Mentoring
‘Providing professional assistance in achieving and demonstrating the levels of coaching competency demanded by the desired credential level sought by a coach‐applicant (mentee)’
– The ICF
The International Coach Federation defines Mentor Coaching as: ‘Providing professional assistance in achieving and demonstrating the levels of coaching competency demanded by the desired credential level sought by a coach‐applicant (mentee)’ [ie, offering coaching on coaching skill / competency development]. For the purposes of credentialing exam requirements, mentor coaching means ‘an applicant being coached on their coaching skills rather than coaching on practice building, life balance, or other topics unrelated to the development of an applicant’s coaching skill’.
If you are applying for an ICF credential (ie, Associate Certified Coach (ACC), Professional Certified Coach (PCC) or Master Certified Coach (MCC)) you need 10 hours’ work with a qualified coach mentor who holds a PCC or MCC credential. Seven of these hours can be met though group Mentor Coaching with a minimum of 3 hours on a one-to-one basis.
Maximum Coaching’s Coach Mentor programme
Our ACC coach training programme includes the 10 hours’ Mentor Coaching requirement. Others don’t, with the result that many organisations find that they have completed their training but still need the 10 hours’ Mentor Coaching. We offer a cost-effective way of giving those organisations a total of 10.5 Mentor Coaching hours on a stand-alone basis through a series of group and individual sessions. In addition to providing the support needed for an ICF professional qualification the sessions also offer the opportunity to consolidate the organisation’s coaching community by offering continuing professional development to the internal coaching cohort.
The programme is run by Dr Elizabeth Crosse, who is one of just 1% of ICF-credentialled coaches worldwide to hold the coveted Master Certified Coach credential.
Mentor Coaching is about working with the whole coach learner for what is needed, and what they want to accomplish, in relationship to their journey as a coach. This may include any or all of the following three elements:
Professional skill competency development
- Coaching competency and skill assessment: observing actual coaching sessions and providing feedback specifically focused on the ICF Core Coaching Competencies
- Client case / situational support and related elements: support with specific client issues and challenges, for the purpose of doing the best (safest and most powerful) job
Personal development
- Seeing yourself in their relationship with their own world and evolve in their understanding, knowledge and experience
- Becoming more self-aware, responsible, insightful and masterful in relating to self and others
Professional / business development (if desired / relevant)
- Working as an internal coach
- Support with coaching education plans and processes
- Developing a business (coaching or otherwise)
- Integrating coaching into an existing or new business
- Bringing coaching into an organisation
The programme consists of a mixture of one-to-one and group sessions, giving you the benefits of learning that is specifically tailored to your needs with the synergy that comes from being part of a group process.
Of course, we cannot guarantee that as a result of the Mentor Coaching you will obtain the credential level you are seeking although we can promise that you will be well prepared to apply for the qualification. Our Mentor Coaching process will give you:
- An awareness of what you are doing well and what needs to be done to develop a deeper level of mastery in coaching
- Greater familiarity with the ICF code of conduct and ethical standards and how they come ‘alive’ in practice
- A greater understanding of the ICF core competencies and how they are demonstrated at each of the three levels of certification
- An opportunity to consolidate previous learning and reach further, broadening your coaching approach
- A clear understanding of who you are as a coach and your unique coaching offer
These are an opportunity to explore personal development needs in more depth. There will be time for you to be coached and reflect on the session and on the competences demonstrated. For each session you will also be asked to provide a recording of a client session so you can be given verbal and written feedback against the ICF Core Competency Framework.
Each one-to-one sessions is scheduled to last an hour.
‘I originally signed up for Mentor Coaching to meet the requirement for the ICF accreditation. In fact it was the best personal learning experience in my whole coaching journey. If I knew what I was going to get out of it at the beginning I would have done this even if I was not going to apply for a credential.’
– Internal Coach, Ministry of Justice
‘The group Mentor Coaching session was the best personal development experience I have had in the past three years. I got so much more from it than just building my coaching skills.’
– Internal coach, BIG
‘Elizabeth coached me in preparation for my ICF accreditation and provided real insight into my practice and competence. She went out of her way to help me consider my practice by providing valuable feedback on my coaching recordings. Elizabeth was really flexible with her time and provided an almost 24 hour service being prepared to answer emails and calls outside our coaching meetings. Elizabeth’s long-standing commitment to improving standards in coaching and her positioning at the forefront of UK standards meant she had a wealth of experience in this country and also internationally. She is very generous with information always prompting me to contribute and be involved in coaching initiatives.’
– Internal Coach, NHS
‘I can honestly say I would not have passed the ACC accreditation without Elizabeth’s challenging questions and insights. Elizabeth makes you think. She gets you to consider a range of other possibilities to really examine your coaching practice. I am a much better coach as a result of her supervision and guidance. I recommend her whole heartedly.’
– Internal coach, British Council
‘Elizabeth coach mentored me through my ICF ACC journey. She has been an incredible support. Her feedback and observations have helped me to reflect and develop my coaching practice. She is professional and passionate about doing the right thing. She has thought outside the box to enable me to access further development and has encouraged me to access CPD that has added value to my practice and opened my learning mindset.’
– Shona Hodgson, Learning and Development Specialist, Sales (Group HR), Nestlé UK
‘I really enjoyed working with Elizabeth. I decided to go ahead with the ICF ACC process in order to develop and hone my skills after a few years working as a coach and a lack of confidence that what I was doing was “right.” By the end of our sessions together I not only felt more confident than ever in my coaching skills, but I had a much clearer sense of where I wanted to go and who I wanted to be as a coach. From our first meeting, I found Elizabeth to be extremely warm, open and incredibly pragmatic when it came to the best way to approach things. Her versatile approach meant that every session was different according to what I wanted to cover, and she provided a platform for me to air my concerns, explore my purpose and evaluate my skills. She coached me, I coached her and she gave me invaluable feedback wearing her ICF assessor’s hat on my recorded session prior to submission. The real value-add with working with Elizabeth was that it wasn’t just about the core competencies and ticking the boxes, it was about who I am as a coach, what I have to offer the coaching community and where I want to take that. I have already recommended Elizabeth to several colleagues going through ICF accreditation or renewal, but I would not hesitate to recommend her as a coach’s coach, a supervisor or a mentor. I sincerely look forward to working with her again at another point in my career.’
– Sarah Creevey, Coach and trainer
For more information about Mentor Coaching, give us a call on 01582 463461. We’re here to help!
