Welcome to this edition of Mentoring Moments. Over the years the mentoring discussions with my mentees have revealed such brilliant insights and methods which continue to hone our coaching skills to deliver a higher quality of coaching excellence for our clients. Mentoring emerging or experienced coaches towards their credential or for ongoing development is my absolute favourite component of my coaching practice. So, I’d love to share with you some of those little gems of gold in upcoming editions. 

The Coaching Mindset That Unlocks Client Awareness

As coaches, you know the ICF Core Competencies are not stand-alone skills to be ticked off individually. They weave together to create presence, partnership, and progress. Two competencies that are particularly interconnected are Core Competency 2: Embodies a Coaching Mindset and Core Competency 7: Evokes Awareness. Both call you to ground yourself as a reflective practitioner while partnering with the client to uncover new insights. When combined, they help your clients experience genuine growth by elevating your coaching presence.

A Practical Example in Session

Recently, a client described feeling “stuck” in their leadership role and unsure how to move forward. As I listened, I stayed attentive to my own presence, ensuring I was curious rather than solution-focused (a focus on my mindset, reflecting Competency 2). This grounding enabled me to frame a simple but powerful question: “What’s the real challenge you most want to untangle here?” After a long pause, the client shared a deeper truth around self-doubt that had not surfaced before (evoking a new awareness). From there, the session shifted into exploring the impact of those beliefs and what new perspective might serve them. 

Shared Foundations: Reflection and Presence

Competencies 2 and 7 share a foundation in reflection and presence. Competency 2 asks you to engage in ongoing self-awareness, acknowledging how your mindset, assumptions, and biases may impact the coaching relationship. Competency 7 builds on that by requiring you to remain present enough to listen deeply, notice what is emerging, and pose questions that evoke clarity. Both rely on your ability to quiet your own agenda and stay open to whatever arises in the session.

Dynamic Link: Mindset Fuels Awareness

The competencies are also dynamically linked: your mindset directly fuels your ability to evoke awareness. When you ground yourself in reflection, you are less likely to rush or lead the client. That spaciousness creates conditions for insight to emerge. Similarly, when you embody curiosity and humility, your questions come from a place of genuine partnership rather than seeking a predetermined answer. Clients experience this as safety and openness, which allows them to access new perspectives.

Using the Competencies Together in Practice

Actively combine these competencies for steady and expansive coaching. Create space for your client’s thinking without adding pressure or judgement, and hold yourself accountable for your presence in the session. 

• Pause and Reflect: Notice when your desire for progress is greater than your client’s and bring yourself back to partnership.
• Invite Exploration: Use questions that help the client notice underlying patterns, assumptions, or beliefs.
• Name What You See: Share observations of shifts in energy, emotions, or body language. This honours Competency 7 while demonstrating your reflective stance from Competency 2.
• Co-Design Insight: Ensure that any awareness created is owned by the client and connected to their goals, not to your interpretations.

Strengthen the Connection in Your Coaching

As you reflect on your coaching, notice how you intentionally embody Competency 2 in practice. Do you create space in the moment for reflection, or only afterwards? Then consider how this shapes your ability to evoke awareness under Competency 7. By strengthening the link between these two competencies, you can deepen partnership and create the conditions for your clients to uncover the insights that matter most.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments about weaving Competencies 2 and 7 together in your coaching. Are there areas of this connection you’d like me to expand on, or other competencies you’d like explored in future editions? Just let me know.

Sharing these mentoring moments with you,

Gaye