My hunch is that the vast majority of coaches that first meet the ICF Core Competency framework see it has a list of things to do in a coaching session, like a tick box exercise. My experience of becoming a coach and mentor coaching others is that this tick box view becomes exceptionally limiting and distracting very quickly.
This makes sense in how we all learn (Kolb's Experiential Learning* - do, review, conclude and try again) in needing some way in how to do something, but the problems come after one or two laps of Kolb's cycle. This tick box view becomes the source of anxiety when coaches are up for an evaluation of how they demonstrate the competencies for an ICF Credential.
If we shift the perspective, the ICF core competencies become a universal golden thread of coaching that enable and support all coaching modalities and all individual flavours of coaching.
The tick box view is almost like being forced to straddle the consciously competent and consciously incompetent spaces (depending on what your inner voices tricks you to thinking). Versus trusting your coaching flavour flowing from the unconsciously competent and deciding when to step out when you want to learn more and increase your flavour. This is a significant shift from being forced to hang on to a list of things to do.
ICF Mentor Coaching is process of coaching and feedback to identify and increase your ability to demonstrate the competencies. What gets me fired up is identifying how your style or flavour of coaching is demonstrating these competencies and increasing your style/flavour while trusting yourself.
Some exciting developments in the ICF Core Competencies is that the trusty framework of 11 competencies has been updated and a reviewed/refreshed framework of 8 core competencies. The new framework has consolidated in some places and expand in others to presents as a far more authentic golden thread of where coaching has evolved to. This new framework was presented in November 2019 and will come into effect early 2021.
If you would like to explore your own points of curiosity as a coach to deepen your flavour of coaching through ICF Mentor Coaching for your ACC, feel free to contact me, or book a free chemistry session with me now.
*Kolb, D. A. (1984).Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (Vol. 1). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall