I still use way long after my sessions with either of them. So in in the way that it's done, I feel like there is a similarity. Maybe what you're doing with them is different.
>> Got it. Okay. Thank you, Aisha. And I see also wants to help us understand.
>> Yeah. Um, I, I feel that whenever you want to coach somebody, first of all, in a diagnostic session, this is, this will, this used to be my first session with my client. And when I ask them questions and, uh, I'm figuring out what are the things in their past with which are stopping them to not grow. At that time, I figure it out. Yes, these are the problems where we can go for a little bit of counseling, therapy, or a little bit of, you know, in a therapy session, we can say that. So it's a, it's a related wherever we think and we need it, so we have to apply this counseling or therapy.
>> Yeah, I hear you. Okay. Okay. So, um, thank you for that. Let me help a little bit. As, um, in therapy or psychologist, there is going to be, um, an assumption that it's challenging to operate in the present based on things that happened in the past. So, it tends to be emotional as the counselor will go to the past and will help work through the traumas that came up, right? So that it becomes easier to operate in the present. As a coach, the focus is on the future, not on the past. The focus is on the future. What are the goals and what are the steps that one can take to get closer to that goal? Very often, you will see clients work in combination. So they might be working with a counselor as well as with a coach at the same time because the coaching is going to be, like I say, future-oriented, much more action-oriented.
Okay, let's look at the next one. Coaching is only for fixing problems. Thumbs up if you agree with this. Thumbs down if you disagree. Yeah, I think this is pretty obvious, right? Coaching is not there only for fixing problems. Coaching is because somebody wants to achieve something in the future. Maybe they want to run a marathon, and hence they take a coach to achieve that goal. It doesn't mean that something is wrong. We generally don't see a person as broken.
Next thing, coaching provides all the answers. A coach should be an expert in the field to practice coaching. Yes or no? True or false? Thumbs up, thumbs down. What do you think? Yeah, I see many thumbs down. Yeah, indeed. We can't be an expert, right? A mentor would come from the same field and do the same job and hence tell the person what they need to do to be successful in that field. Um, as a coach, we are not an expert in that specific field. As a coach, we are simply there to help them think through situations and get clarity, right? We would not be an expert in the field. Okay?
Coaching is only for executives or high-level professionals. True or false? Thumbs up, thumbs down. Yeah, thumbs down indeed. It used to be that way because of budget issues in co, in companies, right? They will generally give it to the senior executives only. But these days, a lot of efforts are done to make sure it's available to many people at the same time.
Coaching takes a long time. Thumbs up or thumbs down? That seems to be a difficult one. Does it take a long time or not? Okay, I see we are going to have a discussion on this. Okay. Who wants to tell us their view? Montha put both. Smart. S smart.
>> Yeah. I'll have a go at it. If, can you hear me?
>> Yes, we can.
>> I would say it's very dependent on the coach. So like the coaching experience should be tailored according to the needs of the coach. And in some cases, one session, two sessions might suffice, maybe a few more. In other cases, it could be a year-long, two-year-long, uh, coaching agreement. For my own experience, uh, with coaching, like from being a coach, in some cases, I need more time. In other cases, I need less time. So, you know, sometimes I would meet the coach and maybe after a session or two, I would feel, I'm okay, you know, for the foreseeable few months or few weeks, whatever it was. Um, so again, I would say it's not definitive. It's not a fixed time. You couldn't say that it's long or short. It's just dependent on on the needs of of the coach.
>> Okay. Okay. Thank you, Mark.
>> I would like to build on what Mark has said there. Um, I know I just said yes and no in the chat. Context matters here. Um, if I think of, um, just even within my own role, it's not formal coaching, but just in kind of line management conversations. Um, you know, I've often, obviously line management conversations are ongoing, but I've often had scenarios where a, a, a 15, 20 minute conversation can be that light bulb moment, you know, with a coach. Um, so if we were to say that the duration of that coaching for a specific reason would be very short. Um, and then obviously there's other, um, scenarios where it would be a very much a year-long and ongoing process beyond that. So I guess, kind of, you know, similar to what Mark said, it, it really is dependent on the coach and, you know, the context of the situation matters.
>> Yeah. Got it. And I see Machavein said something similar, right? Machavein said, I think it's measured by the depth of the insight, not the duration. And absolutely right. Marica Pierce would be the first quote. She always says, "I can change your life in 90 seconds." Because when a person has an aha moment, their life will never look the same, right? They're going to change, uh, course in that moment itself. So the insight itself can be just, um, 90 seconds, and the insight is there. Um, so in a way, you know, it does not take a long time.
Okay, let's look at the next one. Coaching requires a crisis or major life event. Yeah. And I see everybody seems to be in agreement here. Or do we have anybody who thinks differently? I see most have thumbs down. you indicated, um, thumbs up. Help us understand what is your view on this.
>> Like, I'll just speak for myself. Uh, so like, lot of things happen in my life. So I never knew about coaching. Like I've been into therapies and counseling and stuff like that. So never been into coaching. Like how does it work? So I, I guess like there were major life events and crisis happened in my life, and then it gave me a direction that, oh, I, this is the right path, you know? So when I, I told Michael that it's kind of lost and found kind of feeling. So for me, it was like that. So, yeah.
>> So, so yeah, from personal to professional to whatot to diagnosis of ADHD and stuff. So I guess it's all combined into that thing. So I, I think we, for humans, they're very complex. So I can, for everyone, it could be different. For, for me, it was major life events. Yeah.
>> Yeah. And sometimes, um, what you highlight, a major life event makes us realize the pain that we have, and sometimes it's the pain that makes us take the decision to reach out to coaching. But sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's, oh, I want to run the marathon next year, and hence it really, um, depends. Absolutely. So not necessarily that it requires, um, a major life event, but very often that's when people realize, okay.
Next one. Anyone can be a coach without training. And I see a few thumbs down. Everybody agrees on this. One, one cannot be a coach without training. In a way, if you believe you can be a coach without training, we would not be having this training program. Okay. That is an amazing coach and never a formally trained coach. Yes. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Let's look at what all is in this training program to see how it's going to help you in coaching in a more effective way. I would say it like this. Obviously, anybody can be a coach, but to, when you learn certain techniques, it's going to be more effective. Yeah. Okay. Sah, I see, I see your message there. Okay.
Um, coaching sessions should have a fixed agenda set by the coach. Do I, as a coach, set the agenda for the coaching again? I see we're going to have a discussion on this one. Multiple different views, seems like a difficult one. I'll ask it differently. What is the ICF way? Should coaching have a fixed agenda by the coach? Who wants to give the insight that they think shouldn't be like the fixed agenda? I mean, for a mind like me, so I can, you know, disperse a lot of information, and then the coach can help to have a fixed agenda. So it could be, you know, round in that direction, but not particularly like just put it in a box and just trap that thing. So,
>> I'm not, I'm just use that like have a, they should have a fixed agenda, but I guess the the direction should come from the coach, like what they're actually looking for, right? So just, you know, directing their thoughts process and then helping them to have a fixed area.
>> I don't know, actually, it's a difficult one. And I'll tell the, the official ICF view is coaching should not have a fixed agenda set by the coach. It's the coach who guides and who decides where the conversation is going all the time. And I specifically say according to the ICF, right? Um, in corporate world, where there are specific topics that needs to be discussed, for example, if they have to talk about executive presence, um, or they have to talk about communication, it can be a little bit different. But the pure coaching, the way we are going to learn it here in the program, is no fixed agenda set by the coach.
And then the last one, coaching guarantees immediate results. Come on. If your client is going to pay for it a ton of money, they want the guaranteed result, right? But everybody is clearly no. Okay. Awesome.
I've already touched upon this, what coaching is, what coaching is not. Uh, but I still show it here. Coaching is a partnership between the coach and the coach. It is a for a positive focused way to explore options and opportunities. And it's a process. It's a process to create solutions, um, resulting in sustained change. It's not where an expert tells somebody what to do and what not to do. Right? That's consulting. It's not observing and teaching somebody, this is how you have to do it. That would be mentoring. Um, and it's not a quick fix. Um, that's usually not effective. But an aha moment can be there and can be very quick.
Now, let's do one thing before we go into a break. Let's look at this again, and I'm going to ask, did anybody change their views based on everything that we just discussed on this? What do you think now? The first picture. In the first picture, who sets the goal? In the first picture, that seems like somebody is lecturing. So would that be coaching?
>> Probably not. Right. It seems like
>> No, it, it doesn't. It doesn't because coaching is not about hitting the bullseye. It's a journey. It's a process.
>> Yeah. And here it also seems like it's the same goal for everybody. Everybody who is sitting there, they all, the coach says, this is the goal you need to achieve, and he's kind of lecturing them.
Okay. If we look at the picture below that with the staircases, tell me, is, I'm, I'm unclear there. I'm unclear in terms of who's drawing the part, and is who's who's on, uh, the first is the coach pushing the coach, or is the coach the first person who goes up the stairs? Like, it can't be the coach deciding on the part. It can't be the coach designing or drawing the plan, right? It can also not be the coach pushing.
>> Um, I think, uh, in this lecture, coach is showing them the way.
>> And do we know what the right way for the client is?
>> Not exactly. I probably don't know what is the best for you to do in your life.
>> Yes.
>> Michael, you mentioned about the watering can. You say three being, uh, so you, you go with two and three saying three, if the watering can is with, is the questions. Yeah, I just said I went away from four, uh, a little bit just after the discussions and reflection. I know I said three and four first, and number four now seems a little bit, since you've gone back a little bit, fixed. Um, if, if it was the coach drawing that path, or the coach drawing that path, it seems a little bit fixed. Um, it's as if nearly the coach knows the path, um, which is not the case. Um, when I look at it now with a fresh set of eyes. Number three, again, that interpretation that the, the, the watering can or the, the water reflects the questions that we're asking, um, and that is providing that inspiration and growth, um, you know, that reflection piece.
>> And then I think number two, I think there's a general consensus even in the chat that number two is a strong reflection of what a coaching conversation would be with just that, like reflection piece being the magnifying glass or mirror that, um, you know, shows that.
>> So.
>> Yeah. A hero. And in a way, in that picture three, I would question, um, I, I question why did they design the coach being so much taller than the other people because in a way, as a coach, we are no better than anybody else. So ideally, for that picture to work, I think if they would have made the sizes the same, and everybody is on the same level, um, because we are not the guru, right?
>> On, you might have seen on Netflix, the Anthony Robbins, the series, I'm not your guru, right? We are, as a coach, we are not the guru. And very often, you will however notice that clients do will treat you as the guru, and they do will think, oh, just tell me what to do, just give me the solution, right? My life is so difficult, just tell me what is the next step. We are not going to tell them, right? So, um, yes, absolutely. I love that picture too, in the way. And if you really, really look at that picture too, you can't know who is the coach and you can't know who is the coach because both are on the same level. And maybe the coach is holding the pencil after the coach drew the part, or maybe the other person is the coach who holds the magnifying glass, or maybe it's a mirror, or maybe that person is handing the magnifying glass to the other person to say, here, why don't you look at it through a magnifying glass? But you can't see who drew the part.
Any questions that come up at this moment in time around this? No. I'm going to indicate the official coaching definition here of the ICF. Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. That's the official definition of ICF.
Okay, with that, we are going to go into a break. We are going to take a break of about 15 minutes. Um, and as many people are on different time zones, I'm going to let you take accountability for that and be back on your time zone within the next 15 minutes. Um, for me, it's 11:00 a.m. Mumbai time. Um, so for me, that is 11:15. For some people, that's different, or for most people, that's different. So be accountable for yourself. I'll see you back in 15 minutes, and then we'll dive deep into the competencies of ICF. See you in 15.
Very first slide. So,
>> Uh, thank you, Sarah. Um, and while we call it the boring part, um, they are exciting bits to it. Uh, so, ICF, let me give a bit of a background there. Uh, founded by Thomas Leonard over 30 years back. Uh, he was a financial planner, but when, uh, he was helping people make investments, he realized that what they needed help with was clarifying their goals. Uh, they often feared, they shared their fails with him, and, um, that from that, uh, from those interactions, um, he actually came up with this idea of formalizing coaching and eventually he ended up finding, founding the International Coaching Federation. And he also founded another organization as well. Uh, however, um, he passed away at the young age of 47. Uh, since then, people have been, uh, coaches, uh, who came about, um, from the ICF ecosystem, they have been actively working on it. It's not something set in stone. So on an annual basis, a group of, uh, the global board of ICF gets together and brainstorms the best practices at that moment in time, like what has been working with clients, what has not been working with clients, and based on their findings and based on the extensive research that ICF does, uh, these competencies are updated from time to time. The markers are updated, um, and even recently, as of this year, quite a few changes have been made in the mentor coaching space as well.
Um, so basically, um, Thomas Leonard felt that, you know, uh, coaching, and we all know that coaching is still highly unregulated because, uh, you might see every other person use coach in their profiles, whether on LinkedIn, whether on Instagram, while they have no formal qualification for that or training for that. Coaching is actually both an art and a science. Uh, and we will be covering that extensively over the 14 weeks. Uh, the core competencies, which are eight, are broadly categorized into four domains. Uh, the foundations are the competency one and two. Uh, that is the ethical practice and embodying a coaching mindset. That has to do with the being of a coach. Who are you? How are you showing up? Um, are you seeking permission from the client? Are you communicating to them what coaching is, what it's not? Or are you going into, um, the forbidden terrain of advising or, um, you know, sharing your own stories also? Uh, because coaches don't do that. As coaches, when we are embodying the coaching mindset, we're curious. We, we come from a place of curiosity than judgment. We talk more in questions. Um, for instance, a parent who is, um, uh, you know, embodying that mindset with a child, instead of judging them if they say, you know, I don't feel like going to school, instead of saying, um, you're lazy, you're, um, you just don't like studying, they might show more curiosity as to what's going on for you at this moment in time. Does school seem hard for you, um, currently? So bringing those questioning, um, in your conversation, staying curious, that is embodying the coaching mindset. And even from, um, in academia, from a teacher's point of view, as well, instead of, um, you know, when a child or when a student is facing a challenge with certain, um, areas, being curious at what part of it are they finding finding it difficult, how can they feel, uh, that they can do better in this? So being curious and embodying the coaching mindset are the, uh, foundations of, uh, the ICF framework. Uh, if these two are not met, then neither of the others that follow are marked as observed.
And, um, I will be sharing a whole, um, you know, uh, a slide deck on, uh, the deliverables for the whole 14 weeks program, but I will do that in the next session because we have two people, um, missing from the cohort today. Um, and you will have a lot of Q&As for that. That's why I'm reserving it for the next session. Um, in that, we will cover, um, you know, how these three, all of these are being observed in your submissions, your recorded submissions, your coaching conversation, because we will be observing you at least, um, five times as per ICF policies. Each participant has to be observed five times, four times within the sessions, and three times in the recorded submissions.
So then comes the competency three, four, and five, which is co-creating the relationship. Competency three is all about, as Sarah shared with you, letting the client set the agenda, because the client is the expert of the story, and as coaches, we are the expert of the process. So what is it that the clients want to focus on? That has to dictate the session. We as coaches do not advise. We do not ask why questions because why puts them in an over-explanation, um, you know, mind frame, and as I shared with you, we don't share our own stories as well. What we try to do is maintain a presence. And maintaining presence, competency five, is the last of all, uh, competencies that you perfect because, um, being totally present with the client where you're not listening to your own internal chatter, and you're just listening and giving the client the gift of your presence is, uh, the most difficult to do, especially if you come from a mentoring background or you come from an extensive background of, um, informal coaching because you've always, uh, been in that frame of guiding people, advising them, and now you have to withhold that. You just have to be focused on the client's story. So maintaining presence, being comfortable with the pauses. Um, we want to fill silence, we want to, um, we find them awkward as coaches, as coaches also. Um, silence is awkward. But in that silence, there's a lot of processing going on. And this is what competency, um, five is all about, maintaining that presence, being comfortable with that silence. Uh, and a funny example I might give to you, I was once in a coaching conversation with an MCC. So MCC is the highest, uh, level of ICF coaches for those who don't know. Um, and while listening to me, they were so still that I had to ask that, you know, are you frozen? Is what's happening here? And they just burst out laughing after that. And asked what happened. Then they said, this is the level of mastery where you are able to maintain silence in such a way and be present in such a way that the, uh, coaches sometimes sees you as literally a wall. Um, so you're a sounding board as well. Um, you're an accountability partner as a coach. And then listening actively. Often, a lot of times clients come to you and they would not know what they want to focus on, and maybe they start with something else, like start from A and end up at Z. So, you know, the story totally changes because there is something underlying that, or whatever they came up with, and they were not aware of that at the beginning. A lot of us are verbal processors. When we talk, we are listening to ourselves and we are processing. So active listening is listening to the story behind the story. What is it that actually drove the client to that session? And then evoking awareness. Um, a chunk of your coaching session would be evoking awareness, as in asking powerful questions, challenging the client. So, as coaches, while we stick with the competency four, which is cultivating trust and safety, because obviously, if the client is not feeling safe, they will not open up. If you don't build rapport, and we will be covering rapport in much more detail in session, or, um, if there's no rapport, there will be no progress because the client has to be in a state, um, where they trust you, where they feel that it's a non-judgmental space to be able to open up, to be able to share what is it that's actually, you know, troubling them or bringing them to that particular session. As coaches, we give 80% of air time to the client, and 20% is, is the chunk that we speak. And this is how coaching differs from mentoring also. My own experience, because, um, I started from a business, uh, backdrop, and I started looking for mentors because nobody in my circle was into business, and I felt that, you know, I needed guidance. But when I sought mentors, and they were really helpful, all of them, and I still have mentors to this day, but they share their own experiences. While coaching says and believes that the client is fully resourceful. They have all the solutions to their situation within themselves, because as mentors, we can share our experiences, but the client knows whether they will be able to implement that change within their ecosystem or not, whether their surroundings support that change or not. So they are the best authority on their life. As I said, they are the expert on their story, and we as coaches are catalysts of change. Uh, and we facilitate the process for them. And then facilitating client growth, that is the competency eight. Without, uh, the competency three and eight, a coaching, uh, conversation cannot happen. It's just another conversation. This is what gives it structure, the agreement, the partnership. And then competency eight, checking in on that goal, that, you know, client, we started with a, how do you feel we've progressed on it? Or if you start with a goal with a scaling question that, you know, if somebody comes to you looking for clarity on a particular thing, and you say, uh, that, you know, on a level of one to five, and then explain to them, with one being lowest and five highest, where are you at? And by the end of the session, check in with that goal to facilitate client growth. Where do you feel you are now? Um, based on, you know, the goal that we had started it for the session. And there are a lot of nuances to it, which we will cover as we go along the sessions. Um, but then in session eight, this is where you decide the next steps, the next actions that they can take. Sometimes the shift may not be from a one to five. Sometimes the shift may just be a 0.5. It's all about creating that shift. Finding that, finding those insights, asking the client, what have you learned about yourself today? What have you learned about your situation today? Because, um, something I always say is that self-awareness is not a one-time thing. People, uh, sometimes come to me and say that, you know, we are very self-aware, and I'm sure they are, but being self-aware in the moment and finding more about yourself, because we're continuously evolving. We're continuously growing. We're continuously changing. And how much time do we get to sit with ourselves and process that change? So coaching is that space where they're able to, um, share and actually learn more about themselves, because self-awareness is a journey. It's not a destination. Um, and then finalizing the step, next steps. Sometimes, um, by the end of the session, a client may say, you know, I've, I feel I've not achieved any outcome. So we don't coach for outcomes, and we don't stay attached to outcomes. We coach for insights. We coach for what has the client learned in the moment. What is the smallest shift that has occurred? What can they do moving forward? And this is how bigger goals are achieved. So while these competencies are for a session, like the agreement for the session, and then the whole process for the session, these are basically micro goals working towards a bigger vision that the client comes to you for, and that you discuss with them in a contracting or a discovery session, which we will cover in detail in session three. So the bigger vision, a bigger goal, maybe they're looking for promotion, maybe they're looking to relocate, maybe they want some other change in their lives, but working for that, they might, um, need to set micro goals and per session goals. And this is how these coaching conversations work. This is all shared to you very in a broad sense at the moment.
But as we progress, you'll see the nuances. You will see how coaching is both an art and a science. Uh, because change is happening at the cellular level, at the, um, the level of your brain cells. It's not just a conversation, and, uh, like, you know how it's being misrepresented widely when people call themselves a coach without formal training. So, we will be covering that in more detail, and for now, I would like to pass it back to Sara.
I hope you got some clarity on the ICF framework.
Absolutely. Thank you, Kadicha, and thank you for highlighting those eight core competencies. We will keep on coming back. Um, these competencies are really, uh, there because they are designed to kind of indicate, um, what is the bigger picture. They are designed to, um, indicate what are the skills, what are the approaches with which we do we do coaching, right? Four clusters to make it very easy to understand and remember them: the foundation when you start the coaching, how do you show up, how do you demonstrate that ethical practice, co-creating the relationship, how does that whole container work, how do we, um, establish that awareness, create space, and then communicating effectively, which is mostly listening and reflecting back. You'll hear the word "reflecting back" so often. And finally, making sure that we take the client forward. No specific order of priority, but like Kadia said, that very first one is super critical. And that is what we will, we will look at today is how do we demonstrate that coaching, um, that coaching mindset? How do we embody that to the fullest? And how do we demonstrate ethical practice? In a way, these two are the foundation because they have to do with the being of the coach. All the other competencies have to do with doing coaching, but these two is where you are the coach.
So, let's look at the first competency a little bit more in detail. Demonstrating ethical practice. It basically means that you understand and you consistently apply the forging ethics and standards for the ICF. Has a code of ethics. You will find that on the website, and the aim is that you actually really read through it, right? The code of ethics for a specific reason, that very important if you decide to take the ICF exam. Questions will come around that. How do you behave ethically? We'll cover that a little bit more in detail as well. For now, in this ethical standard, I want to highlight a little bit what they look like. First of all, you have an ethical responsibility to your clients in terms of confidentiality, right? You can't sit in a coaching session and then would tell everybody afterwards. In terms of conflict of interest. What if you're coaching, um, a specific client who works for a particular company, and by coincidence, the person who is a part of that team also comes to you for coaching? Can you coach both people, the manager and the person that is part of the team? Actually, you can't because the manager says, "I'm going to fire that person." Right? So, making sure that there's no conflict of interest. You have a responsibility to your clients in terms of making sure that there is a contract, there is a an agreement, and that they are clear from the beginning what that looks like, right? Things like, for example, if somebody threatens they are going to kill somebody, you do have to report that. They have to know that in advance. That is a mandate to inform those kind of things, right? Making sure that you always, uh, behave in a professional way. That's responsibility to the client.
The second part of the ethical standards come to responsibility to practice and performance, and with that, I, I mean that you need to have that competence. You need to have the integrity. And you will see in coaching, there's so much of learning, there's so much of specialized, uh, parts that you can take later after this coaching. This coaching is basic ICF. After you can go into embodied coaching, you can go into, um, behavioral cognitive coaching, you can go into executive coaching, you can go into partner family coaching, like all, children's coaching, all these kind of different learning paths out there.
The third one, the third ethical standard that you need to uphold is the responsibility to professionalism, and with this, the ICF really means being honest and transparent, having respect and putting those professional boundaries. What tends to happen or what might be there in case, um, a person that is never used somebody listens to them, right? Maybe they might get extra feelings for the coach, like, "Oh my gosh, this person is listening so great to me. I really, really, really like this coach." There's professional boundaries in that case, right? And the ICF is very clear on that. And then the fourth responsibility is to society, having a social responsibility in terms of inclusivity and being compliant with the law.
Okay, let's look a little bit at how that looks in detail, right? Like I already mentioned, it's showing integrity, showing honesty and interactions with clients, but also with sponsors, right? If you're going to work with a corporate, you have the client who is an employee, the sponsor is probably going to be the business or the HR or the CEO is going to pay for it, right? All the relevant stakeholders. How much can you share? How much can you not share? Right? If you do coaching for a company, can the client or can HR say, "Tell us afterwards what this person said? We are really, really curious." No, you can't, right? Obviously, it's confidential. The second part is being sensitive to the client's identity, environment, to their beliefs, to the values that they have, which is going to be different, right? We all look at the world through our own, uh, glasses. Some have pink glasses, some have green, some have gray. Everybody has different beliefs. Everybody has different identity, and we respect all of them, and we need to be sensitive to them. The next one is that using appropriate language, right? Especially in terms of inclusivity, we want to be very respectful. And then, like I mentioned already, to the ICF code of ethics, all the core values, and maintaining that confidentiality, making clear distinction between coaching, consulting, psychotherapy, and other professionals, and then if we need to refer somebody, refer somebody, right?
So, what we are going to do next, um, and I stop sharing here, is look at a video. Um, there's some, and you will see that throughout this, this, um, training program as well, you can use. There's a lot of really, really great videos on the internet that help you understand these competencies in detail, right? And I would suggest, we will show you one today. It's about 15, 10 to 15 minutes video. Um, after you have seen this one, do take the time to go over all eight of them for all the different competencies so that you really understand what does it actually mean, how does it show in real life. So, let's look at the first one. K, I will let you share.
Uh, so these videos were released last year because the competencies were recently updated last year as well. Uh, just, um, to stop share and start again. Uh, just give me a thumbs up if you can.
I'm excited to be here.
Great. Well, let's start out with, um, because this is the first video in the series, maybe a little bit of the process of how we got here to these new core competencies. I think last time it was around 2020, 2019, when we went through a big process to do a major overhaul of the core competencies, and I think those videos are still available. So, um, if you want to learn more and and go more in-depth on the core competencies, those, those videos are still available. But for 2025, what, um, what was the process like? Um, well, as, as you may know, uh, the ICF regularly revisits the coaching competencies, and that's in part because the competencies both shape the coaching profession but also reflect what is actually happening in the coaching world, uh, at large. And so over an extended period of time, surveys, data, input from coaches was collected and put together. And then earlier this year, in April, 12 coaches, me included, met together in Paris to review the material and and discuss and decide, you know, what changes we want to recommend to, um, update the competencies and bring them up to the same, uh, standard that of work that is happening in the workplaces today.
Okay. Well, thank you so much for your service. And we will, each one of these core competencies is being covered by one of those 12 people who was part of that meeting in Paris. So, thank you to for your service and for for each of those coaches that everyone will be meeting throughout this series. But let's go into talking about ethics here in core competency number one. And maybe you can give us a brief overview, and then we're going to go into the changes that were made, any changes that were made. But let's talk about this in general.
So, coaches often use the metaphor of ethics as the rules of the road. And I really like that metaphor. Um, I think it's apt because in the same way that rules of the road helps us get safely from place A to place B and maybe even have a pleasant journey. Coaching ethics make sure that a coaching engagement, uh, goes smoothly without hiccups, without accidents, uh, and that it, it is productive, and in the end, we get successfully to where we are headed with our clients. Um, so that includes staying in our lane and not crossing over into the territory of other professions like therapy or consulting. It means maintaining confidentiality, observing the core values of the coaching profession, which include professionalism, uh, shared humanity, equity, and equality, uh, paying attention to systemic patterns of bias and oppression.
Okay. Well, thank you for that brief overview. Now, let's dig into what's changed. And I know there's not a huge change to this. Some certain competencies had a lot of changes, and this is one that had very, very little. But tell us about what has changed.
Well, one word has changed. We inserted ICF to make it clear that we are talking about the ICF core values: professionalism, collaboration, humanity, and equity. This competency also refers to the code of ethics, which was recently updated earlier this year, and there, there is a wealth of wonderful resources to support coaches on the ICF's website.
Yes. And, uh, also there is a series very similar to this one that I am also the host of on YouTube, uh, going through with some of the folks who were involved in the, in the updates to the ICF ethics code. So, uh, that series is also, also available on the ICF YouTube channel. But let's go ahead now and talk about what this looks like in everyday coaching. So, what is, what is, uh, following the ethics code look like in everyday?
Um, many different ways in which ethics can show up day-to-day. Um, one category of strategies would be preemptive. So, making sure that each coaching engagement is covered by a clear and explicit contract, um, that sets out expectations, confidentiality, what coaching is, what coaching isn't, and in that way provides a standard of integrity against which the coach's performance can be measured. Um, but it's also important to remember that ethical challenges sometimes fall in a black and white sort of distinction, but more often they are in the gray zone where it may be more difficult to determine what is the right thing to do, especially when there are conflicting interests and the coach has obligations that are at odds with each other, say to stakeholders and sponsors and clients. Um, and so on a day-to-day basis, this means that we coaches need to finetune an inner radar to detect potential ethical challenges or conflicts of interest or breaches of confidentiality. Um, to be aware of our own biases and to have mechanisms to reflect on these challenges and figure out how to move forward with them. And sometimes that means having a network of colleagues and professionals to turn to for advice. Sometimes it simply means that our schedule allows us to step away for a minute and take a moment to reflect and and really engage with, um, the, the way we want to move forward, to think through it deeply.
Great. Thank you for that. So, the next two questions are kind of mirror opposites of one another. Um, the first one I'm going to ask is, what does it look like when a coach is doing this well? And then we're going to come back and talk about when it's maybe someone who's struggling more with this core competency. But let's start with when they're doing it well. What does that look like?
Well, at the very minimum, it means that the coach is showing up with honesty and integrity. The coach is maintaining confidentiality, following the provisions that have been laid out in the contract, and is not found in breach of any of the legical ethical imperatives, uh, in the code and in competency one. But there is space to go even beyond that. Um, and what that might look like in practice is that the coach notices and addresses matters of systemic inequality when they show up in the session. Uh, and if I may, I have an example that I can offer.
Yep.
Um, so let's say we have a male coach who works with a female client, and the client brings a topic of figuring out how to stand up for herself, especially when dealing with male figures of authority. If the coach, uh, fails to recognize the importance of gender in this conversation, he would gloss over the fact both that he's a man and that can play a role in the interaction, and that there are, that there are real gender disparities in the workplace. Um, instead, I think what we want to see is the coach's awareness of the importance of gender, acknowledging it, and supporting the client to empower all aspects of her identity, including her identity as a woman in the workplace.
Great. Well, thank you so much for for adding that example in. And let's talk about what, uh, what it looks like when someone is, is maybe struggling with around ethics. Well, um, it may mean that there has been a break in confidentiality, there has been a breach of contract, that maybe there has been an, uh, incorrect representation of what coaching can do or what a coaching training program offers to it, its trainees. It may mean intellectual property rights infringements. In the worst case scenario, these things, when they're serious enough, will lead to ethical complaints and an ICF ethical review. Um, there is a fascinating resource on the ICF website that outlines how to decide under what circumstances if it's appropriate to file, um, ethical complaint. Um, because the consequences can be serious, the unhappy client, um, can potentially be damaging to the profession as a whole and and give coaching a bad name, even for coaches who are doing everything right.
Great. Well, thank you for for explaining a little bit of the, the negative side of, uh, ethics problems. So, is there anything though that we've missed in this conversation that you think coaches need to know about this core competency?
Um, well, I just would like to emphasize that ethical conduct is really foundational for a successful coaching engagement, and that trust and safety really depend on, um, ethics. And if I may offer another example,
Uh, say we have a coach who refers to his client by her first name, and the client, who is younger, refers to the coach using the word "sir." Now, this is already a red flag that the coach needs to address to make sure that the relationship is on an equal footing. Otherwise, what might happen is that the client does not feel comfortable to disagree or contradict the coach. Um, and in fact, this, this actually happened in a session that I observed as part of my work. Um, the coach suggested some solutions, and the client differentially accepted. Uh, but in the end, I'm not convinced that the client walked away with insights and understanding that was really her own and that would be useful, um, in the long term, and all of that because we didn't have a truly equal and respectful partnership between the two. So, ethics is foundational in that way.
Great. Well, thank you for sharing that additional example. And Alita, thank you so much for your service. Thank you, Kadicha, for sharing this, uh, video like this. There's many more, uh, each one with the same people. Um, it's very funny to see them going through these video series after all those years and how they update cons consistently with what the ICF is indicating. But it will help you understand what the competencies actually stand for, and you don't have to then read the whole thing. It's just so much easier when you, when you listen to this.
Um, what we are going to do next, we are going to move into breakout rooms of three to four people, and we will give you six minutes. Did I put six minutes? I'm not so sure. We'll give you six minutes. Let me check. Yes. Um, and the aim is to discuss this, and let me put this on screen so you all have the right question available. Oops. There you go. This is the question to discuss in your breakout rooms: How will you as a coach ensure ethical practice with your clients? Which might seem easy at the first, um, glance. However, it's not so obvious. What if a client wants that coaching mindset? Yeah. Then also, obviously, um, regulating the emotions, right? That's something that this course also goes in-depth onto, emotional regulation. Um, preparing for a session. That means, um, I don't come rushing in from being in traffic, being all upset that I came out of that traffic and I'm two minutes late and I come rushing in, I'm sweating all over, right? That's not being prepared for a session because then I'm kind of like, "Oh my gosh, I'm so late." Um, being mentally, emotionally prepared for the session. You might do reading exercises before that, might center yourself, but have something that makes you being fully aware and present in the session, and then seeking help from outside resources, from outside sources. And right now, ICF has kind of indicated how it is required to do more mentoring, to do more, um, of discussing, discussing situations with other coaches that are there. If you're not getting, if some, if you notice a client is upsetting you, if you notice the client is pushing out, and reach out and speak with other client, with other coaches around that, right? How do you do that? Embodying that coaching mindset to continue on this, right? How to actively listen instead of simply reacting, right? Um, what biases might we have about the client situation? Right? If I, the client says, "Oh, I'm in this situation." We might immediately have certain assumptions or biases that might come up, right? How do we cultivate empathy and compassion in our sessions? In a way, and I, I heard somebody mention, right, that trust? How do I build that trust with my client? How do I do that with somebody I've never met before, and how do I create a safe space?
So, what we are going to do again, we are going to go into the same breakout rooms again for five to six minutes and specifically look at these questions and reflect on that. How will you as a coach embody that coaching mindset? Okay. So, let me go, let me set up the breakout rooms again. Oops. One second. And it will be for the same time and the same groups. If you all made a screenshot of this, have the questions ready. Everybody has the questions? Yeah, there you go. I'm opening the breakout rooms, and after that, we will discuss again. I think I canceled it by accident, Sarah. Sorry.
Wait, let me send you again. Oh, um, one second.