Demonstrating the competencies 5-8 at an ACC level

Hello there. If you’re here before reading the first two blogs in this series about preparing for the ICF ACC certification, click here

5. Maintains Presence

One of the most visible qualities of an effective coach is presence: the ability to be fully available to the client, without being distracted by your own thoughts, concerns or the pressure to perform well. Ways to demonstrate this

• Be observant and let curiosity guide the conversation. The clearest evidence of presence is sustained curiosity. When a client shares something important, your questions should naturally follow from what they have said. If your questions feel disconnected, if you suddenly change direction without any transition, or if you move too quickly into solving the problem, it often suggests that you have stopped following the client's thinking and started following your own.
  This can happen when we become preoccupied with finding the “right” question or when we decide too quickly that we know what the client's real problem is. Presence requires us to stay curious for longer and allow the client's thinking to unfold before moving towards action.
• Acknowledge before you analyse. When clients share something that is significant to them, they first need to know that they have been heard. Imagine a client says:
  “My manager has just told me she's leaving because the project might be put on hold. I've invested the last fourteen months in this project, and I don't know what it will be like without her.”
  Before exploring solutions, acknowledge what the client is experiencing. You might reflect, “It sounds like you're holding two concerns right now. One is losing a manager you've valued, and the other is the uncertainty around a project you've invested so much in.”
  Responses like these communicate that you are listening carefully, that you understand what matters to the client and that you are not rushing to fix the situation.
• Allow the client to lead. Presence also means trusting the client to guide the direction of the conversation. Once you have established the coaching agreement, invite the client to choose where they would like to begin. If several themes emerge, ask which feels most important to explore.
  It is perfectly acceptable for a coach at the ACC level to provide some structure or suggest a line of inquiry when it serves the conversation. However, this should not become the dominant pattern. Statements such as, “Let's start with this,” or “I think we first need to address this issue,” repeatedly shift ownership of the conversation from the client to the coach.
  If the client pauses to think, allow the silence rather than feeling the need to fill it. Giving clients space to think is often one of the strongest demonstrations of presence.

What we’re looking for:

• Were you observant and responsive in the conversation?
• Were you curious about the client, or their agenda, or both?
• Did you provide space for the client to lead during the session?
• Were you silent to allow time for the client to reflect?

6. Listens Actively

Some ways in which you can do this

• Summarise and paraphrase: A good summary or paraphrase is brief and purposeful…one that is as long as what the client has just said is not. Use summaries at key moments in the conversation rather than after every response, and always check your understanding. A simple question such as “Did I get that right?” allows the client to confirm, clarify or deepen what they are trying to express.
• Show you’re listening by playing back not just the client’s thinking but also their feeling and beliefs: Good paraphrasing helps the client see various aspects of themselves/the situation more clearly. For example if a client has said “I think my manager may be wondering if my role is really needed. I know that I’ve had my own doubts about that in the past but I’ve been working very hard on supporting the business and I can see they find me helpful. Then again sometimes I wonder if I’m over thinking all of this”, there are multiple paraphrases a coach can offer
  • You’re wondering if your inner doubts about your role are also being felt by your manager?
  • You’re thinking about whether you could be thinking more about this than the situation warrants?
  • You feel the need to prove the value of your role to the business

  As you grow in your understanding of coaching, you will find that you have an intuitive sense of which path to follow that would be of service to the client. But even if you choose one that does not resonate with the client, you’ve still established that you are listening carefully and care about them/their goal.

  Explore the client’s use of language (or use it to customise your questions and observations): If you find yourself asking questions phrased the same way in all your coaching conversations, you’re probably not listening closely enough. If a client has said “I’m anxious”, don’t ask “where is that concern coming from?”. Doing so could mean you are interpreting on behalf of the client. It is also very ok to say “could you talk more about that anxiety?” (or use any other question that works with the language the client is using)

• Explore the client’s use of language (or use it to customise your questions and observations): If you find yourself asking questions phrased the same way in all your coaching conversations, you’re probably not listening closely enough. If a client has said “I’m anxious”, don’t ask “where is that concern coming from?”. Doing so could mean you are interpreting on behalf of the client. It is also very ok to say “could you talk more about that anxiety?” (or use any other question that works with the language the client is using)

To sum up:

• Did you summarize or paraphrase what the client has said to confirm your understanding?
• Do you pick up and articulate the feelings, thoughts and beliefs of the client?
• Did you integrate the client’s unique use of words into your questions and observations?

7. Evokes Awareness

One of the most rewarding moments in coaching is when clients begin to see themselves or their situation differently. This competency is about creating those moments, not by giving answers, but by helping clients discover new perspectives for themselves. How can you do this?

• Invite new perspectives . One of the strongest indicators of coaching is helping clients view their situation from a different angle. This does not require complex or profound questions. Often, a simple shift in perspective is enough.
  For example with a leader who has recently moved into a new role and is anxious about whether they are performing well, you might ask:
  “If a close friend were in this situation, what would you say to them?”
  “What do you think is a reasonable expectation of yourself after only two months in the role?”
  “What evidence do you have about how your manager is actually seeing your performance?”
  Questions like these invite clients to step outside their current perspective and consider possibilities they may not have noticed. The intention is not to convince clients to think differently, but to help them discover that there are many ways of looking at the same situation.
• Keep the focus on the person . As coaches, it is easy to become absorbed in understanding the problem. However, awareness grows when our questions explore the person rather than the problem.
  If a client is struggling with a difficult relationship with their manager, asking about project deliverables or how long they have worked together may provide useful context, but it does not necessarily deepen awareness.
  Instead, questions such as “How do you feel when you walk into a meeting with your manager?”, “What do you think is contributing to this situation?” or “How do you usually respond when this happens?” encourage clients to explore their own thinking, emotions and behaviour.
  It is this inner exploration that creates the possibility for lasting change.

What we’re looking for:

• Did you support the client in viewing the situation from different perspectives?
• Did you ask about the client’s feelings, perceptions, behaviors, or beliefs?
• Did you ask clear, open-ended questions, one at a time?

8. Facilitates Client Growth

The role of a coach is to deepen the awareness and further the action.  This competency deals with the latter aspect of coaching.
As the conversation draws to a close, it is useful to pause and help the client reflect on what has shifted. Questions such as “What has changed for you during this conversation?”, “What would you like to do with this insight?” or “Now that you see this differently, what would you like to do next?” help clients move naturally from reflection to action.
From there, partner with the client to shape actions that are meaningful and realistic. Explore what success would look like, what might get in the way and how they will know they are making progress. There is no formula for these questions. They simply need to support the client's own commitment and ownership.
Close the session as a partnership. The way a coaching conversation ends is just as important as the way it begins. Rather than closing abruptly, invite the client to complete the conversation with intention.
You might ask whether there is anything they would like to carry into the next session, whether the conversation feels complete, or how they are feeling as they bring the session to a close.
A thoughtful ending reinforces one of the central principles of coaching: throughout the conversation, the client remains in charge.

What we’re looking for:

• Did you ask questions about what the client had learned during the session?
• Did you help the client use their learning to plan next steps?
• Did you close the session in partnership with the client?

A quick checklist: what assessors are really looking for