Staying Sharp
Practical skills, techniques and insights that enhance coaching competence.
To Experienced Mentor Coaches…
From January 2027, the ICF requires all mentor coaches to hold the Mentor Coach Specialisation (MCS) to continue practising within its framework. If you have mentored at least five clients in the past three years, you are eligible for the Credit for Prior Learning Pathway, which means you need just 10 hours of mentor coach education rather than the full 41. Those hours can be a mix of live and self-directed learning.
You may already have mentor coach training behind you, in which case, you are ahead of the game. But if you do not, the question worth sitting with is, what should those 10 hours actually do for you? Education that tells you things you have known for years is not education; it is box-ticking. Experienced mentor coaches deserve something that sharpens how they think and practise, not something that starts from scratch.
That question has shaped how I designed my new Mentor Coaching Education Programme. Built on my book Mentor Coaching: A Practical Guide and my longer-form programme, it is for people who already know what they are doing and want to go deeper rather than broader. The programme runs to 10.5 hours, fully meets the ICF MCS Credit for Prior Learning requirement, and includes a copy of the book.
If you are working out your MCS route, here’s the link to the programme information on the website. And if you know a mentor coach who is wondering where to find their 10 hours, please do pass this on.
Staying Safe
Ethics, boundaries, professional standards, risk management.
Last month, the CIPD’s online People Management Magazine published a short read based on the longer write-up of the research that Dr Sam Humphrey and I conducted with 30 organisations and 69 coaches about Coaching Readiness. The article is titled, ‘Coaching’s dirty secret: why HR must urgently reboot its approach’. You may well have taken part in that research.
The aim of the article is ‘To awaken business leaders and coaching custodians (the person in an organisation who is responsible for the return on investment and/or expectations of coaching) to the relentless backslide of organisational practices around coaching.’
In the full research paper, we looked at how this decline sucks value from all parties, including client, sponsor/line manager, coach, coaching custodian and the business and explored how coaching can be rebooted to a standard all parties deserve.
If you would like a copy of the full article, you can download it here.
Staying Sane
Self-care, sustainability, emotional resilience, perspective
On 24th September 2026, I am bringing a day together that I have wanted to run for a long time. Love as a Revolutionary Coaching Practice will take place at Kimbridge Barn in Romsey, Hampshire (ten minutes off the M27, an easy journey from Southampton), from 10:00 to 16:15.
It is drawn directly from my new book Reclaiming Love in Coaching, and it explores agape love: what it actually is, what it asks of us as coaches, and what changes in our practice when we stop treating it as too risky, too soft, or too strange to mention. This is rarely discussed openly in coaching circles. I think it should be.
We will spend the day thinking together, honestly and carefully, about what it means to bring unconditional regard into the room as something more than a phrase in a competency framework. You will leave with ideas that are genuinely usable, CPD hours, and (I hope) a real sense of connection with fellow coaches from across the South of England. Kimbridge Barn is a beautiful setting for exactly that kind of day.
Places are limited, and early bird rates are available now:
- UK ICF Member: £75
- Global ICF Member: £100
- Non-Member: £125
You can register here: https://ukicf.regfox.com/love-as-a-revolutionary-coaching-practice
I would love to spend the day with you.
That is it for this month. I hope there is something here that sparks a reflection, a conversation with a peer, or a small experiment in your next session.
If you would like this delivered directly to your inbox each month, along with a few personal updates and upcoming events, you can sign up for the newsletter via Mailchimp using the link below. It is the same content, with a little extra warmth around the edges, and you will not have to rely on the LinkedIn algorithm to find it.
Until next time,
Clare
