What Actually Happens in a Mentor Coaching Session?
If you’re pursuing your ACC or renewing your ACC, you may already know that ICF requires mentor coaching as part of the credentialing process.
But one of the questions coaches do not always ask out loud is:
“What actually happens in a mentor coaching session?”
It is a fair question.
Because if you have never experienced mentor coaching before, it can sound a little intimidating.
Do you bring a recording?
Does someone critique your coaching?
Are they checking boxes against the ICF Core Competencies?
Will you leave feeling like everything you did was wrong?
In my experience, good mentor coaching is not about judgment.
It is about helping you hear your coaching more clearly.
And when done well, mentor coaching can become one of the most useful professional development experiences you have as a coach.
We usually start with a real coaching recording
In my 1:1 mentor coaching sessions, clients typically bring a recording of a real coaching session.
This allows us to work with what is actually happening in your coaching, not just what you remember happening.
That matters because when you are the coach inside the session, you are holding a lot.
You are listening to the client.
You are tracking the agreement.
You are noticing the time.
You are deciding whether to reflect, pause, ask, challenge, or follow the client’s lead.
You are trying to stay present while also wondering, “Where do we go next?”
It is hard to hear your own coaching clearly when you are inside it.
Mentor coaching gives you a second set of trained ears.
Together, we listen for evidence.
Where did the coaching work?
Where did the client shift?
Where did you stay present?
Where did you partner well?
Where did you use the client’s language?
Where did the session become more client-led?
Where did the client create new awareness?
And where did the coaching maybe become less precise?
We start with what worked — and why it worked
One of the most important parts of mentor coaching is celebrating what is already working.
Not in a vague, “That was great!” kind of way.
I want my clients to understand why something worked so they can do more of it intentionally.
Sometimes I will pause on a moment and say something like:
“That was a great question because your client literally went blank for a second. That usually means you’ve entered new territory. That is not a question they were already asking themselves.”
Or:
“You slowed down there, and it gave the client room to actually hear themselves.”
Or:
“You reflected their exact word back to them, and that helped deepen the session without you needing to add anything extra.”
Or:
“Your natural style really worked here. It was gentle, but still strong.”
That last piece matters.
A lot of coaches think mentor coaching is going to make them sound more rigid, scripted, or “ICF-ish.”
That is not the goal.
The goal is to help you become more skilled while still sounding like you.
In one observation session, I gave a coach this feedback:
“I think it is always good when we can find our natural energy as a coach and then do more of that, versus trying to come off stronger or more intense if that does not feel genuine.”
That is a big part of how I approach mentor coaching.
We are not trying to erase your style.
We are trying to strengthen it.
Then we look at growth edges through the ICF lens
Once we have named what is working, we look at where the coaching could become more precise.
This is where the ICF Core Competencies and, when relevant, PCC markers become useful.
Not as a checklist to make coaching feel mechanical.
But as a lens.
Some of the things we might listen for include:
Did the coach establish a clear agreement?
Did the session stay connected to what the client said they wanted?
Did the coach follow the client’s lead?
Did the coach create space for the client to think?
Did the coach ask one clean question, or stack multiple questions together?
Did the coach notice when the topic shifted?
Did the coach re-contract when something new emerged?
Did the coach explore the client’s learning, not just the action plan?
Did the coach stay curious, or start solving?
These are the kinds of distinctions that can be hard to hear on your own.
For example, in one session, a coach asked a beautiful question, but then added two more questions right after it.
The feedback I gave was:
“That is like three really powerful questions. Slow the pacing down.”
That is such a common growth edge.
The question itself may be excellent.
But when three questions are asked at once, the client may not know which one to answer.
A small shift — asking one question and letting it breathe — can change the quality of the whole session.
We listen for the difference between the symptom and the source
One of the most important things we explore in mentor coaching is whether the coach is coaching the presenting problem or the deeper source underneath it.
For example, a client might come to a coaching session saying:
“My calendar is too full.”
A surface-level path might focus on time blocking, scheduling, prioritizing, or deleting commitments.
And sometimes, that may be useful.
But in one observation session, I noticed the coach was working really hard to solve the calendar issue, while the client kept circling around something deeper.
The feedback I gave was:
“This was a problem between a source and a symptom. We were coaching the symptom, and we needed to coach the source. You can’t really solve a symptom.”
That distinction matters.
The full calendar may not be the real issue.
The fuller question might be:
“What does a full calendar give you?”
Or:
“What do you feel like the results are that you’re creating with a full calendar?”
Or:
“What feels at risk if there is more space?”
Or:
“Help me understand why keeping all of this in your calendar feels important.”
Those questions move the coaching from calendar management into the client’s relationship with busyness, identity, responsibility, visibility, safety, success, or worth.
That is where coaching often becomes more powerful.
Not because the coach has the perfect question.
But because the coach is no longer only trying to fix the surface issue.
We look for moments where co-creation could deepen the session
Co-creation is one of the biggest growth areas I see for coaches who are moving toward stronger ICF alignment.
Co-creation is not just being warm or collaborative.
It means actively partnering with the client in the direction, focus, and process of the session.
Sometimes a coach is working really hard because they are trying to figure out where the session should go.
But the client can help with that.
In one feedback conversation, I said:
“Whenever we’re in a session where questions just aren’t landing the way we want them to land, that’s a really good invitation to do more co-creation.”
That might sound like:
“We’ve talked about a few different pieces so far. What feels most important for us to focus on now?”
Or:
“Given what you’ve just uncovered, where do you want to go next?”
Or:
“Is there something I could be asking you that would help us unlock this?”
Or:
“It sounds like we may be touching something deeper than the original topic. Is this where you want to focus?”
Those questions give responsibility back to the client.
Instead of the coach steering the whole conversation, the coach invites the client to help shape the path.
That is often where a session becomes more spacious, more client-led, and more impactful.
We pay attention to the client’s language
Another thing I often listen for in mentor coaching is how the coach uses the client’s own words.
Client language is data.
If a client says they want “spaciousness,” “acceptance,” “permission,” “relief,” “less static,” or “to stop pushing,” those words matter.
The coach does not need to rush past them.
The coach can slow down and ask:
“What does that word mean to you?”
“When you say ‘acceptance,’ what are you accepting?”
“What does ‘spaciousness’ look like in your actual life?”
“What changes when you stop pushing?”
In one session, I gave a coach feedback that they did a beautiful job “exploring the client’s vocabulary to deepen understanding.”
That is a subtle but powerful coaching skill.
You do not always need a more complicated question.
Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is stay with the exact word the client just gave you.
We identify the small coaching shifts that make a big difference
Mentor coaching is not usually about massive changes.
More often, it is about small, precise shifts.
Pause before asking the next question.
Ask one question instead of three.
Reflect the client’s exact words.
Name what you are observing.
Re-contract when the topic changes.
Let the client choose where to go next.
Stay with the insight before moving to action.
Explore the source, not only the symptom.
One of my favorite pieces of feedback to give is when a coach is already doing something well and just needs to trust it more.
For example:
“Your questions are powerful. Let them be simple.”
Or:
“You were working really hard in that session. What would it look like to invite the client to help you find the way forward?”
Or:
“You do not need to add more. That reflection was enough.”
These are small moments.
But small moments shape the entire session.
We make the feedback practical
Good mentor coaching should not leave you with a vague sense that you need to “be more present” or “ask better questions.”
That is not specific enough to be useful.
The feedback should help you know what to actually practice.
For example:
Instead of:
“Be more client-led.”
We might say:
“When the client uncovers something new, pause and ask, ‘Given this new awareness, where would you like to go next?’”
Instead of:
“Ask better questions.”
We might say:
“You asked three strong questions in a row. Choose the cleanest one and give the client space to answer.”
Instead of:
“Go deeper.”
We might say:
“You stayed with the action plan, but the client gave you a clue when they said the word ‘fear.’ That was an opportunity to pause and explore what was underneath the action.”
Instead of:
“Work on the agreement.”
We might say:
“The client’s topic shifted halfway through. That would have been a good moment to re-contract and ask, ‘Is this still the direction you want to go?’”
That is the kind of feedback coaches can actually use.
Mentor coaching is not about becoming a different coach
This is something I care about deeply.
Mentor coaching should not make you feel like you have to become someone else.
It should not make you robotic.
It should not make you overthink every word.
It should not pull you away from your intuition, warmth, humor, directness, softness, or natural way of connecting.
It should help you understand how your coaching lands.
It should help you hear your patterns.
It should help you trust what is working.
It should help you refine what is not yet as precise as it could be.
And it should help you build confidence.
Not fake confidence.
Evidence-based confidence.
The kind that comes from hearing a moment in your own session and understanding:
“That worked because I gave the client space.”
“That worked because I followed their language.”
“That worked because I did not rescue them.”
“That worked because I let the client lead.”
“That worked because I stayed curious instead of solving.”
That is what mentor coaching can offer.
So, what actually happens in a mentor coaching session?
You bring your coaching.
We listen together.
We celebrate what is working.
We understand why it worked.
We look at growth edges through the lens of the ICF Core Competencies.
We explore where the session could become more precise, spacious, client-led, or transformational.
We connect the feedback to real coaching moments.
And we identify practical shifts you can bring into your next session.
If you are pursuing your ACC or renewing your ACC, yes, mentor coaching helps you complete the required hours.
But when done well, it is much more than a credentialing requirement.
It is a place to sharpen your ear.
Deepen your skill.
Strengthen your confidence.
And become more intentional in the way you coach.
Looking for 1:1 ICF mentor coaching?
If you are pursuing your ACC or renewing your ACC, I offer 1:1 ICF mentor coaching over the required three-month period.
In our sessions, we review your real coaching recordings together, identify what is already working, and look at growth areas through the lens of the ICF Core Competencies and PCC markers.
My goal is to help you complete your mentor coaching hours while becoming a more confident, precise, and client-led coach.
If you would like support with your ACC application or ACC renewal, reach out and I would be happy to share the details.