ICF’s recent Special Update regarding new requirements for de ACC & PCC certifications has generated a lot of movement among coaches.
While the new regulations do open opportunities for coaches considering a mentor training course, as this means they can add this service to their practice and so generate new forms of income, it has also been a source of stress for coaches aspiring to obtain certifications before the grace period passes.
Read more about these changes in the ICF certification here
Recently I heard about mentor coaches giving one-day workshops for 10 mentor hours, aspirants not passing the ICF certification while their mentor coach told them that recordings they want to use were good for obtaining a certification, and mentor coaches assuring their clients they would get the certification they were seeking, I decided to research what was happening. I came to the conclusion that the public is misinformed.
Here two myths clients have about mentor coaches:
Myth 1: All mentor coaches offering services are trained in mentoring
Coaches assume that because they hire a certified coach for mentoring them, the mentors have followed a mentor training. The truth is that most “mentor coaches” have never been trained to become mentor coaches. Many of them do not know or understand the ICF certification procedure, do not have a good grasp of how the core competencies process work, nor master the coaching markers ICF uses, neither have a good idea of the certification changes the ICF introduces every so often.
Reality: being a good coach does not render you a mentor coach, or a trainer. Mentoring is more than just listening to a recording and have a conversation about it.
Myth 2: The ICF registry for Mentor Coaches is a list of trained mentor coaches
The ICF registry for mentor coaches lists about +900 English speaking mentor coaches, plus many mentors who coach in other languages. So it’s fair to say that close to 1000 coaches are working as mentor coaches.
My research shows that there are about 4 – 5 training programs certifying mentor coaches. These programs have been running for about 2 – 3 years. If we can take an average of 10 participants per program, this means that there must be about 100 certified mentor coaches in the market! This is ICF certified coaches that have followed a mentor coach training.
Reality: Double check that the mentor coach you are considering to work with is a trained mentor coach
It’s time to be better informed about mentor coaching and get trained as a mentor coach by a renowned coaching school if you are going to offer it as a service.
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Myths about ICF mentor coaches
Edmée is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and a Certified Mentor Coach with over 15 years of broad international experience supporting coaches to prepare for ICF certifications and individuals with their personal growth. Her trademark course