The Coach Within
Jul 09, 2025
The Coach Within: Strengthening Mindset and Presence in Practice
Competencies 2 and 5 in Practice
Core Competency 2: Embodies a Coaching Mindset and Core Competency 5: Maintains Presence are essential elements of effective coaching. One anchors the coach in continuous self-awareness and reflection, and the other focuses on how the coach shows up in real-time with the client. While they serve different functions within the ICF Core Competency Model, they are not separate or sequential. These competencies are intertwined, each reinforcing and enabling the other in the dynamic flow of a coaching conversation.
Shared Foundations: Conscious Self-Leadership
At the heart of both competencies is the coach’s commitment to conscious self-leadership. Competency 2 requires the coach to engage in ongoing learning and development, to be aware of their mental and emotional state, and to regulate those responses in service of the client. This includes using supervision or mentoring, staying grounded in ethical practice, and bringing curiosity to one’s own inner experiences as a coach.
Competency 5 builds on this foundation. It’s about being present in the moment with the client—mentally, emotionally, and somatically. It asks the coach to stay responsive, grounded, and open to what emerges, even when the conversation is uncertain, complex, or emotionally charged.
The more you invest in Competency 2, the more naturally Competency 5 becomes available in your coaching. For example, a coach who has done reflective work on their own fear of silence will be better equipped to allow space in the session when a client falls quiet, rather than rushing in to fill the gap. That comfort in holding space directly supports PCC Marker 5.4: Creates or allows for silence, pause or reflection.
Dynamic Interaction, in Action
Reinforcing the Coaching Partnership
These competencies come to life through their interaction. An example from one of my own recent coaching sessions illustrates this well.
My client began with a topic around team dynamics and soon became unexpectedly emotional. As the coach, I noticed my own internal response—an impulse to move toward fixing or softening the emotion. Drawing on Competency 2, I recognised this reaction, grounded myself, and chose to stay with the client’s experience. This intentional pause allowed me to hold the space rather than shift away.
To move forward, my response was: “There’s emotion coming up—what’s happening for you right now?” The question gave the client permission to access deeper insight, and the session moved toward clarity and release.
That moment reflected both Competency 2 (through self-regulation, awareness and mindset), and Competency 5 (staying present, being responsive and allowing). It also demonstrated PCC Marker 2.3: develops and maintains the ability to regulate emotions and PCC Marker 5.1: remains focused, observant, empathetic and responsive to the client.
Together, these competencies help us coach with greater intention and confidence. We become better equipped to remain in the coaching role, resist habitual responses, and serve the client with more presence and trust in their resourcefulness.
Using Competencies 2 and 5 in tandem also strengthens the coaching partnership. When we bring presence and mindset together, we communicate that we are here for the client—not to direct or diagnose, but to walk beside them as they think, feel, and reflect.
Clients often sense this difference. They may not articulate it as “presence” or “mindset,” but they experience it as space to think, to feel safe, and to go deeper. Holding presence while regulating our own internal process is what creates the relational safety that enables breakthrough.
This approach also models emotional intelligence and personal responsibility—important for clients who are navigating their own leadership or life challenges.
Practical Strategies for Integration
To deepen your practice of these competencies:
- Pre-session: Take two minutes before each session to check in. What are you bringing in emotionally or mentally? What do you need to let go of to be available?
- In-session: Notice your internal signals. Are you rushing to fix, fill silence, or steer the conversation? Pause. Breathe. Reconnect.
- Post-session: Reflect. Where was I present? Where did I shift out of presence? What helped or hindered my availability to the client?
Regular journaling, supervision, and working with a mentor coach can also help refine Competencies 2 and 5 in your practice. Over time, these reflections build the self-trust and resilience needed to be fully available to clients in every session.
Make It a Practice, Not a Performance
These competencies are not about perfection. They are about practise. The more you attend to your own mindset and presence, the more consistently you show up for your clients with empathy, curiosity, and confidence. They are not competencies to “tick off” but ways of being that develop through conscious attention and repetition.
So ask yourself:
- How am I cultivating my coaching mindset outside of sessions?
- How am I practising presence when I’m with clients?
- What support do I need to strengthen both?
Bringing intentional focus to Competencies 2 and 5 will deepen your coaching capacity and support more powerful client outcomes. They are, quite simply, the heart of who you are as a coach.
Sharing these mentoring moments with you,
Gaye
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