Written by guest blogger, Michael Stratford, MCC For more information on Michael, visit his website. Sometimes in a coaching interaction, we need to interrupt the current flow of the client talking in order to update, renew or reinvigorate the focus...
Blog
Partnering – the approach that differentiates coaching from other professions
The term ‘partnering’ has become fashionable within the ICF and one that is critically important to understand, if you are seeking to be an effective coach. And it’s a term specifically used in five places in the PCC Markers, for...
The important role of asking closed-ended questions
One of the most powerful ‘tools of trade’ available to any coach is the ability to ask questions that provide maximum benefit to the client, so they uncover the knowledge and information they need in order to move forward. Coaches...
Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect
One thing I’ve noticed over the years of mentoring coaches toward their ICF credential, and listening to many hundreds of coaching sessions as an ICF Assessor, is that you can have hundreds or even thousands of coaching hours, and not...
True North – The Coaching Agreement
In our mentoring program, The Mentor Coaching Group, we focus on teaching coaches the importance of Establishing the Coaching Agreement (ICF Core Competency #2). In fact, this competency is so vital to master that Carly has created an extensive product...
Applying the fundamental coaching model
Coaches I'm mentoring often ask me how to demonstrate the ICF Core Competency of Planning & Goal Setting in a coaching session. Well here's how, and it's simple! When I’m listening to a coaching session as an ICF Assessor for...
The power of making distinctions
I’m a regular Bikram Yoga student, and recently one of the teachers said the following, “Make sure you are working to your body’s edge, while listening to your body’s limits.” This was such a great distinction and had me stop...
Listen spaciously to your client
One of the most respectful and powerful coaching skills we have available to us as coaches is the ability to listen. Just listen. Listen with a lot of silence, and with a lot of quiet, yet present, spaciousness. Do you...
Coach the Human Being of your Client not just their Content
One of the best gifts a masterful coach can bring to their client is a different perspective, without interpreting through their beliefs. We don’t live in our client’s skin, think their thoughts, believe what they believe, or have the exact...
Bikram Yoga and the Coaching Mastery Journey
This article recently appeared in the ICF Global Blog When I was a newer coach, I remember thinking, “When will I be ‘there?” When will my coaching skills be integrated so that I don’t have to consciously think about what...