7-hour Group Mentor Coaching Program

Pre-work for Week 1: “Foundation”

Focus on ICF Core Competencies 1 and 2

Core Competency 1: Demonstrates Ethical Practice
DEFINITION: Understands and consistently applies coaching ethics and standards of coaching.

Core Competency 2: Embodies a Coaching Mindset
DEFINITION: Develops and maintains a mindset that is open, curious, flexible and client-centered

Required pre-work for Session 1

Before our introductory session, could you please:

  1. Familiarise (or re-familiarise!) yourself with the 8 ICF Core Competencies and Sub-Competencies. These were updated in September 2025 and the ICF produced a fantastic comparison chart between the 2019 and updated 2025 Core Competencies.

  2. Read (or re-read!) the ICF Code of Ethics on the ICF website.

  3. Read the attached article on Coaching Ethics and think about these questions:
    (a) what resonates with you, and
    (b) what is an ethical dilemma you have faced (or may face) in your coaching practice?

Optional pre-work for Session 1

The following is not required, but if you want something extra:

Ethics

  1. You might also like to watch this 30-minute CoachX Conversation with Robert Biswas-Diener on Coaching Ethics.
  2. If you haven’t already, please complete the ICF’s complimentary ethics training course – this forms part of gaining your credential with the ICF and is a good thing to do regardless.

Minimum Skills Requirements at each ICF Credential Level

There are Minimum Skills Requirements at each ICF credential level (ACC, PCC, and MCC).

  • ACC Minimum Skills Requirements: We will utilise the PCC Markers in this program (see next bullet point), but if you are applying for (or renewing) your ACC I suggest you also read the ACC Minimum Requirements on the ICF website. For each Competency you can highlight the reasons why you would not receive a passing score for on the ACC performance evaluation.
  • PCC Markers: You can read through the PCC Markers on the ICF website – these markers are the indicators that an ICF Assessor is trained to listen for to determine which ICF Core Competencies are in evidence in your recorded coaching conversation, and to what extent. They are behaviours that represent demonstration of the Core Competencies in a coaching conversation at the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) level.

ICF Video Series on Core Competencies

The ICF created a video series and there is a short YouTube video about each Core Competency. Depending on your learning style, you may find these videos useful.

ICF Core Competency 1: Demonstrates Ethical Practice
ICF Core Competency 2: Embodies a Coaching Mindset