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In the field of professional coaching, the International Coach Federation (ICF) Core Competencies guide coaches in their practice and professional development.

These core competencies are not just a theoretical framework, but an honest reflection of the collective understanding and commitment of ICF coaches worldwide towards upholding the highest standards in their work.

ICF Core Competency: Maintains Presence

Defined by the International Coaching Federation, Maintains Presence means that a coach “is fully conscious and present with the client, employing a style that is open, flexible, grounded and confident.” 

This competency is made up of sub-competencies, so let’s explore those together.

Remains focused, observant, empathetic, and responsive to the client.

Mastering focus, observance, and empathy means improving our ability to direct and maintain attention—a crucial skill for any coach. 

Typically, attention is a passive process, it wanders and meanders. Recognizing and harnessing our attention is like training a muscle or learning a new skill –  it requires dedicated practice. 

The first step in this training is simply to become aware of your attention—where it is directed and when it drifts.

Here's what practical application looks like:

Monitor Your Attention: Start by noticing and taking control of your focus. Our attention spans are frequently challenged in today's fast-paced environment. Historically, human attention spans were around four minutes, but now, some experts believe this has reduced to approximately 45 seconds or less.

Manage Your Environment: Opt for coaching environments that minimize distractions. Many coaches prefer telephone sessions over in-person or video sessions to reduce visual distractions that might take attention away from deeply listening to the client.

Prepare Your Space: Assess and prepare your coaching space to eliminate potential distractions. This could involve ensuring a quiet space free from interruptions by children, pets, or electronic devices.

Think of your client sessions as a break from your own life, free from alerts and distractions, to help create a mindset wholly focused on the client. 

This involves being acutely aware of how much you are truly present with your clients, often reflected through active listening and your ability to be observant, responsive, and empathetic.

Demonstrates curiosity during the coaching process

Clients bring us along on the vast journey of their lives, presenting us with a fascinating exploration of their experiences, thoughts, milestones, and emotions. 

By dialing up our curiosity, we encounter the possibility of endless discovery within another person's world. Our clients' lives are as intricate and compelling as any novel or film, and by letting curiosity guide us, we can fully immerse ourselves in their narratives, anticipating their dreams, words, and actions.

Emphasizing curiosity helps us as coaches to reduce performance anxiety and detach from the pressure to perform based on our own self-image. Curiosity provides a liberating opportunity within the coaching process, allowing us to explore freely. For those who find curiosity does not come naturally, it can indeed be cultivated.

One effective concept to foster this curiosity is 'sonder'—a term coined by American author John Koenig in 2012. Sonder is the realization that every passerby lives a life as complex and rich as one’s own, filled with their own ambitions, worries, routines, and intricacies—yet remains mostly unnoticed by others.

Next time you are in a busy street or a grocery store, observe the people around you. Each person carries within them a universe, unique and profound. This awareness of depth can significantly enhance our capacity for curiosity. By recognizing the multitudes our clients contain, we are better positioned to unearth the valuable insights hidden within their stories.

Coaching is fundamentally a human endeavor, deeply intertwined with our own humanity and that of our clients. By nurturing our curiosity, we not only become better coaches but also more empathetic and connected human beings.

Manages one’s emotions to stay present with the client.

If personal issues are overwhelming and prevent us from being fully present and engaged during a session, ethical practice demands that we step back. 

This principle is so crucial it's incorporated into the ICF code of ethics. Remember, coaches are entitled to “ sick days” too – it's essential to recognize when personal circumstances might impair our ability to focus during coaching sessions.

Emotions can also surge unexpectedly during sessions. Even the most experienced coaches can find themselves triggered by a discussion that resonates deeply or brings up long-buried memories. Coaching is dynamic and unpredictable, and it's not uncommon for sessions to venture into emotionally charged territories.

If you find yourself emotionally triggered, it's appropriate to:

Pause and Regroup: Take a moment within the session to collect yourself. It's perfectly acceptable to acknowledge that you've encountered a personal emotional response and need to refocus on the client.

End the Session if Necessary: If regaining focus is not possible, or if you find yourself forming judgments about the client, professional ethics require that the session be concluded to maintain integrity.

Seek Supervision: It’s our responsibility as coaches to seek support or supervision when our emotional reactions interfere with our effectiveness.

Demonstrates confidence in managing strong client emotions during the coaching process

It's common for clients to exhibit a range of intense emotions during sessions, from regret and fear to anger, joy, excitement, anxiety, or disappointment. Encountering such emotions is a natural part of the process.

As coaches, our role is to create a space where these emotions can surface without judgment. While we don't need to resolve these emotions for our clients, it is crucial to encourage them to express what they are feeling. This approach helps us avoid making assumptions about their emotional states and the reasons behind them.

Comfort with these intense emotional moments doesn't always come naturally! Seeking coaching supervision or professional support to better handle our reactions to such emotions can be invaluable. This not only aids our development but also improves our ability to support our clients effectively.

Is comfortable working in a space of not knowing

Coaching is built on a foundation of exploration rather than exposition. Coaches don’t possess all the answers, in fact, clients are the experts on their own life.

The role of a coach is to accompany clients on their journey without leading them. This involves allowing clients to set the pace and direction of their goal achievement, sometimes against a backdrop of uncertainty. While this may challenge traditional notions of expertise, it is a critical skill for effective coaching.

As coaches, fostering an environment where clients feel empowered to explore their paths requires us to sometimes embrace not knowing the answers. This mindset adjustment is significant as it shifts the focus from the coach providing solutions to facilitating discovery. 

True performance in coaching isn't about delivering answers but about guiding clients to discover their own, even when the path isn’t clear to them.

Building this skill is essential for every coach who aims to genuinely support their clients' growth and development, acknowledging that the true expertise in a coaching relationship often lies within the client themselves.

Creates or allows space for silence, pause, or reflection

Many of us are conditioned to believe that professional effectiveness involves actively filling space with words or “useful” insights. However, in coaching, the reality is quite the opposite. 

The coach's role is to create a supportive environment where the client can explore thoughts, admit feelings, reason through challenges, make decisions, and plan actions. This process often means long periods of silence and reflection.

Silence between a coach and a client during a session typically signifies that both parties are engaged in deep thought or emotional processing. Recognizing and respecting this silence is important. It's a creative space where significant personal insights and decisions can surface.

Iit is within these quiet moments that clients can thoroughly consider the implications of their choices and the steps needed to enact change in their lives.

For coaches, learning to be comfortable with silence may initially be challenging. It requires resisting the impulse to fill every pause with conversation or guidance.

Mastering the use of silence and reflection not only enhances our effectiveness as coaches but also enriches our lives more broadly.

Interested in expanding your toolkit? 

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