Mentoring for Coaches
One thing I have learned from listening to a great many coaching sessions is that it is difficult to hear our own coaching clearly.
Most coaches can quickly identify everything they think they did wrong. They notice the question they wish they had asked, the moment they moved too quickly, or the opportunity they may have missed. What they often overlook is what they are already doing well and how they can build on it.
That is where mentor coaching can be especially valuable.
Mentor coaching gives you a place to step back from the session and look at your coaching with someone who knows what to listen for.
Together, we explore how the ICF Core Competencies are showing up in your work, what is helping the client, and where a different choice might have opened the conversation further.
As an ICF Master Certified Coach, active ICF Assessor, and Mentor Coach Specialist for ACC, PCC, and MCC, I have spent years listening closely to coaching conversations. My assessor experience gives me a strong understanding of the ICF standards, but mentor coaching is not simply about deciding whether a recording would meet a credential level.
When I work with you as a mentor coach, I want to help you understand your coaching more accurately. That includes identifying development areas, but it also means recognizing the strengths, instincts, and skills you may be taking for granted.
My feedback is specific and grounded in what actually happened in the conversation. We may look at how you established the agreement, what you noticed in the client’s words or energy, where you stayed curious, and where your own thinking may have entered the session. We also talk about what you might try next, so the feedback becomes something you can use rather than simply something you have received.
I am not interested in making your coaching sound like mine. Your coaching should continue to sound like you. My role is to help you become more intentional, more aware of your choices, and more confident in your ability to evaluate and develop your own work.
Learning in a Group
My current mentor coaching is offered through small ACC/PCC groups that combine shared learning with individual attention.
The group format gives coaches an opportunity to hear different perspectives, explore common coaching patterns, and learn from conversations that extend beyond their own recordings. The individual sessions allow us to focus more closely on your coaching, your questions, and the areas that matter most to your development.
Coaches often tell me that they learn as much from listening to the questions and observations of other coaches as they do from discussing their own work. It can be reassuring to discover that many of the challenges you are experiencing are not yours alone.
Mentor coaching is an ICF credentialing requirement, but I believe it can offer much more than hours to be documented on an application. Done well, it can change how you listen, how you make choices during a session, and how clearly you recognize the impact of your coaching.
View current ACC/PCC Group Mentor Coaching dates and program details.
