ICF Core Competencies Explained: Skills, Behaviours & Real Coaching Session Examples
Why the ICF Core Competencies Matter More Than Ever (India, UK, USA, Europe, Singapore & Dubai)
If you are serious about professional coaching – whether you coach leaders in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad or Kolkata, or you work with clients in London, Manchester, Birmingham, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Zurich, Barcelona, Dubai, Singapore, Sydney or Melbourne – the ICF Core Competencies are your foundation.
They define how an ACC coach or PCC coach thinks, behaves and partners with clients. These competencies are not theory; they show up in every single real coaching session you do – from your very first practice session to your ICF credentialing performance evaluation.
On this page, I will walk you through:
- Each ICF Core Competency explained in plain language – what it means and why it matters.
- Coach behaviours & markers that distinguish ACC vs PCC level coaching.
- Real coaching session examples drawn from my work with clients in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, London, New York, Singapore and Dubai.
- How to develop these competencies through training, mentor coaching and supervised coaching practice.
If you are still new to the ICF world and want a broader orientation first, you may want to also read: What Is ICF Coaching? and The Complete ICF Coaching Guide.
The 8 ICF Core Competencies – A Quick Overview
ICF groups the competencies into four clusters. Here is a quick snapshot before we go deeper:
- Foundation
1. Demonstrates Ethical Practice
2. Embodies a Coaching Mindset - Co-Creating the Relationship
3. Establishes and Maintains Agreements
4. Cultivates Trust and Safety
5. Maintains Presence - Communicating Effectively
6. Listens Actively
7. Evokes Awareness - Cultivating Learning & Growth
8. Facilitates Client Growth
Every ACC coaching session and every PCC level session is assessed based on these competencies and their related ICF ACC markers and PCC markers.
Competency 1 – Demonstrates Ethical Practice
Ethics is not a document you sign once. Ethical practice is visible in your real-time decisions during a coaching session – especially when a client from New York or London asks you for advice, or when a leader in Dubai shares something sensitive about their organisation.
In my ICF Level 1 Life Transformation Coach and Level 2 Life Transformation Power Coach programs, we work deeply with the ICF Code of Ethics and practical dilemmas, so that ethical practice becomes a natural part of your coaching behaviour – not just “theory you learnt in a webinar”.
Real Coaching Example – Ethics in Action (Mumbai)
An IT leader in Mumbai shared detailed grievances about their manager and asked me, “What should I do? Should I resign or confront him?” As a coach, my role was not to give advice or criticise the manager. Instead, I used powerful questioning and reflective coaching practice to help the client explore their values, boundaries and options – while staying fully aligned with ICF ethics.
Competency 2 – Embodies a Coaching Mindset
This competency is about your inner world as a coach: self-awareness, ongoing learning, reflective practice and emotional regulation. It is what I often describe as the “being of a coach”, beyond the “doing of coaching”.
Coaches from Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Singapore and Sydney who work with me quickly realise that coaching mindset is a daily discipline – not a one-time concept. This is where supervised coaching practice and mentor coaching become essential.
How to Develop a Coaching Mindset
- Maintaining a reflective coaching journal after your sessions.
- Investing in your own personal development – therapy, coaching, supervision and Emotional Fitness Gym® style work.
Co-Creating the Relationship – Trust, Safety & Presence
Whether you coach a startup founder in San Francisco, a senior HR leader in Bangalore or a banking professional in Zurich, the quality of your coaching outcomes is deeply linked to:
- Creating trust & safety (Competency 4).
- Maintaining presence (Competency 5).
- Clear agreements right from the beginning of the engagement (Competency 3).
Session Example – Trust & Safety (London)
In a session with a mid-level manager in London, the client repeatedly checked, “Is this confidential?” Establishing the coaching agreement, clarifying confidentiality and power dynamics upfront helped the client relax and share what was actually happening. Only then could we work on behaviour shifts that supported their leadership presence.
Communicating Effectively – Listening & Evoking Awareness
Most new coaches say, “I’m a good listener.” Yet when they submit their ACC performance evaluation recordings, the feedback they receive is often about talking too much, leading the client, or fixing instead of exploring.
Competencies 6 and 7 – Listens Actively and Evokes Awareness – focus on:
- Active listening skills that go beyond paraphrasing.
- Powerful questioning that opens new perspectives.
- Direct communication that is clean, respectful and non-judgmental.
Session Example – Evoking Awareness (New York)
A senior executive in New York came to coaching saying, “I have a time management problem.” By listening beneath the surface and asking laser-focused questions, we discovered the real issue was a belief conflict between “being a good leader” and “saying no”. Awareness shifted; behaviours followed.
Facilitating Client Growth – From Insight to Action
Insight without action is entertainment. The final competency, Facilitates Client Growth, focuses on helping clients convert awareness into clear commitments, actions and accountability.
In my ICF Credentialing Exam Preparation program and ICF mentor coaching program, we repeatedly practise sessions where the coach must:
- Co-design action steps with the client – not impose them.
- Explore support & accountability structures.
- Celebrate wins and integrate learning into future behaviour.
How I Help You Master the ICF Competencies (ACC & PCC)
Across my integrated ecosystem – from profitably thriving coach frameworks, to NLP & ICF coach training, to Emotional Fitness Gym® – everything is designed to help you build competency-based coaching that is globally credible and practically effective.
- ICF Level 1 Life Transformation Coach – ACC path with deep competency practice.
- ICF Level 2 Life Transformation Power Coach – PCC path with advanced presence & embodiment.
- ICF NLP Practitioner & ICF NLP Master Practitioner – unique dual-certification pathways integrating NLP with ICF coaching.
- ICF mentor coaching program – focused feedback on ICF ACC & PCC markers.
- Coaching Competency Deep Dive – specialised program for sharpening your behaviour patterns.
Where Do My Coaching Students Come From?
Over the years, participants have joined my ICF accredited coach training and NLP-based programs from:
- India – Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore / Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata.
- United States – New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta.
- United Kingdom & Europe – London, Manchester, Birmingham, Amsterdam, Berlin, Barcelona, Paris, Zurich.
- APAC & Middle East – Dubai, Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne and beyond.
This diversity ensures your coaching practice is ready for cross-cultural coaching and global coaching opportunities – whether you are coaching online from Pune or in person in London.
Next Step – Understand the Full ICF Coaching Landscape
If you want to go beyond competencies and understand the full landscape of ICF pathways, read: The Complete ICF Coaching Guide and ACC vs PCC – Which Level is Right for You?.
For a more integrated perspective that connects NLP, ICF coaching and Emotional Intelligence into a single transformation framework, you may also explore: The Integrated Guide to NLP + ICF Coaching + Emotional Intelligence.
Want Personal Guidance on Your ICF Path?
If you are confused about which path – ACC or PCC, ICF-only or ICF+NLP – is right for you, let’s talk.
You can also read more about me on my author page, the full About Anil Dagia page and media & press.
Frequently Asked Questions – ICF Core Competencies
What are the ICF core competencies and why do they matter for professional coaching?
The ICF core competencies are a set of observable behaviours that define what effective coaching looks like in practice. They include areas such as embodying a coaching mindset, co-creating the relationship, communicating effectively and cultivating client learning and growth. In cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, London, New York, Singapore and Dubai, HR leaders and clients increasingly use these competencies to distinguish professional ICF-aligned coaches from generic trainers, mentors or counsellors.
How are ACC and PCC level coaching behaviours different in real coaching sessions?
ACC and PCC coaches use the same ICF core competencies but at different levels of depth, range and consistency. ACC-level sessions often show solid structure, clear contracting and basic exploration, while PCC-level sessions demonstrate deeper presence, nuanced listening, powerful questioning, embodiment and more subtle evoking of awareness. The page includes real coaching session examples drawn from work with clients in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, London, New York, Singapore and Dubai so you can sense the behavioural differences.
Can I learn to demonstrate the ICF competencies if I am currently based outside main coaching hubs?
Yes. You can learn and embody the ICF core competencies from anywhere in the world through high-quality ICF-accredited coach training, mentor coaching and supervised practice. Whether you live in Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Birmingham, Manchester, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Zurich, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore or Dubai, the same competency standards apply – and you can build a globally credible coaching practice online or in person.
How do real coaching session examples help me understand the ICF competencies better?
Reading a definition of the ICF competencies is useful, but hearing or studying real coaching session examples shows you how those behaviours sound and feel in practice. On this page you will see how coaches in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, London, New York, Singapore and Dubai set up contracts, listen at depth, ask powerful questions, reflect back patterns and co-create action – which makes it easier for you to model and practise similar behaviours in your own sessions.
Is this explanation relevant if I want to specialise in executive or leadership coaching?
Absolutely. Executive and leadership coaching in corporate centres like Mumbai, Bangalore, London, New York, Singapore and Dubai relies heavily on ICF core competencies such as coaching presence, ethical practice, creating trust and using powerful questions to evoke insight. The same competency framework can be applied whether you coach senior leaders in global organisations, entrepreneurs in fast-growing cities like Pune, Hyderabad or Austin, or clients online across India, the UK, USA, Europe and APAC.
