What skills do I need to demonstrate to achieve the ACC credential of the International Coaching Federation?
September 25, 2020
If you’re familiar with all the words in the question above, chances are you’ve trained to be a certified coach (if not, please go here to see what that’s all about)
If the question is a relevant one for you, you would know that you are required to submit a recording of a coaching conversation as part of your ICF application that will be reviewed against the 11 ICF coaching competencies. I’ve had several trainee coachees do a recording and be very unsure of whether it meets the guidelines or not and the intent of this post is to help you do a self-evaluation for yourself.
The ICF has helpfully published a document with the minimum skills required for the ACC credential. It gives you an understanding of what assessors evaluate in relation to each competency, the minimum level of skill necessary to successfully demonstrate an ACC level of competency, and also what behaviours might prevent you from passing the credentialing process.
To quote the ICF “We hope the document helps each individual coach answer the following queries: What does it mean to be an ACC coach? What do ICF assessors listen for when they are evaluating an ACC coach? As I progress on my coaching journey, what are my strengths and what are the skill set areas that I need to grow to pass the ACC performance evaluation?”
We’ve culled out the behaviours into a more accessible table for your easy reference (scroll down). If you’d like to look at the original, it’s here https://coachfederation.org/msr
My recommendation would be that you read through your transcript with a specific focus on one competency each time; you could also ask your mentor coach for feedback on how you are doing versus these standards.
All the best! The world needs more coaches!
| Competency | Will pass if the coach | Will not pass if the coach |
|---|---|---|
|
Meeting Ethical Guidelines and Professional Standards Understanding of coaching ethics and standards and ability to apply them appropriately in all coaching situations |
|
Focuses primarily on telling the client what to do or how to do it (consulting mode) or if the conversation is based primarily in the past, particularly the emotional past (therapeutic mode). |
|
Establishing the Coaching Agreement Ability to understand what is required in the specific coaching interaction and to come to an agreement with the prospective and new client about the coaching process and relationship |
Asks the client what they want to work on and attends to that agenda throughout the coaching. | Chooses the topic for the client or if the coach does not coach around the topic the client has chosen. |
|
Establishing Trust and Intimacy with the Client Ability to create a safe, supportive environment that produces ongoing mutual respect and trust |
Shows genuine concern for the client and is attuned to client’s perceptions, learning style, and personal being at a basic level. The coach must also demonstrate an ability to provide ongoing support for new behaviors and actions at a basic level. |
|
|
Coaching Presence Ability to be fully conscious and create a spontaneous relationship with the client, employing a style that is open, flexible and confident |
Attends to client’s agenda, seeks information from the client about it, is responsive to that information as it relates particularly to actions to achieve the client’s agenda, and is attentive to what actions the client is taking in relation to agenda. | The ICF notes that trust and intimacy and presence are quite related competencies so the above would apply here as well |
|
Active Listening Ability to focus completely on what the client is saying and is not saying, to understand the meaning of what is said in the context of the client’s desires, and to support client self-expression |
Hears what the client says in relation to the client’s agenda, responds to it in relation to the client’s agenda, and the listening is focused on helping the client achieve their agenda. |
|
|
Powerful Questioning Ability to ask questions that reveal the information needed for maximum benefit to the coaching relationship and the client |
|
Does not focus on an inquiring versus telling methodology, if the majority of questions contain already pre-determined answers by the coach, or if the questions attend to an agenda or issues not set by the client, but set by the coach. |
|
Direct Communication Ability to communicate effectively during coaching sessions, and to use language that has the greatest positive impact on the client |
|
|
|
Creating Awareness Ability to integrate and accurately evaluate multiple sources of information, and to make interpretations that help the client to gain awareness and thereby achieve agreed-upon results |
|
|
|
Designing Actions Ability to create with the client opportunities for ongoing learning, during coaching in work/life situations, and for taking new actions that will most effectively lead to agreed-upon coaching results |
|
|
|
Planning and Goal Setting Ability to develop and maintain an effective coaching plan with the client |
|
|
|
Managing Progress and Accountability Ability to hold attention on what is important for the client, and to leave responsibility with the client to take action. |
Suggests measures of success and structures of accountability to the client and/or helps the client develop measures of success and structures of accountability that
The coach may suggest tools or structures to assist the client so long as the tools are not forced on the client and that the tools or structure bear an easily recognizable relationship to achieving the client’s stated agenda and desired outcome. |
|
[…] attention to the body language is a key part of being a coach. The ICF competency of “Active Listening” calls this out clearly in the definition itself “Focuses on what the client is and is not saying […]