Mentor coaching is a valuable process that helps you become a better, more effective life coach. Receiving mentor coaching is also part of the ICF’s requirements for certification. Our trainers use Marshall Goldsmith’s framework of feedforward rather than feedback in mentoring sessions with coaches. Feedforward is focusing attention and energy on what you can do better in the future, rather than focusing on past mistakes. It puts Carol Dweck’s concept of growth mindset into practice.

Benefits of Mentor Coaching

The first step is to listen to your recording before submitting it to your trainer. Listening to yourself coach will make a difference in your growth. As you listen, mark the timestamps of areas of success and areas that could use feedback. This will help both you and your mentor coach provide strong feedback.
You get to listen to yourself with your trainer also present, offering feedback. Often, beginning coaches are way too hard on themselves. This is a chance for you to listen to yourself with a supportive trainer. It might not be the most pleasant to hear yourself on a recording, but seeing what you’re doing right, and getting tangible ideas for what to do better, is priceless. You will leave the life coach session overviews with action steps to make you a better coach.
You get to include your feedback in your next client session. Including feedback in your next client session, hearing the difference that feedback makes, and seeing yourself improve as a coach, gives you a boost. It allows you to chart your progress, share it with your trainer, celebrate, and gain confidence in your life coaching skills.

Formats for Mentor Coaching

Mentor coaching is a valuable part of the coach training process and is required for certification. To become a certified coach with the ICF, you will need to complete a total of 10 mentor coaching hours. Coach Training EDU offers you the opportunity to complete these mentor coaching hours in two ways.

One-to-one Mentor Coaching

All of Coach Training EDU’s 1.0 and 2.0 Training Programs include 3 hours of one-on-one mentor coaching. These are also known as your coach-client overviews. You will schedule these throughout your training with your lead trainer. Your trainer will review your call according to the core competencies set out by the ICF, and you will receive feedback to incorporate into your next coaching sessions. These one-to-one mentor coaching sessions set the stage for group mentor coaching.

Group Mentor Coaching

Group Mentor Coaching is offered in small groups. Group sizes range between four to eight coaches, and a new mentor coaching group starts approximately four times a year. Most coaches start group mentor coaching within a few months of finishing their initial training. Groups meet once a week for one hour to review coach-client calls. One of the most significant benefits is being able to listen to other coaches' work. Group mentor coaching looks at both specific coaching skills and different coaching styles.

For tuition information on Group Mentor Coaching, please visit the pricing page.

The process of mentor coaching can seem daunting. It requires that you record yourself working with a client, listen to that recording with someone else–or multiple other people–then receive feedback. However, the feedback you receive throughout your mentor coaching experience will mostly be forward-focused and concentrated on what you can do better moving forward.

Here you will find more information about how to prepare for mentor coaching and what to expect.