I recently ran a LinkedIn poll asking coaches what was holding them back from applying for their ICF credential.

The most common answer was that they didn’t think their recording was good enough, followed by they keep putting it off.

I wasn’t surprised because I hear this all the time from coaches who have completed their training and mentor coaching, have logged the required hours and are, on paper at least, ready to apply.

Yet the recording becomes the thing that keeps them putting it off for months or even years.

The search for the perfect recording

The difficulty is that many coaches are listening for a recording that feels perfect.

They want every question to be beautifully phrased, every intervention to land and the conversation to unfold exactly as they hoped it would. If they notice a missed opportunity or hear themselves asking a question they would now phrase differently, they decide the recording isn’t good enough.

However, that isn’t how I listen as an  ICF assessor.

I’m not listening for perfection because real coaching conversations aren’t perfect. I’m looking for evidence that the required competencies and behaviours are present at the level of the credential being applied for.

That is a very different test.

One question that could have been shorter doesn’t necessarily make a recording unsuitable. Neither does an opportunity you might have explored further. The important question is whether the recording, taken as a whole, provides sufficient evidence of coaching at the appropriate level.

We are often our own least objective assessors

Listening to your own coaching is an important part of reflective practice, although it can be difficult to assess it objectively.

You know what you were thinking during the session.

You remember what you intended to ask, where you felt uncertain and what you wished you had done differently.

When I am assessing I don’t have that internal commentary. I can only evaluate what is actually present in the recording.

Coaches also sometimes reject recordings because they don’t sound as impressive as they expected. Yet effective coaching doesn’t always sound impressive. It may sound spacious, straightforward and deceptively simple because the coach is following the client rather than demonstrating everything they know.

This is why understanding the assessor’s viewpoint matters.

How do you know when you are ready?

There’s a difference between recognising that a recording genuinely doesn’t yet meet the standard and continuing to search for an elusive perfect session.

Without a clear understanding of what assessors are listening for, it’s very easy to keep postponing the decision. Another client session may produce a better recording, but then that one will contain something else you wish you had done differently.

At some point, you need a more reliable way to decide.

That is why I created my Ready Enough? webinar.

We  explore what assessors are really listening for, the assumptions coaches often make when reviewing their own recordings and how to judge readiness with greater clarity and confidence.

If your recording has been sitting on your computer while you wait to feel completely certain, this webinar may help you decide whether there is more development needed or whether the biggest thing holding you back is your own expectation of perfection.

Perhaps your recording doesn’t need to be perfect.

Perhaps it needs to be ready enough.

Until next time,

Cath

P.S. if you want to join me on the webinar click here  to book your place.