ICF Markers

Curiosity is the foundation of coaching. Consider yourself a student of your client, partnering to understand their world deeply. This means not just what's present, but also what lies beneath the surface or what's on the horizon for your client. Being curious about their future perspective adds value to coaching.

Effective coaching requires becoming an effective learner. When you immerse yourself in your client's world and discover new possibilities, you're on the right track. Clients' lives are like masterpieces, and our role is to appreciate them and ask clients about their next steps, reasons, timelines, and personal growth in the process.

To simplify the process and create a more consistent standard of coaching, the ICF has updated the way they score coach evaluations. 

The performance evaluation includes eight sets of qualifying markers, and one set of disqualifying markers that need to be present for a coach to become ICF credentialed. The markers are based on the ICF’s eight core competencies of coaching.

The ICF Marker pages are a resource to support coaches in preparing for the ICF performance evaluations. They outline the minimum skill level required for demonstrating ACC competency and identify non-coaching behaviors to avoid during the ACC performance evaluation. 

The markers have been changed into yes/no questions to mimic the evaluation, give some commentary, and suggest questions to include in your coaching as an additional resource for coaches.