Just between us Coaches – Do you do it, too?
December 10, 2024Thousands of Ways to Earn 40 ICF CCEs!
August 28, 2025Even after coaching for 22+ years, I am always learning and seeing evidence of the ICF Core Competencies in new ways. Some of the most important learning that I want to share with you comes down to asking, “Would a review of my Coaching pass an ICF Assessment???”
…I don’t think so… Let me explain.
I was preparing for a coaching session by re-reading notes from our previous session. At the start, the client had stated two items they wished to accomplish in the session. Then at the end of our call, when I asked for their “take-aways” they share three powerful awarenesses. 🙂
In Hindsight, as I reviewed the session notes, I realized there was a GAP between what my client had said they wanted to accomplish, and the three take aways they shared at the end.
In that moment I came face-to-face with THE GAP between my CLIENT’S STATED GOAL in comp 3, and the MEASUREMENT OF SUCCESS in comp 8.
Our clients tell us up front where they’d like to get by session’s end. Our role is to partner with them to reach that goal, and to check in, throughout the session, and in particular as we wrap up – Did you accomplish what you said you wanted to accomplish today? Or is there a GAP between what you wanted, and where we wound up?
When I mentor coaches, or review a final performance evaluation at the end of a training program, I listen for how well the Coach circles back to the client’s stated goal by including a measure of the session’s success.
Here’s how the PCC Markers states this:
3.1 Coach partners with the client to identify or reconfirm what the client wants to accomplish in this session.
8.1 Coach invites or allows the client to explore progress toward what the client wanted to accomplish in this session.
In other words, can I draw a direct line between the Client’s stated Goal at the outset, to a measure of whether we reached that goal.
I like the analogy of the Partnership of ride sharing. (CUE MAP)
In that partnership the most important actions are to CONNECT and come to AGREEMENT at the outset, followed by MEASURE/CONFIRM success at the end.
It’s like I was their Ride-share driver, the Client told me where they wanted to go, and I got them CLOSE to their destination…not exactly there – but a nice park in the neighborhood they could enjoy! (three powerful awarenesses. 🙂 Good, right?
NO, GAPS are something mentors and assessors listen for!
I was hyper-aware of this GAP as it was mentioned at this month’s ICF Educator/Assessor webinar, just a week ago.
A couple years ago I attended a Small Business event at the Dept of Labor in Wash, DC. I ordered a Lyft home, and walked outside. (CUE MAP)
Now, I was born in DC, grew up in Rosslyn, Virginia, but you put me in the middle of DC on a cloudy day, and the Lyft driver says to me, “I’m the black car at the Northwest corner!” I should add, I also retired from the NPS. Still, couldn’t tell you which was the NW corner!
Taking 2+ mins between lights changing didn’t help, nor did alerts, “The Police want me to move!”
We did manage to connect!
Next – where do I want to go? We have our starting point (finally!), and what’s the best ROUTE to reach my desired destination? Spout Run? Rt 50? Chain Bridge?
For a successful Lyft experience – We come to agreement about where I am, work through/ID any potential barriers, ID allies (GPS) and I arrive where I want to go, as expected!
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I’ll offer one more tip from this recent webinar for Educators and Assessors. In reviewing a portion of a recorded coaching agreement, one coach mentioned a small tweak that potentially makes an inquiry stronger.
Rather than ask, “Have you face a similar situation in the past and how did you resolve that?” to a more future based inquiry that places the Client in the space of having already achieved their goal. That might sound like, “When you visualize yourself having reached you goal of … What is that like for you?”
That’s a keeper.
Thank you for stopping by, I welcome your comments and hope you’ll return frequently as I share additional thoughts and tips.
