"Success is a bad teacher.

It tempts clever people to consider that they cannot lose"

Bill Gates

Membership in (ICU)

You can find out more detailed and new information about membership in the International Coaches Union on the ICU Association website: www.coachunion.com or by emailing info@coachunion.com

To become an ICU  member it is necessary to pass ICU program coaches training and to show the necessary level of competence in coaching toolkit use or to give Accredited Institutes certificates of professional training in coaching.

Membership will allow to have a constant discount for visiting all events of the union. To pass additional training for a coach trainer and, consequently, become an accredited coach trainer of the International Coaches Union.

Core Coaching Competencies (according to T. Leonard)

1. Meeting Ethical Code and Professional Standards - Understanding of coaching ethics and standards and ability to apply them appropriately in all coaching situations

a. Understands and follows all ICU Ethical Code and the ICU Standards of Conduct

b. Clearly communicates the distinctions between coaching, consulting, psychotherapy and other support professions

c. Refers client to another support professional as needed, knowing when this is needed and the available resources

2. Establish the Coaching Agreement - Ability to understand what is required in the specific coaching interaction and to come to agreement with the prospective and new client about the coaching process and relationship

a. Understands and effectively discusses with the client the guidelines and specific parameters of the coaching relationship (e.g., logistics, fees, scheduling, inclusion of others if appropriate)

b. Reaches agreement about what is appropriate in the relationship and what is not, what is and is not being offered, and about the client's and coach's responsibilities

c. Determines whether there is an effective match between his/her coaching method and the needs of the prospective client

3. Establishing Trust and Intimacy with the Client - Ability to create a safe, supportive environment that produces ongoing mutual respect and trust

a. Shows genuine concern for the client's welfare and future

b. Continuously demonstrates personal integrity, honesty and sincerity

c. Establishes clear agreements and keeps promises

d. Demonstrates respect for client's perceptions, learning style, personal being

e. Provides ongoing support for and champions new behaviors and actions, including those involving risk taking and fear of failure

f. Asks permission to coach client in sensitive, new areas

4. Coaching Presence - Ability to be fully conscious and create spontaneous relationship with the client, employing a style that is open, flexible and confident

a. Is present and flexible during the coaching process

b. Accesses own intuition and trusts one's inner knowing

c. Is open to not knowing and takes risks

d. Sees many ways to work with the client, and chooses in the moment what is most effective

e. Uses humor effectively to create lightness and energy

f. Confidently shifts perspectives and experiments with new possibilities for own action

g. Demonstrates confidence in working with strong emotions, and can self-manage and not be overpowered or enmeshed by client's emotions

5. Active Listening - Ability to focus completely on what the client is saying and is not saying, to understand the meaning of what is said in the context of the client's desires, and to support client self- expression

a. Attends to the client and the client's agenda, and not to the coach's agenda for the client

b. Hears the client's concerns, goals, values and beliefs about what is and is not possible

c. Distinguishes between the words, the tone of voice, and the body language

d. Summarizes, paraphrases, reiterates, mirrors back what client has said to ensure clarity and understanding

e. Encourages, accepts, explores and reinforces the client's expression of feelings, perceptions, concerns, beliefs, suggestions, etc.

f. Integrates and builds on client's ideas and suggestions

g. "Bottom-lines" or understands the essence of the client's communication and helps the client get there rather than engaging in long descriptive stories

h. Allows the client to vent or "clear" the situation without judgment or attachment in order to move on to next steps

6. Powerful Questioning - Ability to ask questions that reveal the information needed for maximum benefit to the coaching relationship and the client

a. Asks questions that reflect active listening and an understanding of the client's perspective

b. Asks questions that evoke discovery, insight, commitment or action (e.g., those that challenge the client's assumptions)

c. Asks open-ended questions that create greater clarity, possibility or new learning

d. Asks questions that move the client towards what they desire, not questions that ask for the client to justify or look backwards

7. Direct Communication - Ability to communicate effectively during coaching sessions, and to use language that has the greatest positive impact on the client

a. Is clear, articulate and direct in sharing and providing feedback

b. Reframes and articulates to help the client understand from another perspective what he/she wants or is uncertain about

c. Clearly states coaching objectives, meeting agenda, purpose of techniques or exercises

d. Uses language appropriate and respectful to the client (e.g., non- sexist, non-racist, non-technical, non-jargon)

e. Uses metaphor and analogy to help to illustrate a point or paint a verbal picture

8. Creating Awareness - Ability to integrate and accurately evaluate multiple sources of information, and to make interpretations that help the client to gain awareness and thereby achieve agreed-upon results

a. Goes beyond what is said in assessing client's concerns, not getting caught up in by the client's description

b. Invokes inquiry for greater understanding, awareness and clarity

c. Identifies with the client his/her underlying concerns, typical and fixed ways of perceiving himself/herself and the world, differences between the facts and the interpretation, disparities between thoughts, feelings and action

d. Helps clients to discover for themselves the new thoughts, beliefs, perceptions, emotions, moods, etc. that strengthen their ability to take action and achieve what is important to them

e. Communicates broader perspectives to clients and inspires commitment to shift their viewpoints and find new possibilities for action

f. Helps clients to see the different, interrelated factors that affect them and their behaviors (e.g., thoughts, emotions, body, background)

g. Expresses insights to clients in ways that are useful and meaningful for the client

h. Identifies major strengths vs. major areas for learning and growth, and what is most important to address during coaching

i. Asks the client to distinguish between trivial and significant issues, situational vs. recurring behaviors, when detecting a separation between what is being stated and what is being done

9. Designing Actions - Ability to create with the client opportunities for ongoing learning, during coaching and in work/life situations, and for taking new actions that will most effectively lead to agreed- upon coaching results

a. Brainstorms and assists the client to define actions that will enable the client to demonstrate, practice and deepen new learning

b. Helps the client to focus on and systematically explore specific concerns and opportunities that are central to agreed-upon coaching goals

c. Engages the client to explore alternative ideas and solutions, to evaluate options, and to make related decisions

d. Promotes active experimentation and self- discovery, where the client applies what has been discussed and learned during sessions immediately afterwards in his/her work or life setting

e. Celebrates client successes and capabilities for future growth

f. Challenges client's assumptions and perspectives to provoke new ideas and find new possibilities for action

g. Advocates or brings forward points of view that are aligned with client goals and, without attachment, engages the client to consider them

h. Helps the client "Do It Now" during the coaching session, providing immediate support

i. Encourages stretches and challenges but also a comfortable pace of learning

10. Planning and Goal Setting - Ability to develop and maintain an effective coaching plan with the client

a. Consolidates collected information and establishes a coaching plan and development goals with the client that address concerns and major areas for learning and development

b. Creates a plan with results that are attainable, measurable, specific and have target dates

c. Makes plan adjustments as warranted by the coaching process and by changes in the situation

d. Helps the client identify and access different resources for learning (e.g., books, other professionals)

e. Identifies and targets early successes that are important to the client

11. Managing Progress and Accountability - Ability to hold attention on what is important for the client, and to leave responsibility with the client to take action

a. Clearly requests of the client actions that will move the client toward their stated goals

b. Demonstrates follow through by asking the client about those actions that the client committed to during the previous session(s)

c. Acknowledges the client for what they have done, not done, learned or become aware of since the previous coaching session(s)

d. Effectively prepares, organizes and reviews with client information obtained during sessions

e. Keeps the client on track between sessions by holding attention on the coaching plan and outcomes, agreed-upon courses of action, and topics for future session(s)

f. Focuses on the coaching plan but is also open to adjusting behaviors and actions based on the coaching process and shifts in direction during sessions

g. Is able to move back and forth between the big picture of where the client is heading, setting a context for what is being

discussed and where the client wishes to go h. Promotes client's self-discipline and holds the client accountable for what they say they are going to do, for the results of an intended action, or for a specific plan with related time frames

i. Develops the client's ability to make decisions, address key concerns, and develop himself/herself (to get feedback, to determine priorities and set the pace of learning, to reflect on and learn from experiences)

j. Positively confronts the client with the fact that he/she did not take agreed-upon actions

 

Coaches of ICU show expertise when dealing with individual, transformational and team coaching.

Standard sessions of the Program «Professional Coach ICU»

I Individual Coaching.

1-4 sessions: Behavioral Coaching 

1. Classic session (GROW-model)
2. Strategic coaching session (the wheel of life)
3. Work with addictions and dependencies
4. Individual coaching-training

5-12 sessions:  Transformational coaching 

1. Work on a transformation of values and beliefs
2. Work on timeline change
3. Epistemological nondirective metaphors
4. Epistemological metaphors based on the method of «Symbol drama»
5. Directive epistemological metaphors
6. Storytelling isomorphic metaphors
7. Work with person’s parts
8. “Core” or integrative transformation.

International Coaches Union, ICU, actively uses technology "transformational coaching" when the client, with the support of a coach, is proactively working on internal changes in order to achieve a particular goal. Due to a clear understanding of the differences between diverse existing professional care disciplines such as psychotherapy, counselling, and consulting, International Union Coach has developed features and applicable scenarios where Transformational Coaching is the proper choice.

According to the ICU criteria, here are 5 applicable scenarios for transformational coaching application:

1. Request of a client
2. The state of a blind alley (dead lock)
3. No changes after previous coaching sessions
4. Conflict of values (or goals)
5. There’s no relevance between identity of a person and his goal

 

II Core skills of team coaching of ICU:

1 Basic Skills of a classical coaching.

2 Skills of verbal and nonverbal group managing techniques (specific gestures, labeling, anchors, use of space, psychogeography method, "withdrawal" from the discussions).

3 Property rhetorical devices (signaling, rhetorical questions, markers, tropes).

4 Abilities related to the management 1 and 2 phases of group dynamics.

5 Skill of creating coaching-training.

6 Techniques to organise the search process of creative solutions in team coaching (possibility to use various methods of brainstorming, moderative methods, the search for solutions through associations)

7 Skills of using the model SOAR to conduct a coaching session on the basis of system processes.

8 Success in using the Cotter's model.

9 Adequation using the Senge's model.

10 Skills of using the coaching techniques to solve conflicts and mediation. Strategies to find solution for conflicts.

III Additional skills:

1 Helping clients during their acute and chronic stress.

2 Development of skills associated with marketing and promotion of coaching.

IV Formats of coaching application (5 formats) in management:

1. Meeting (conference) based on the coaching methodology
2. «Corridor» coaching
3. Classical coaching
4. Teambuilding
5. Learning of the staff

Coaching Principles (T. Leonard) (Coaching Philosophy).

Coaching Principle 1.  Any situation can be optimized, even if already impressive.
Coaching Principle 2. When one is fully understood, one moves forward quickly.
Coaching Principle 3.  Synergy causes better results, much more efficiently.
Coaching Principle 4.  Problems virtually disappear with a strong foundation.
Coaching Principle 5.  Sometimes the client has the answer; sometimes the coach.

Coaching Principle 6.  One can have a perfect life or business.
Coaching Principle 7.  Most humans operate at far less then their potential.
Coaching Principle 8.  People do what they do because there is nothing more compelling to do.
Coaching Principle 9.  Success is becoming a basic human right.
Coaching Principle 10.  Most people don't know what they truly want.

Coaching Principle 11.  Tolerations are more expensive than people realize.
Coaching Principle 12.  We are all Picassos-in-training.
Coaching Principle 13.  There's always a simpler way that is easier for everyone.
Coaching Principle 14.  The recognition of distinctions evolves people.
Coaching Principle 15.  Expressing values brings one fulfillment.

Coaching Principle 16.  Selfishness is a truly generous thing.
Coaching Principle 17.  Cyber-Skills are not optional in our lives.
Coaching Principle 18.  Fear is best understood, not overridden or overcome.
Coaching Principle 19.  The Attraction Approach brings the best of life to you.
Coaching Principle 20.  Coaching is inter-developmental for both parties.

Coaching Principle 21.  The perfect goal naturally self-motivates a person.
Coaching Principle 22.  Value is defined by the client not by the coach.
Coaching Principle 23.  Humility is optional.
Coaching Principle 24.  Retirement is becoming irrelevant.
Coaching Principle 25.  The intersection of integration and responsibility is balance.

Coaching Principle 26.  Paradigms often need to be replaced with bigger ones.
Coaching Principle 27.  People do better when they've customized their P.O.S.
Coaching Principle 28.  Clients want to be great clients.
Coaching Principle 29.  We are just learning how to coach.
Coaching Principle 30.  The right question reorients the client in an instant.

Coaching Principle 31.  Language expands and accelerates awareness.
Coaching Principle 32.  Strategy first; action plan second.
Coaching Principle 33.  Inklings are the precursors to truth.
Coaching Principle 34.  Personal needs can be met, forever.
Coaching Principle 35.  Systems improve productivity and afford achievement.

Coaching Principle 36.  Upgrading your energy sources enhances your life experience.
Coaching Principle 37.  Standards set the tone for your life.
Coaching Principle 38.  Experimentation leads to serendipity.
Coaching Principle 39.  Everyone has a vision, they just don't know it yet.
Coaching Principle 40.  A lifestyle is not necessarily a life.

Coaching Principle 41.  Delay disappears opportunities.
Coaching Principle 42.  An embarrassing weakness is often a key strength.
Coaching Principle 43.  Every problem has a simple cause.
Coaching Principle 44.  Environments can be crafted to evolve you.
Coaching Principle 45.  The client is always advising you where to go next with them.

Coaching Principle 46.  Openness affords awareness; willingness affords openness.
Coaching Principle 47.  We react to what we have not yet included about ourselves.
Coaching Principle 48.  People resist what they feel they cannot afford to be true.
Coaching Principle 49.  People are enriched by a wide variety of sources.
Coaching Principle 50.  Humans have an unstoppable urge to become.

Membership Criteria

1. ICU Certified Associated Coach

To become an Associated Coach in ICU the student should have at least 200 hours of practical training in coaching (including a professional training course of coaching, personal change work and client work). An Associate Coach member possesses a basic level of coaching expertise and must be able to demonstate 11 Core Coaching Competencies (according to T. Leonard) and:

Create rapport to any coachee

Identify the problem behind the symptom

Assist Coachee to elicit the core values and to resolve conflicting values

Assist Coachee at both the conscious and subconscious levels

Assist Coachee to set up an ecological goal and create focus towards that

Assist Coachee to identify resistance, check the ecology and if necessary create the change needed to achieve the goal

Assist Coachee to set up a plan of action and a way to evaluate the steps leading to the goal.

A Professional ICU Trainer can evaluate and certify at this membership level. Certification takes place as a written evaluation covering basic knowledge of the coaching and an coaching session.

 

2. ICU Certified Professional Coach

To become an Associated Coach in ICU the student should have at least 16 full days of practical training in coaching, practise of coaching, personal change work, client work and supervision. An Professional Coach  possesses a professional level of coaching expertise and must be able to demonstate 11 Core Coaching Competencies (according to T. Leonard) and:

Create rapport to any coachee

Identify the problem behind the symptom

Assist Coachee to elicit the core values and to resolve conflicting values

Assist Coachee at both the conscious and subconscious levels

Assist Coachee to set up an ecological goal and create focus towards that

Assist Coachee to identify resistance, check the ecology and if necessary create the change needed to achieve the goal

Assist Coachee to set up a plan of action and a way to evaluate the steps leading to the goal.

A Professional ICU Trainer can evaluate and certify at this membership level. Certification takes place as a written evaluation covering basic and advanced knowledge of the coaching and an coaching session.

  

3. ICU PROFESSIONAL MASTER COACH:

 

To become certified as an ICU Professional Master Coach the student must have 500 hours of professional training including             

 

at least 30 hours of received personal coaching, 

at least 20 hours of received supervision on her/his client work given by a professional supervisor acknowledged by the accredited institute,

at least 50 hours of coaching sessions given to more then 10 clients unknown to the student.

The Accredited ICU Institute decides the methodology and contents of the training courses.                                                 

 

 Certification takes place individually by presenting a session either with a live client or on video to a Master Trainer from an Accredited ICU Institute.

 

A Certified Professsional Master Coach is a person who demonstates 11 Core Coaching Competencies (according to T. Leonard) and:

 

Creates rapport at a deep level to any coachee

Identifies the patterns and basic problems behind the behavior

Assists Coachee to elicit core values and to resolve conflicting values

Assists Coachee to make lasting change at the deep level

Assists Coachee to set up an ecological goal and create focus towards that

Assists Coachee to set up a plan of action and to find the deep motivation to create the life s/he wants.

Only Master Trainers can evaluate and certify Master Coaches

 

4. ICU PROFESSIONAL TRAINER:

 

To become certified as an ICU Professional Trainer the student must have 500 hours of professional training, including

 

 

    at least 200 hours of basic training in practical psychology - including a professional training course, personal change work and client work

    at least 200 hours training courses in coaching

    at least 100 hours Trainer’s Training course.

 

Certification takes place as a written evaluation covering basic and advanced knowledge of the coaching and an oral teaching session, evaluated by a Master Trainer from an accredited ICU Institute. 

 

A Professional Trainer is a person who

 

Creates rapport at a deep level with any group

Can lead the group participants into different states to support their learning

Can teach any topic within his chosen branch overtly and covertly

Can teach to the participants’ conscious as well as subconscious mind

Supports participant’s learning processes and growth in many ways

Can design new training courses and exercises

Can do effective demonstrations of all topics within his branch

Can give feedback to others with excellent rapport

Only Master Trainers can evaluate and certify Trainers.

The annual fee for Professional ICU Master Coach/ Trainer  is 100 $.       

 

Accredited Institute 

An ICU Accredited Institute is headed by a Professional Master Trainer 

 

* People trained somewhere else than with an ICU Accredited Institute can join ICU if they fulfill the criteria and can provide all the necessary documentation for that (certificates, documented client work, individual coaching and supervision).