ICF ACC key terms

A mutual understanding reached early about confidentiality and its limits, fees, scheduling, conflicts of interest, and how concerns will be raised, so both people know what the professional relationship allows.

The coach's commitment not to disclose what the client shares, apart from the limits explained in advance, such as risk of serious harm or a legal requirement to report.

A situation in which the coach's personal, financial, or relational interests could improperly sway their judgment or loyalty to the client, calling for disclosure and sometimes stepping away.

The boundary of what a coach is trained and qualified to handle; when a client's needs fall outside it, such as clinical or legal matters, the coach says so and considers other support.

Directing a client to a more suitable professional, such as a therapist, doctor, or adviser, when the issue sits beyond coaching, done openly and with the client's interests first.

A way of being with clients built on openness, curiosity, and confidence in their resourcefulness, sustained by ongoing learning, reflection, and attention to one's own state.

The coach's ongoing noticing of their own reactions, assumptions, mood, and triggers, so these can inform the work instead of quietly shaping it.

An automatic preference or assumption about people or groups that can shape what a coach notices, asks, and expects, and therefore needs to be recognized and managed.

Recognizing how the client's culture, identity, and circumstances shape their experience, and meeting differences with respect and willingness to learn rather than assumption.

Regular, deliberate review of one's own coaching - what happened, what helped, what to change - often supported by notes, supervision, or feedback from a mentor coach.

The overall understanding between coach and client, or between coach and sponsor, covering purpose, roles, logistics, fees, and confidentiality, established before the work begins and revisited as needed.

A brief, explicit agreement at the start of each conversation about what the client wants to focus on and what a worthwhile outcome would look like, updated whenever the focus moves.

The result a client wants from coaching, described in their own words, which keeps the conversation purposeful and gives both people a reference point for progress.

An arrangement where an employer or other party pays for or requests the coaching, requiring clear agreement about confidentiality, what will be reported, and to whom.

The client's confidence that they will be respected, kept confidential, and able to be honest or take risks without penalty, built through the coach's reliability and genuine care.

A climate in which the client can admit uncertainty, mistakes, or difficult feelings without fear of judgment, which lets them explore what they would otherwise hide.

Being fully attentive to the client and to what is happening right now, with the coach's own agenda and distractions set aside so they can respond to the actual moment.

Giving the client room to think, feel, and be uncertain without rushing in to advise, interpret, or fill the quiet, while staying warm and attentive.

The coach's attention to concrete cues in the moment, such as shifts in energy, emotion, wording, or posture, which can later be named to raise the client's awareness.

The set of beliefs, values, culture, and circumstances through which a client interprets their situation; coaching works within that frame rather than against it.

Listening for meaning, feeling, and what is left unsaid, and showing the client they have been understood, instead of planning the next question while they speak.

Restating the heart of what the client said in the coach's own words, both to check understanding and to let the client hear their own thinking again.

Naming the emotion or tone the coach hears in what the client says, so the client can recognize it and decide whether to explore it further.

Bringing together the key points of a longer stretch of conversation in a few sentences, confirming understanding and creating a platform for what comes next.

Asking brief, open questions that serve the client's thinking rather than the coach's curiosity, usually one at a time and followed by room to answer.

Using questions, reflections, silence, and observations so the client arrives at a new understanding themselves, rather than being told what the coach sees.

Telling the client what the coach notices, described without interpretation or judgment and offered as information the client may use or set aside.

A hunch or felt sense about the client or the conversation; when shared, it is offered tentatively as a question or observation, never as established fact.

Speaking plainly, honestly, and concisely, including naming difficult things, in a way that serves the client instead of softening every statement into a question.

Naming a contradiction, gap, or avoidance the coach notices, offered with care and permission so the client can examine it rather than defend against it.

Defining, with the client, a specific and meaningful result to work toward, clear enough that progress can later be recognized and reviewed.

A concrete set of next steps designed by the client - what they will do, by when, and with what support - turning insight into something workable.

The client's explicit statement, in their own words, of what they will do and when, so the decision belongs to them rather than to the coach.

A shared agreement about how commitments will be revisited and supported, keeping the client on track without policing, pressure, or judgment.

Looking back at agreed actions and learning in later sessions - what happened, what helped, what got in the way - and adjusting the plan accordingly.

Helping the client connect new awareness to daily life and to how they see themselves, so the learning continues after the session ends.

Marking the client's effort, courage, or progress genuinely and in proportion, reinforcing what they have shown themselves capable of.

The client's belief in their own ability to act and handle what follows, strengthened when they design actions, try them, and reflect on the results.