2026 ICF Southwest Speaker Presentation Form Page 1 of 2

**Speakers are asked to submit all presentation materials to event organizers no later than 2 weeks prior to the speaking event to contact@icfarizona.org**

Please identify your presentation objectives, outcomes, and details. 

Please provide the following information on your content to help us determine Continuing Credit Education Unit (CCEU) options.

Core Competencies and Resource Development Explanation

ICF Updated 2021 Core Competencies (For Reference)

Demonstrates Ethical Practice: Consistently applies coaching ethics and standards of coaching.

1. Demonstrates personal integrity & honesty in interactions with clients, sponsors and stakeholders
2. Is sensitive to clients' identity, environment, experiences, values and beliefs
3. Uses language appropriate and respectful to clients, sponsors and relevant stakeholders
4. Abides by the ICF Code of Ethics and upholds the Core Values
5. Maintains confidentiality with client information per stakeholder agreements and pertinent laws
6. Maintains the distinctions between coaching, consulting, psychotherapy and other professions
7. Refers clients to other support professionals, as appropriate

Embodies a Coaching Mindset: Maintains an open, curious, flexible and client-centered mindset.

1. Acknowledges that clients are responsible for their own choices
2. Engages in ongoing learning and development as a coach
3. Develops an ongoing reflective practice to enhance one's coaching
4. Remains aware of and open to the influence of context and culture on self and others
5. Uses awareness of self and one's intuition to benefit clients
6. Develops and maintains the ability to regulate one's emotions
7. Mentally and emotionally prepares for sessions
8. Seeks help from outside sources when necessary

Establishes and Maintains Agreements: Partners with the client and relevant stakeholders to create clear agreements about the coaching relationship, process, plans and goals. Establishes agreements for the overall coaching engagement as well as those for each coaching session.

1. Explains what coaching is and is not and describes the process to client and relevant stakeholders
2. Reaches agreement about what is and is not appropriate in the relationship, what is and is not being offered, and the responsibilities of the client and relevant stakeholders
3. Reaches agreement about the guidelines and specific parameters of the coaching relationship such as logistics, fees, scheduling, duration, termination, confidentiality and inclusion of others
4. Partners with client and relevant stakeholders to establish an overall coaching plan and goals
5. Partners with client to determine client-coach compatibility
6. Partners with client to identify or reconfirm what they want to accomplish in the session
7. Partners with client to define what the client believes they need to address or resolve in session
8. Partners with client to define or reconfirm measures of success for what the client wants to accomplish in the coaching engagement or individual session
9. Partners with client to manage the time and focus of the session
10. Continues coaching in the direction of the client's agenda unless the client indicates otherwise
11. Partners with client to end the coaching relationship in a way that honors the experience

Cultivates Trust and Safety: Partners with the client to create a safe, supportive environment that allows the client to share freely. Maintains a relationship of mutual respect and trust.

1. Seeks to understand the client within their context which may include their identity, environment, experiences, values and beliefs
2. Demonstrates respect for the client's identity, perceptions, style, language and adapts one's coaching to the client
3. Acknowledges and respects the client's unique talents, insights and work in the coaching process
4. Shows support, empathy and concern for the client
5. Supports the client's expression of feelings, perceptions, concerns, beliefs, suggestions
6. Demonstrates openness and transparency to display vulnerability and build trust with the client

Maintains Presence: Is fully conscious and present with the client, employing a style that is open, flexible, grounded and confident

1. Remains focused, observant, empathetic and responsive to the client
2. Demonstrates curiosity during the coaching process
3. Manages one's emotions to stay present with the client
4. Demonstrates confidence in working with strong client emotions during the coaching process
5. Is comfortable working in a space of not knowing
6. Creates or allows space for silence, pause or reflection

Listens Actively: Focuses on what the client is and is not saying to fully understand what is being communicated in the context of the client systems and to support client self-expression

1. Considers the client's context, identity, environment, experiences, values and beliefs to enhance understanding of what the client is communicating
2. Reflects or summarizes what the client communicated to ensure clarity and understanding
3. Recognizes and inquires when there is more to what the client is communicating
4. Notices, acknowledges, explores client's emotions, energy shifts, non-verbal cues, or behaviors
5. Integrates the client's words, tone of voice and body language to determine the full meaning of what is being communicated
6. Notices trends in the client's behaviors / emotions across sessions to discern themes and patterns

Evokes Awareness: Facilitates client insight and learning by using tools and techniques such as powerful questioning, silence, metaphor or analogy

1. Considers client experience when deciding what might be most useful
2. Challenges the client as a way to evoke awareness or insight
3. Asks questions about the client, such as their way of thinking, values, needs, wants and beliefs
4. Asks questions that help the client explore beyond current thinking
5. Invites the client to share more about their experience in the moment
6. Notices what is working to enhance client progress
7. Adjusts the coaching approach in response to the client's needs
8. Helps client identify factors that influence current / future patterns of behavior, thinking or emotion
9. Invites client to generate ideas about how to move forward and what they are willing or able to do
10. Supports the client in reframing perspectives
11. Shares observations, insights and feelings, without attachment, that have the potential to create new learning for the client

Facilitates Client Growth: Partners with the client to transform learning and insight into action. Promotes client autonomy in the coaching process.

1. Works with the client to integrate new awareness, insight or learning into their worldview and behaviors
2. Partners with the client to design goals, actions and accountability measures that integrate and expand new learning
3. Acknowledges and supports client autonomy in the design of goals, actions and methods of accountability
4. Supports client in identifying potential results or learning from identified action steps
5. Invites client to consider how to move forward, including resources, support and potential barriers
6. Partners with the client to summarize learning and insight within or between sessions
7. Celebrates the client's progress and successes
8. Partners with the client to close the session

ICF Team Coaching Competencies (For Reference)

Competency 1: Demonstrates Ethical Practice

1. Coaches the client team as a single entity
2. Maintains the distinction between team coaching, team building, team training, team consulting, team mentoring, team facilitation, and other team development modalities
3. Demonstrates the knowledge and skill needed to practice the specific blend of team development modalities that are being offered
4. Adopts more directive team development modalities only when needed to help the team achieve their goals
5. Maintains trust, transparency, and clarity when fulfilling multiple roles related to team coaching

Competency 2: Embodies a Coaching Mindset

1. Engages in coaching supervision for support, development, and accountability when needed
2. Remains objective and aware of team dynamics and patterns

Competency 3: Establishes and Maintains Agreements

1. Explains what team coaching is and is not, including how it differs from other team development modalities
2. Partners with all relevant parties, including the team leader, team members, stakeholders, and any co-coaches to collaboratively create clear agreements about the coaching relationship, processes, plans, development modalities, and goals
3. Partners with the team leader to determine how ownership of the coaching process will be shared among the coach, leader, and team

Competency 4: Cultivates Trust and Safety

1. Creates and maintains a safe space for open and honest team member interaction
2. Promotes the team viewing itself as a single entity with a common identity
3. Fosters expression of individual team members' and the collective team's feelings, perceptions, concerns, beliefs, hopes, and suggestions
4. Encourages participation and contribution by all team members
5. Partners with the team to develop, maintain, and reflect on team rules and norms
6. Promotes effective communication within the team
7. Partners with the team to identify and resolve internal conflict

Competency 5: Maintains Presence

1. Uses one's full range of sensory and perceptual abilities to focus on what is important to the coaching process
2. Uses a co-coach when agreed to by the team and sponsors and when doing so will allow the team coach to be more present in the team coaching session
3. Encourages team members to pause and reflect how they are interacting in team coaching sessions
4. Moves in and out of the team dialogue as appropriate

Competency 6: Listens Actively

1. Notices how the perspectives shared by each team member relate to other team members' views and the team dialogue
2. Notices how each team member impacts the collective team energy, engagement, and focus
3. Notices verbal and non-verbal communication patterns among team members to identify potential alliances, conflicts, and growth opportunities
4. Models confident, effective communication and collaboration when working with a co-coach or other experts
5. Encourages the team to own the dialogue

Competency 7: Evokes Awareness

1. Challenges the team's assumptions, behaviors, and meaning-making processes to enhance their collective awareness or insight
2. Uses questions and other techniques to foster team development and facilitate the team's ownership of their collective dialogue

Competency 8: Facilitates Client Growth

1. Encourages dialogue and reflection to help the team identify their goals and the steps to achieve those goals