I’ve been enrolled in a Level III MCC certification program for the last several months. I’m far from done, but I’ve already learned some things that are helpful and eye opening. I want to share them exclusively with you first.
Coaching is agency.
I heard this from the program’s founder and it’s so simple, but so profound. Everything about coaching at its core is about giving the client the agency to decide what they want to talk about, discover their own solutions, make choices on the direction of the coaching conversation, gauge their progress, think about how to wrap up the session, and more.
Now you knew this already as I did. So why did my instructor bring this up? Well, at the MCC level, you’re expected to live into this statement even more. Give the client agency at every turn in the conversation. Even when you share an observation, you’re giving the client the agency to decide if it’s useful.
Keep this statement in mind as you coach and you’ll get better.
It may be harder being a PCC than an MCC.
Now where is this coming from? It’s likely you’ve seen the ICF Coaching Competencies. A PCC is expected to be able to coach along the lines of the competencies gracefully balancing the focus on the person and the problem.
By contrast, an ACC tends to focus more on the problem and being focused on the client’s objective and movement towards it. They are doing their best not to stack questions, lead the client and to evoke growth through co-creation of a heretofore undiscovered solution to a challenging problem.
When the PCC coaches, they must focus on the person and the problem. They must not only do everything the ACC does, but take the client’s personal awareness up a notch and even uncover new learning about themselves. It’s hard to do both well while making it look easy. The metaphor of the duck gliding smoothly across the pond while their legs are moving furiously beneath the surface comes to mind.
As for the MCC, they have less pressure. Why? Remember, coaching is agency. The MCC knows it’s all about allowing the client to have the space and silence to discover who they are in this moment and who they want to be going forward. The problem is the canvas upon which the client learns who they are and confronts that reality with the coach’s assistance and nudging.
In a coaching session led by an MCC, the coach might only talk 15% of the time. The work is being done almost exclusively by the client as they turn over the problem, see how they are looking at it, understand why they are looking at it that way, and think about whether it’s serving them or even in alignment with how they see themselves.
MCCs know how to coach. They understand the competencies, but don’t feel pressure to have to check all the boxes as PCCs do. In a way, PCCs have to prove themselves while MCCs don’t. Your natural style becomes more present at the MCC level.
I think the quote from Pablo Picasso explains it well. “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
PCCs are pros whereas MCCs are artists.
I hope this makes some sense. I’ll share more learnings in future posts.
