## Metadata - Author: [[Jonathan Passmore]], [[Tracy Sinclair]] - Full Title: Becoming a Coach: The Essential ICF Guide - Category: #books - Topics: [[Coaching (Index)]] ## Summary * **ICF definition of coaching**: “Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” (ICF = [International Coaching Federation](https://coachingfederation.org/)) * **Coach development**: Commit to continuing professional development. Think of it as an infinite process towards maturity. Create personal development plans and take responsibility for your learning. Use learning practices such as supervision, mentoring, and reflection. Adopt and move fluidly between a multitude of models and perspectives. Reach ever deeper levels of understanding of both yourself and your clients. Focus on what this particular client needs in this particular situation. * **ICF core competencies**: A model that describes the features and characteristics of coaching, based on an extensive job analysis process. (I currently have some curiosity regarding how much this model tracks “coaching effectiveness” as opposed to describing “expert coaches” and their behaviour. I’ll look into this some more.) It is organised into four domains and eight competencies: * Foundation * 1. **Demonstrates ethical practice**: Understands and consistently applies coaching ethics and standards of coaching. * 2. **Embodies a coaching mindset**: Develops and maintains a mindset that is open, curious, flexible and client-centered. Emphasis: Ongoing learning, reflective practice, awareness of self and client. * Co-creating the relationship * 3. **Establishes and maintains agreements**: Partners with the client and relevant stakeholders to create clear agreements about the coaching relationship, process, plans and goals. Establishes agreements for the overall coaching engagement as well as those for each coaching session. Emphasis: Clear agreements. * 4. **Cultivates trust and safety**: Partners with the client to create a safe, supportive environment that allows the client to share freely. Maintains a relationship of mutual respect and trust. * 5. **Maintains presence**: Is fully conscious and present with the client, employing a style that is open, flexible, grounded and confident. Emphasis: Focus on client, solid mindset, holding space. * Communicating effectively * 6. **Listens actively**: Focuses on what the client is and is not saying to fully understand what is being communicated in the context of the client systems and to support client self-expression. Emphasis: Holistic listening, accurate empathy, understanding. * 7. **Evokes awareness**: Facilitates client insight and learning by using tools and techniques such as powerful questioning, silence, metaphor or analogy. Emphasis: Explore new and different thinking, create possibilities, move the conversation forward. * Cultivating learning and growth * 8. **Facilitates client growth**: Partners with the client to transform learning and insight into action. Promotes client autonomy in the coaching process. Emphasis: Capture and apply insights, solidify progress, micro and macro level. * **Approaches to coaching**: There are many different models and philosophies. Develop an understanding of several approaches to be able to meet your clients wherever they are. Don’t force any single approach onto the client and situation. Integrate several approaches to create a coherent way of working. Consider how each approach explains how humans learn and develop, and how and when each approach is effective towards this end. Start by building the client-coach relationship, then move onto simple behavioural approaches to build momentum, and eventually explore the client as a person and their situation more deeply. ## Section 1: Setting the scene ### Chapter 1: The journey towards maturity * “**Maturity**” is an alternative way of thinking about coach development. It implies an **infinite process**, whereas something like “mastery” can imply an ending. * The journey to coaching maturity (adapted from Clutterbuck and Megginson): * **Model focus**: Control. How do I take the client where I think they need to go? * **Techniques and tools focus**: Contain. How do I provide space for the client to think, but ensure they achieve their goal? * **Philosophy focus**: Facilitate. I believe X about the way the world works. Given this, how can I best help my client? * **Integrated-eclectic focus**: Enable. What multiplicity of models, frameworks, and perspectives will best serve this client and this conversation? Are we both relaxed enough to allow the issue and solution to emerge through a collaborative conversation? ### Chapter 2: What is coaching? * **ICF definition**: Coaching is **partnering with clients** in a **thought-provoking and creative process** that **inspires them to maximize** their **personal and professional potential**. * Other definitions of coaching often highlight the following elements: * Unlocking a person’s potential * Maximizing performance * Greater self-awareness and personal responsibility * Trusting relationship, collaborative process * Socratic dialogue * Desirable and sustainable change * Coaching and mentoring are on a continuum, with more facilitation on the one end, and more guidance on the other. * Therapy is primarily problem-focused, whereas coaching is solution-focused. ### Chapter 3: Who am I? * The coach’s task is to manage the process without significantly shaping, directing, or influencing the content. * **Understanding ourselves**: It’s important for the coach to become more self-aware and understand themselves. * **The personality type lens**: Psychometric questionnaires can be a useful tool to help us look at ourselves. Examples include MBTI or DISC. * **The personality trait lens**: The most common traits are the Big Five. * **The third lens**: A specialist questionnaire such as the EQ-i or MSCEIT. * **Journaling**: This provides a mechanism for you to capture your thinking. * **Reflective practice**: Simply acquiring more experience doesn’t lead to the greatest progress in coach development. Reflecting on past experience is key to that process. ### Chapter 4: Who are my clients? * **Deficit psychology model versus positive psychology model**: For the first 100 years or so, psychology’s primary focus was on explaining dysfunction. With the Human Potential Movement, the focus started to shift and include the more positive side of human functioning. * **Non-judgmental, unconditional positive regard**: This idea is drawn from the work of Carl Rogers. ## Section 2: Developing core coaching competencies ### Chapter 5: Introduction to the ICF core competency model * The ICF has reviewed the competencies twice using a **job analysis process**, drawing on experience and research from over 1,300 practitioners and academics. * The ICF model consists of **eight [core competencies](https://coachingfederation.org/core-competencies)** that sit under **four domains**: * A. Foundation (focused on the coach, not their actions) * 1. Demonstrates ethical practice * 2. Embodies a coaching mindset * B. Co-creating the relationship * 3. Establishes and maintains agreements * 4. Cultivates trust and safety * 5. Maintains presence * C. Communicating effectively * 6. Listens actively * 7. Evokes awareness * D. Cultivating learning and growth * 8. Facilitates client growth * At the heart of the model are the **ICFs core values of integrity, excellence, collaboration, and respect**. * The model is intended to describe **features and characteristics of coaching** that interplay with each other and should be viewed as a holistic body of work, as well as its component parts. * The “**PCC markers**” are the behaviours that should be exhibited in a coaching conversation at the Professional Certified Coach level. * The **ICF Code of Ethics** is designed to provide appropriate guidelines, accountability, and enforceable standards of conduct for all ICF members. ### Chapter 6: Foundation | #1 Demonstrates ethical practice * **ICF definition**: Understands and consistently applies **coaching ethics** and **standards of coaching**. * Demonstrates personal integrity and honesty in interactions with clients, sponsors and relevant stakeholders * Is sensitive to clients’ identity, environment, experiences, values and beliefs * Uses language appropriate and respectful to clients, sponsors and relevant stakeholders * Abides by the ICF Code of Ethics and upholds the Core Values * Maintains confidentiality with client information per stakeholder agreements and pertinent laws * Maintains the distinctions between coaching, consulting, psychotherapy and other support professions * Refers clients to other support professionals, as appropriate * The Foundation domain contains **coach-focused competencies** (i.e., describing who the coach “is” and the “being” of the coach), whereas the other three domains are focused on coaches’ behaviour (i.e., what the coach “does”). * Coaches are expected to work with the client as a whole person and not just the coaching goals and topics. * **[ICF Core Values](https://coachingfederation.org/about)**: * **Integrity**: We uphold the highest standards both for the coaching profession and our organization. * **Excellence**: We set and demonstrate standards of excellence for professional coaching quality, qualification and competence. * **Collaboration**: We value the social connection and community building that occurs through collaborative partnership and co-created achievement. * **Respect**: We are inclusive and value the diversity and richness of our global stakeholders. We put people first, without compromising standards, policies and quality. * Take all steps possible to ensure that the content of the coaching conversations stays only between the coach and the client. * Encourage the client to do any updating and reporting towards other parties. * During your contracting, share that you’re working with a supervisor as part of your ongoing professional development. Inform the client that some client content may be discussed, but that the identity of the client is always kept confidential. * Watch out for what sort of support the client really needs – it may well be something other than coaching. * **[Conflict of interest](https://coachingfederation.org/blog/when-does-a-conflict-of-interest-exist)**: “A conflict of interest exists when you have an **interest** that **interferes with your responsibilities as a coach** or interferes with your ability to act in the **best interest of the coaching profession**. A conflict of interest may arise when you use your role as a coach for **inappropriate personal gain** or when personal interests conflict with your coaching agreement.“ ### Chapter 7: Foundation | #2: Embodies a coaching mindset * **ICF definition**: Develops and maintains a mindset that is **open, curious, flexible and client-centered**. * Acknowledges that clients are responsible for their own choices * Engages in ongoing learning and development as a coach * Develops an ongoing reflective practice to enhance one’s coaching * Remains aware of and open to the influence of context and culture on self and others * Uses awareness of self and one’s intuition to benefit clients * Develops and maintains the ability to regulate one’s emotions * Mentally and emotionally prepares for sessions * Seeks help from outside sources when necessary * This is a **new competency** that emerged from the most recent coaching job analysis conducted by the ICF. * **Coaching is client-centered**. It is the client who **sets the agenda and direction** of the coaching work. The client is also **responsible for generating their own ideas, actions, and next steps**. * Coaching is done in service of empowering the client to take responsibility for themselves and be inspired to maximize their personal and professional potential. * The ICF emphasizes the importance of ongoing and deliberate coach development. * **Reflective practice** includes three core tasks of **reflection, awareness, and self-regulation**. Some forms of reflective practice are coaching supervision, peer group reflection, journaling, mentor coaching, observed coaching practice followed by debrief and feedback, and listening to recordings of client work. * Stay conscious of the possible (and probable) presence of **biases** of self or others, and how this might influence and impact the work. * Recognize your **personal limitations or circumstances** that may impair, conflict with, or interfere with your coaching performance. * Tap into your **optimal coaching state or mindset** by preparing before each session. ### Chapter 8: Co-creating the relationship | #3: Establishes and maintains agreements * **ICF definition**: **Partners with the client** and relevant stakeholders to **create clear** **agreements** about the **coaching relationship, process, plans and goals**. Establishes agreements for the **overall coaching engagement** as well as those for **each coaching session**. * Explains what coaching is and is not and describes the process to the client and relevant stakeholders * Reaches agreement about what is and is not appropriate in the relationship, what is and is not being offered, and the responsibilities of the client and relevant stakeholders * Reaches agreement about the guidelines and specific parameters of the coaching relationship such as logistics, fees, scheduling, duration, termination, confidentiality and inclusion of others * Partners with the client and relevant stakeholders to establish an overall coaching plan and goals * Partners with the client to determine client-coach compatibility * Partners with the client to identify or reconfirm what they want to accomplish in the session * Partners with the client to define what the client believes they need to address or resolve to achieve what they want to accomplish in the session * Partners with the client to define or reconfirm measures of success for what the client wants to accomplish in the coaching engagement or individual session * Partners with the client to manage the time and focus of the session * Continues coaching in the direction of the client’s desired outcome unless the client indicates otherwise * Partners with the client to end the coaching relationship in a way that honors the experience * The fundamental purpose of this competency is to get **clear agreement** on the appropriateness and suitability of the coaching relationship and the work that is being done for each session. * Three distinct **levels of agreement**: * 1. Coaching relationship * 2. Overall coaching plan and goals with associated measures of success * 3. Session goals and objectives * Having a clear agreement at the start enhances every other part of the work. * **Spend enough time at this stage**. There is rich territory in working more extensively and deeply with the client to understand what they want to achieve and why it is important to them. * Beginners tend to rush to get an agreement, whereas more experienced coaches understand the value of full exploration when developing agreements. **Slow down to go fast**. * When the client brings an issue, zoom out and go deeper: Why is this an issue for them? What do they really want? * First, know the goal “**out there**” that the client wants to achieve in their life. Then, explore the outcome from the work “**in here**” that the client wants to accomplish in the coaching session. * Sometimes the **goal posts move** and sometimes even the **goal itself changes**. In that case, the **agreements need to be revisited** throughout the coaching engagement. * Define **measures of success** so they know that they have accomplished what they wanted and feel a sense of achievement and progress. * Understand the **importance or meaning** of the piece of work for the client. This helps the client consider their level of **motivation** for and **commitment** to this topic. It might in turn highlight some of the client’s values and the real reasons why this is an important conversation for them. * End the coaching relationship in a way that honours the experience and celebrates the client’s progress and achievements. ### Chapter 9: Co-creating the relationship | #4: Cultivates trust and safety * **ICF definition**: Partners with the client to **create a safe, supportive environment** that allows the client to **share freely**. Maintains a relationship of **mutual respect and trust**. * Seeks to understand the client within their context which may include their identity, environment, experiences, values and beliefs * Demonstrates respect for the client’s identity, perceptions, style and language and adapts one’s coaching to the client * Acknowledges and respects the client’s unique talents, insights and work in the coaching process * Shows support, empathy and concern for the client * Acknowledges and supports the client’s expression of feelings, perceptions, concerns, beliefs and suggestions * Demonstrates openness and transparency as a way to display vulnerability and build trust with the client * The essence of #4 is that the coach creates a **safe and supportive environment**, **respects** the whole person of the client (not just the issue that they bring), and **acknowledges** the work of the client. * If the conversation enters sensitive territory, acknowledge this explicitly and ask permission to continue. * Affirm the client’s strengths and achievements without praise or approval. * Offer support in a way that is equal, non-judgmental, and non-fixing. ### Chapter 10: Co-creating the relationship | #5: Maintains presence * **ICF definition**: Is **fully conscious and present** with the client, employing a style that is **open, flexible, grounded and confident**. * Remains focused, observant, empathetic and responsive to the client * Demonstrates curiosity during the coaching process * Manages one’s emotions to stay present with the client * Demonstrates confidence in working with strong client emotions during the coaching process * Is comfortable working in a space of not knowing * Creates or allows space for silence, pause or reflection * The essence of #5 is that the coach maintains **full focus on the client**, demonstrates **curiosity**, **manages emotions**, and creates **space for reflection**. * **Coach the person, not the problem**. Go beyond the client’s topic and also explore how they think, feel, and learn. * **Partner with the client**: Show respect and equality, engender trust, and empower them. * **Allow and create space for silence, pause, and reflection**. Hold the space for the client so they can fully express themselves. Slow down. It is in the space between the dialogue and expression that the words just spoken are truly listened to. * **Be comfortable enough to be with them as they navigate their unknown**. * **Be careful how you define your value and role as a coach**. * You don’t need to know exactly what is going on for the client or what is best for them. ### Chapter 11: Communicating effectively | #6: Listens actively * **ICF definition**: Focuses on what the client is and is not saying to **fully understand** what is being communicated in the **context of the client systems** and to **support client self-expression**. * Considers the client’s context, identity, environment, experiences, values and beliefs to enhance understanding of what the client is communicating * Reflects or summarizes what the client communicated to ensure clarity and understanding * Recognizes and inquires when there is more to what the client is communicating * Notices, acknowledges and explores the client’s emotions, energy shifts, non-verbal cues or other behaviors * Integrates the client’s words, tone of voice and body language to determine the full meaning of what is being communicated * Notices trends in the client’s behaviors and emotions across sessions to discern themes and patterns * Key elements of #6 are that the **coach engages in holistic listening, reflects back to ensure shared understanding, and integrates understanding of the client** to support communication. * **Active listening skills**: Demonstrating attention, showing genuine interest, paraphrasing, summarizing, mirroring, withholding judgment, sharing observational feedback, etc. * Active listening helps the coach **check and take care with their own assumptions** about what the client is saying. * **Listen across sessions** and understand the broader context and full meaning of what the client is saying. * Deeper inquiry might be about the client’s use of language and the client’s feelings, patterns the coach has noticed, energy shifts, as well as how the client processes. ### Chapter 12: Communicating effectively | #7: Evokes awareness * **ICF definition**: **Facilitates client insight and learning** by using tools and techniques such as powerful questioning, silence, metaphor or analogy. * Considers client experience when deciding what might be most useful * Challenges the client as a way to evoke awareness or insight * Asks questions about the client, such as their way of thinking, values, needs, wants and beliefs * Asks questions that help the client explore beyond current thinking * Invites the client to share more about their experience in the moment * Notices what is working to enhance client progress * Adjusts the coaching approach in response to the client’s needs * Helps the client identify factors that influence current and future patterns of behavior, thinking or emotion * Invites the client to generate ideas about how they can move forward and what they are willing or able to do * Supports the client in reframing perspectives * Shares observations, insights and feelings, without attachment, that have the potential to create new learning for the client * Key elements of #7 are that the coach asks to **elicit new insights**, shares observations to **support new learning**, and supports the client in **reflection and reframing**. * This competency contains a **future focus** and shift in view into **what may be possible**. * We are typically creatures of habit, also when it comes to our thinking. The fact that a client brings an issue to coaching probably means that they could benefit from **expanding their thinking**, their perspectives, and therefore the choices they feel they have in that situation. * **Powerful questions** explore the client’s way of thinking, invite the client to move away from their current “story”, help them look at the situation from different angles, and invite the client to **direct their attention toward their goal and vision**. In short, the purpose of questions is to help the client **explore new and different thinking** that opens up **new and different possibilities**. * **Questions should be clear and concise** (to maximize the client’s capacity to think, rather than waste time trying to understand the question), **primarily open-ended** (to invite deeper thinking), asked **one at a time**, **without leading nor direction**, and at a pace that allows the client time to listen, reflect, and respond. * Choose questions, observations, etc. depending on their **potential to create new learning** for the client and **move the conversation forward**. * Sometimes, it can be helpful for the coach to give **advice**. Two important criteria: * Share observations, insights, or feelings with the client after getting **permission** to do so. * The sharing must **broaden rather than narrow** the range of options or views for the client. ### Chapter 13: Cultivating learning and growth | #8: Facilitates client growth * **ICF definition**: Partners with the client to **transform learning and insight into action**. Promotes **client autonomy** in the coaching process. * Works with the client to integrate new awareness, insight or learning into their worldview and behaviors * Partners with the client to design goals, actions and accountability measures that integrate and expand new learning * Acknowledges and supports client autonomy in the design of goals, actions and methods of accountability * Supports the client in identifying potential results or learning from identified action steps * Invites the client to consider how to move forward, including resources, support and potential barriers * Partners with the client to summarize learning and insight within or between sessions * Celebrates the client’s progress and successes * Partners with the client to close the session * Key elements of #8 are that the coach facilitates learning into action, respects client autonomy, celebrates progress, and partners to close the session. * **Micro-macro focus of coaching**: * On the **micro level**, coaching is about working with the **current topic and situation** that the client brings into the session in order to establish **specific, positive and forward-moving outcomes**. * Time horizon: today/current * Focus: problem/situation/behaviour * Purpose: solving a problem * On the **macro level**, coaching focuses on how the client can **leverage their experience** addressing their topic in a way that **maximizes their personal and professional potential** in a much broader sense. * Time horizon: future/long-term * Focus: person/being * Purpose: building capacity and maximising potential * **Capture learning and insights** from the coaching session and invite the client to consider how they might **apply and integrate** the results beyond the session. * Promote **client autonomy** and let them capture and determine how to use the new learning. * Leverage the client’s **enhanced awareness** and **facilitate growth** as a result. * Capture learnings at various levels, covering both micro and macro: * The **situation and topic** at hand * The **client** themselves * The broader **environment** * Capture learnings **at various times **during the session – both naturally at any point within the conversation, as well as towards the end. * **Set aside enough time** for this part of the coaching session – possibly the last 20-30% of the time. * Acknowledge the work that the client has done so far. * Partner with the client around what they will do after the session to move forward toward their ultimate goal. * Help them find the resources necessary (from within themselves and/or with the support of others) to take those steps because they are inspired to do so in service of maximizing their potential. * Identify potential **obstacles** and develop mitigating **strategies** to come up with a **robust plan**. * Support the client to reach a level of commitment to their goals and plans. ## Section 3: Approaches to coaching ### Chapter 14: The universal eclectic coaching approach * This approach draws on the **eight most popular models of psychology** and applies them to coaching. The model was developed by Alison Hardingham (2006). * The model begins by considering how each theory explains **how humans learn and develop**. * **Person-centred**: Change is natural; all you need are the fundamental conditions – warmth, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard. The essential tool for the coach is the quality of the relationship with the client. * Solution Focused Coaching * Time to Think * Motivational Interviewing * Positive Psychology Coaching * **Behavioural**: Changes in behaviour are brought about by rewards and punishments. One underlying assumption is that it’s impossible to fully understand the mind and thus it’s better to focus on what you can see – e.g., human behaviour. * GROW; TGROW * **Cognitive-behavioural**: Change comes from thinking about things differently, and from an interaction between behaviour, cognition, emotion, and an external trigger. This approach emphasises challenging unhelpful beliefs, and establishing new and more evidence-based, logical, and enabling beliefs. * ABCDE * SPACE * PRACTICE * **Gestalt**: Change comes through increased awareness – of ourselves, our environment, and our clients. Gestalt regards the individual as a totality of mind, body, emotions, and spirit. * Gestalt Coaching * **Systems**: Change is limited to what the systems will allow. This approach recognises that an individual is situated within a specific role, team, organisation, economic sector, and national and historical context. * Cross-Cultural Coaching * Constellations * Team Coaching * **Psychodynamic**: Change comes from understanding childhood patterns and re-experiencing them. This approach is concerned with the dynamic unconscious – instincts and thoughts that are outside our awareness, i.e., the part of the iceberg below the water surface. * Psychodynamic Coaching * Group Coaching * **Evolutionary**: Change can be explained by understanding natural selection and human development. By understanding the brain, we can be more aware of how it can both help and hinder the pursuit of our goals. * Neuroscience Coaching * **Biological**: Change can be explained by understanding genetics, the body and its senses. The general consensus is that about 60% of human behaviour is determined by our genes, with 40% responding to environmental factors. * Coaching the body * Somatic Coaching ### Chapter 15: Behavioural approach and the GROW model * Behavioural psychology is **focused on what people do as opposed to what they think**. * **T-GROW**: The first step is a preliminary discussion of the topic – T. During this phase, the aim is to help the client to set a clearly defined, measurable and meaningful goal for the session. * O: Distinguish between a) generating and b) evaluating options. Moving to an evaluation too soon can limit the generation of further and more creative solutions. * The final step is to invite the client to reflect on their work within the session to develop further insight about themselves and meta-learning. ### Chapter 16: Humanistic approach and the Time to Think model * The humanistic approach – also referred to as the **person-centred approach** – is in some way at the heart of coaching. It **assumes that our clients are creative, resourceful, and whole**; that they have an “**actualizing tendency**”, a motivational drive leading to growth, development, and autonomy. * Key contributors to the field were Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. * The emphasis with humanistic psychology is on **choice and agency** and the person’s ability to make healthy conscious choices given the right circumstances. Part of the role of the practitioner is to enable the client to feel a stronger and healthier sense of self. * The humanistic approach is **relationship-based and highly non-directive**. * **Rogers** believed that change is a natural human process and that there are six **necessary and sufficient conditions for positive change**: * Coach-client psychological contract/relationship * Coach congruence, or genuineness * Coach holds unconditional positive regard (UPD) for the client * Coach has empathic understanding * Client perceives and experience the coaches UPD and empathy * **Time to Think by Nancy Kline** – Listening to ignite the human mind: * This approach is about building a safe and empathic relationship and then getting out of the client’s way, creating space and time for them to think so that they may access and utilize their own inner resources. * The role of the coach is to ensure that all of the client’s thoughts and feelings about their topic are being considered. * A fundamental assumption is that everything we do depends for its quality on the thinking we do first, and that **we must improve our thinking first to improve action**. Kline further noticed that **the quality of a person’s attention determines the quality of other people’s thinking**. * Some blocks to thinking need more than just deep attention alone. Those **blocks are typically associated with assumptions made by the thinker**, and experienced by the thinker as “truths”. Incisive questions of the following format have been found helpful to **cut into the assumption and remove it**: If you knew + freeing assumption + goal = incisive question. * 1. Hypothesis: “If you knew…” * 2. Freeing true assumption: “… that you are perfectly skilled for this task…” * 3. Attach the new assumption to the goal: “…how would you respond to your boss’s request?” ### Chapter 17: Cognitive-behavioural approach and ABCDE model * **Cognitive-behavioural coaching (CBC)** emerged from cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) in the 1960s and 1970s. The approach aims to help clients recognize the **connection between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours**. The purpose is to move away from unhelpful thoughts toward more evidence-based, performance-enhancing thinking. * The **ABCDEF Model** (Palmer, 2002) is the most popular CBC tool. It uses six steps that the client moves through to gain insight into the relationship between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviour, and to develop a new, more effective outlook. * **Activating event**: This is the trigger (event) that starts the chain. * **Beliefs**: The core views the client has about the event or what can happen as a result of the event. * **Consequences**: These can be physiological sensations, emotions, behaviours, and thoughts experienced by the client. * **Disputing statements**: The coach helps the client to challenge the old unhelpful beliefs and recognize that it’s unhelpful. * **Effective new beliefs**: The coach helps the client to develop new beliefs about the event. * **Future action**: The client plans future actions based on their new beliefs. * == * There are various ways of applying the model. One way is to invite the client initially to describe the event (A) and move to exploring the consequences (C). * Clients are generally less able to describe their thought processes without help. It is thus best to explore beliefs after encouraging clients to talk about consequences. * Encourage clients to see a movement toward new beliefs as a process that can take weeks, months, or even years. ### Chapter 18: Gestalt approach and chairwork * The Gestalt approach aims to help clients **reconnect with their “whole selves”**, to understand their physiological reactions to the issues as well as their thoughts and feelings. This approach can help the client when rational approaches have not worked. * Gestalt is founded on the notion that **human nature is organized into patterns and “wholes”**, and that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. The aim of Gestalt is the **integration of all disparate parts**; a fullness of experience. * **Awareness** is seen as curative and growth-producing. * Identify what’s going on “in the moment”: “When you were talking about X, what were you thinking? What were you feeling?” * The **unique experience of the individual** is emphasized and respected as being true for each individual. * **Chairwork** works well when the client has a strong stance on a topic, but others might hold a different perspective or interpretation of events. It works particularly with clients who are experiencing conflict in the workplace. ### Chapter 19: Solution-focused coaching and the OSKAR model * Solution-focused coaching avoids analyzing the problem and instead encourages a **focus on identifying solutions** – what the client can do to put things right. It can **deliver fast-paced change when time is limited**. * Solution-focused practitioners argue that a problem orientation is more likely to lead to blame, resistance, and conflict. * The **coach remains future-focused**. They listen until there is a hint of a solution and use this as the element to reflect back to direct the conversation forward. * **OSKAR model** (Jackson & McKergow 2007, Dierolf 2013) * 1. **Outcome**: * What do you want to achieve? * What would success look like? * 2. **Scaling**: * On a scale from 1-10, where would you put the situation today? * You are at N now. What did you do to get this far? * How would you know you had got to N+1? * 3. **Know-how and resources**: * What helps you perform at N, rather than 1? * What did you do to make that happen? * 4. **Affirm and action**: * What is already going well? * What is the next small step? * You are at N now. What would it take to get you to N+1? * 5. **Review**: * What is better? * What effects have the changes had? ### Chapter 20: Systemic approach and Force Field model * Systemic coaching allows a client to better **understand their place within a system**, how they relate to others, and how they can manage these relationships to achieve their goals. * Systemic coaching helps a client **to recognize and manage the factors that they can control** while learning to appreciate and understand they are sometimes only part of a wider system that they and others cannot control. * Change can at times be limited to what the system will allow. * **Mapping** gives clients access to the system-level information and enables them to **see their place in that system**. Once mapped, the coach can invite the client to explore the relationship between different parts of characters. * The **Force Field model** helps clients to consider the **systemic forces** at work and develop plans to manage these. The model is based on the work of Kurt Lewin and the forces for change. * 1. **Identify the drivers**: Ask the client to state their goal. Then, encourage them to think about the “drivers” that will help them progress toward that outcome. “Drivers” are any forces that support the goal or push in the right direction. * 2. **Identify the resisters**: “Resisters” are people, feelings, events, and forces that will hinder the achievement of the goal. * 3. **Assess the strength of the drivers and resisters**: Map the forces using lines on a sheet of paper. The length of the line can be used as a measure of the size of the force. * 4. **Manage the forces**: Take each force in turn and consider what the client can do to manage, mitigate, or magnify the force. ### Chapter 21: Psychodynamic coaching and transference * Psychodynamic coaching focuses on the **psychological forces that underlie human behaviour, feelings, and emotions**. It maintains the position that the **presenting problem may at best be a symptom** and often is an issue that serves to protect the real problem. It explores the aspects of the self that are not fully known. * **Identify and explore recurring patterns** and themes in the client’s thoughts, feelings, self-concept, relationships, behaviours, and experiences. **Explore what is underneath those patterns**. * **Projection**: Our tendency to “act out” our feelings, unintentionally; denying their existence in ourselves while attributing them to others. * **Transference**: Our tendency to “transfer” feelings we have for a significant person in our past and/or present onto others who remind us of them. * **Countertransference**: Our tendency to respond to transference, not by noticing it consciously, but by having feelings of our own. * **Parallel process**: The client may unconsciously recreate or “parallel” their issue in the way they relate to their coach. The work that the client brings into the coaching session “acts out” in the moment, in that session. * Consider the “presenting issue” and the “real issue”. Uncover what is really going on and what is the real work that should be done. ### Chapter 22: Integration * Drawing on five to eight models will give coaches the **flexibility to be able to meet their clients wherever they are**, as opposed to forcing clients to adapt to their one style. * **Integration** involves bringing together the different approaches to **create a coherent way of working**. Prompts for reflection: * What beliefs underpin your work with clients? * What models have you been trained in? * Which approaches do you feel confident to use and have you found helpful with your clients and their issues? * Seven Streams integrated coaching model: * **Stream 1: Developing the relationship**: Before any coaching can begin, the coach needs to build a working relationship with the client. * **Stream 2: Maintaining the relationship** * **Stream 3: Behavioural**: This is a useful place to start, as it helps the clients to understand and gain confidence in the coaching process. Encourage clients to use simple problem-solving approaches, set clear objectives and develop action plans. * **Stream 4: Conscious cognitions**: Explore the client’s thoughts and beliefs, and how those help or hinder the client in their journey toward their goal. * **Stream 5: Unconscious cognitions**: Help the client explore the topic from multiple perspectives and increase self-awareness. The “real issue” and motivation may emerge from this work. * **Stream 6: Physiological**: Help the client to become more aware of their body and its physiological sensations and use them as signals. * **Stream 7: System**: Expand awareness to include the client’s context – their work team, organization, sector, national society, culture, and environment. Encourage the client to see their actions in the context of other stakeholders. ## Section 4: Coaching practice ### Chapter 23: Ethical practice * **Ethics** are about deciding what’s right and wrong. * **Ethical dilemmas** are choices that occur when the answer about a future course of action is unclear. * The ICF publishes a **Code of Ethics**, which relates to individual coaches, and a **Code of Conduct**, which relates to accredited programmes. * **Confidentiality**: Protection of any information obtained around the coaching engagement unless consent to release is given. Limits to confidentiality: * Serious criminality (If you reported this to the police, would they actively investigate it? Would the offense carry a potential custodian sentence?) * Risk of harm by clients to themselves * Risk of harm to others * **Conflict of interest**: A situation in which an ICF professional is involved in multiple interests where serving one interest could work against or be in conflict with another. This could be financial, personal, or otherwise. * A guiding principle that coaches can use to handle COIs is transparency: Encourage transparency from all parties. * **APPEAR model**: A framework for guiding ethical decision-making. * Awareness: Self-awareness, awareness of the environment * Practice: Regular reflection, supervision, journaling * Possibilities: Generating alternative courses of action in response to the emergence of the dilemma * Extending the field: Working through the options, scenario development * Acting on reflections: Implementing the appropriate course of action * Reflections on learning: Reflecting on the learning ### Chapter 24: Contracting with clients * A failure to use a written contract or agreement leads to the **potential risk of misunderstanding** about the nature of coaching, how the coach will work, and what all parties involved can expect. * **Legal agreement**: A contract between the coach and the commissioning organization. * **Contracts as “frames”**: Frames reflect the expectations the different stakeholders bring to coaching. These frames operate at multiple levels. * 1. **Moment-to-moment frame**: continuous re-contracting and renegotiation * 2. **Session frame**: short contracting conversation at the start * 3. **Coaching assignment frame**: agreement between coach and client * 4. **Organizational contract frame**: agreement between coach and sponsor * 5. **Organizational culture frame** * 6. Professional/sector frame * 7. National cultural frame * 8. Historical frame * Supply formal contracts with other unspoken “contracts”, or **ways of working**. ### Chapter 25: Taking and managing coaching notes * There is little guidance from professional bodies or from thought leaders on note-taking. * The authors think that coaches are best to spend their time and energy **being fully present**, rather than taking notes. * Taking notes makes it hard to maintain eye contact and listen to the client’s full communication, which can damage **trust and intimacy**. * Coaching is about helping the client **discover insights and raise awareness**, not about **gathering evidence** or information. * Encourage the client to take responsibility for themselves and gather their own notes. * **PIPS framework** for note-taking: * Personal: non-sensitive personal details about the client * Ideas: ideas worthy of exploration at a later time * Plans: a summary of insights and plans for action at the end of the session * Suggestions: ideas from the client for the coach to action * In the EU, individuals have a right to view any personal data held about them by an individual or organization, such as a coach. * **GDPR** requires us to establish a **policy** for the **management, storage, and destruction of personal data**. * Ensure your computer is password protected and use anti-virus software that is regularly updated. * Make clear when and how you will delete your data – approximately 2-3 years after completing the coaching relationship. Make this an annual task to review your files and delete records that are more than two years old. * For digital files, this requires deletion and emptying the trash folder on your devices, and appropriately disposing of computers and hard drives that contain data. ### Chapter 26: Maintaining presence through mindfulness * Jon Kabat-Zinn: Mindfulness is a way of paying attention – on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. It’s a systematic process of self-observation, self-inquiry, and mindful action. The overall tenor is gentle, appreciative, and nurturing. * Effective coaching requires the coach to **offer each client their full focused attention**. * Mindfulness can help empathise with clients without becoming lost in emotions. * Mindfulness can be beneficial to help the coach prepare for a session, maintain focus in a session, and manage emotional responses. * Getting in the right mental space before a session, just like an athlete before a race, is important. For instance, do a brief body scan. ## Section 5: Developing your practice ### Chapter 27: Continuing professional development * **Continuing professional development (CPD)**: A holistic commitment of professionals toward the enhancement of personal skills and proficiency throughout their careers. * **Benefits of CPD**: Renewing credentials, enhancing your offering to clients, staying fit for practice, credibility and reputation, more client work, sharpening your saw, community and network, growth mindset. * **Continuing Coach Education (CCE) units**: The ICF requires a minimum of 40 hours of CPD every 3 years for credential renewal. * **World Economic Forum top 10 most-needed skills** from leaders in 2020 and beyond: * Complex problem-solving * Critical thinking * Creativity * People management * Coordinating with others * Emotional intelligence * Judgment and decision-making * Service orientation * Negotiation * Cognitive flexibility * → Personal versus professional development: The above 10 skills are both closely related to our personal as well as our professional development. * → The ability to handle change and change at speed are crucial. The above skills offer a foundation for that to be possible. * Self-assessment: * How are you with change? * How are you with uncertainty and ambiguity? * How are you with goal posts changing regularly and rapidly? * How are you with the balance between perceiving something as an opportunity or a threat? * Do you have the skills noted above? ### Chapter 28: Personal development plans * **Personal development plan (PDP)**: A structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance, and/or achievement, and to plan for their personal, educational and career development. The primary purpose is to **review, plan, and take responsibility for their own learning** and to **understand what and how they learn**. * PDP principles: * Structured and proactively planned with intentionality and a commitment to being a lifelong learner * Holistic in scope, covering academic, personal, and professional development activities * A process in which we feel supported and guided in some way and also encourages self-sufficiency and a self-sustaining pattern over time * **An ongoing process involving goal setting, action planning, self-reflection and monitoring** toward the achievement of those goals * Benefits of a PDP: * Recognize, value, acknowledge, and evidence our learning and development * Take ownership for our growth * Become more aware of how we learn and what strategies work well/less well * Be more effective in planning, monitoring, and reviewing our own progress * Develop our sense of identity as a learner * PDP example: Outline your personal goals, why they are important to you, and how you plan to achieve them. Describe your ideal future based on your short, medium, and long-term ambitions. * What do I need to learn? * How will I learn it? * When do I aim to complete my learning? * How will I know if I have been successful? ### Chapter 29: Supervision * **ICF definition**: A collaborative learning practice to continually **build the capacity of the coach through reflective dialogue** for the benefit of both coaches and clients. * Supervision is a way for coaches to **reflect on their practice**. This reflection promotes enhanced professional practice by reviewing, questioning, considering, thinking, and critically assessing our work as coaches. * **Function and scope** of supervision: * **Learning and development**: Formative, educative, developmental. Focus on the coach as a coach. Knowledge and skills, attitudes, awareness and understanding, reactions and responses. * **Support**: Restorative, supportive, resourcing function. Focus on the coach as a person. Connection, emotional support, self care, recognising needs. * **Safety and standards**: Normative, managerial, qualitative function. Focus on the coach as a professional. Quality and safety of the work, ethics, professionalism, accountability. * Examples of supervision activities: * Case analysis, particular client situation * Patterns and themes about their coaching practice * Observations about themselves * Review of ICF Core Competencies * Sometimes it can be helpful to **frame the supervision topic as a question** that the coach and supervisor then work collectively to answer. Example: I have a lot going on personally at the moment. How can I be sure that I am fully present for my clients? ### Chapter 30: Reflective practice * **Reflective practice** may be defined as the ability to **reflect on one’s actions** so as to engage in a **process of continuous learning**. It enables the coach to **transform experience into practical insights**. * Reflective practice involves integrating **regular activities** into our routine that **raise awareness**, **prompt critical analysis** and aid self-management and decision-making. It involves learning to pay attention, exploring our assumptions, and observing our patterns. * Reflection without action is meaningless. The purpose of reflection is to understand ourselves and others more deeply and enhance our own effectiveness and that of others. * What’s most important is to find a reflection pattern that works for you. * **Levels of reflection**: * 1. Reporting: What happened? What was the impact? Where could reflection occur? * 2. Relating/reasoning: What were the motives or reasons for the behaviour? * 3. Reconstructing: Stand back further. What are you learning from this? How will you apply this in the future? * **Henley8 questions**: * What did I observe? * What was my response? * What does this tell me about me? * What does this tell me about myself as a coach or leader? * What strengths does this offer? * What are the potential pitfalls? * What did I learn? * What might I do differently next time? * Set aside time each month or quarter to review your reflection notes and identify larger patterns and trends. ### Chapter 31: Mentor coaching * Mentor coaching is a relationship in which **a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide** a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. * Modalities: * Using recordings of client sessions * Coaches coaching each other in live group webinar sessions * The mentee coaching the mentor ### Chapter 32: Coach knowledge assessment * The Coach Knowledge Assessment (CKA) is an online assessment tool that is used by the ICF to measure a coach’s understanding of the knowledge and skills that are important in the practice of coaching. * **The CKA covers the ICF definition of coaching, the Core Competencies, and the Code of Ethics**. It comprises around 155 multiple-choice items. * It is created from the competency job analysis process. ### Chapter 33: Progressing your coaching skills * Many organizations are increasingly aware of the credentialing levels and often require professional coaches to hold at least a PCC-level credential. * What differentiates a PCC coach from an ACC coach: * More skilled at using their own intuition * Deeper exploration of “why” a coaching topic is of significance, and “why now” * Exploration into the “who” of the client * More comfortable and skilled at allowing space * Curiosity about what is not being said, noticing and exploring subtle shifts in the client’s energy, exploring patterns and themes in the session and across the coaching engagement * Michael Grinder’s (2007) **model of professional development: art _and_ science** * **Start with the science and establish some clear guidelines**: * 1. Content: the verbal level, the “what” * 2. Process: the non-verbal level, the “how” * **Then, move towards the art of coaching**: * 3. Perception: timing, the “when” * 4. Receptivity: permission, the “if” * Retaining Beginner’s Mind: * Acknowledge your expertise while simultaneously challenging it. * Continue to foster a Beginner’s Mind. Remain open and curious. * Have your own annual PDP and remain actively engaged in collecting CCEUs and reflective practice through supervision. ## Section 6: Tools and techniques ### Chapter 34: Coaching tools * Different tools and techniques suit different coaches, different clients, and different presenting issues. By **having a wide range of tools and techniques to draw upon**, you are best placed to adapt your approach to meet your individual client’s needs. * **Using a new technique** can be tricky. Consider **asking the client if they are willing to do an “experiment”**. You can explain that you are not sure it will work, but also say that other people have found it helpful. That way, if it fails, it is less likely to have a negative impact on your relationship with your client. * (The book introduces a bunch of tools and how to use them. None of them seem groundbreaking to me.)