Mentor Coaching at InnerMost Shift
12–14
HOURS OF STRUCTURED
MENTOR COACHING
ACC • PCC • MCC
CREDENTIAL-LEVEL
DEVELOPMENT
2027 READY
GEARED TO ICF CHANGES
ANNOUNCED APRIL 2026
At InnerMost Shift Coach Training by AlphaStars, Mentor Coaching is not a credentialing formality. It is a rigorous developmental process through which coaches learn to recognise, demonstrate and progressively embody professional coaching competencies.
ICF requires a minimum of 10 hours of Mentor Coaching. At InnerMost Shift, we deliberately go beyond the minimum, providing 12–14 hours of structured Mentor Coaching through individual and group mentoring, observed and recorded coaching, competency-based feedback, reflection and repeated practice.
Credentialing Readiness
Our Mentor Coaching process also strengthens your understanding of the ICF Core Competencies and credential-level expectations, helping you approach the relevant ICF assessment with greater clarity and confidence.
Where appropriate, our own competency-based assessment and practice resources are used developmentally to help you recognise what you are demonstrating and what still needs strengthening. We have developed our inhouse ICF competency assessment test to prepare you to take up I.C.E – ICF Competencies Exam that earns you ACC PCC MCC Credentials finally.
Because becoming a powerful coach requires more than completing the required hours.
Practice → Feedback → Reflection → Refinement → Integration
Aligned with the Evolving ICF Standards
Our Mentor Coaching process is geared to the evolving ICF credentialing standards and the changes announced in April 2026. These changes increase the emphasis on structured Mentor Coaching as a means of developing and validating coaching competence, with key credentialing changes taking effect in 2027.
- ICF Core Competencies — The foundation of professional coaching practice.
- ICF Minimum Skills Requirements (MSRs) — Credential-level expectations used to help coaches understand the observable proficiency expected at ACC, PCC and MCC levels.
- Credential-Level Development — Mentoring is differentiated according to whether the coach is developing towards ACC, PCC or MCC capability.
- Recorded & Observed Coaching — Actual coaching conversations become the basis for specific, developmental feedback.
- Assessment Understanding — Relevant ICF assessment resources, including PCC Markers where
appropriate, may be explored developmentally to deepen understanding of PCC-level coaching behaviours—not as a mechanical checklist.
How InnerMost Shift Mentoring Works
Coach – coach a real client and bring an actual coaching conversation into the learning process.
OBSERVE – The conversation is explored for evidence of the ICF Core Competencies and
credential-appropriate coaching behaviours.
REFLECT – Notice your own choices, patterns, strengths and missed possibilities before simply being told what to change.
RECEIVE PRECISE FEEDBACK – Your Mentor Coach identifies demonstrated strengths and developmental opportunities against the relevant credential level and Minimum Skills Requirements.
PRACTISE AGAIN – Consciously experiment with different ways of listening, partnering, questioning, responding and creating awareness.
INTEGRATE – Through repeated practice and reflection, competencies become increasingly natural in the way you coach.
ACC Mentor Coaching
Building the Coaching Foundation
ACC mentoring focuses on establishing clear, consistent coaching behaviours and strengthening the ability to remain in the role of a coach.
- Establishing and maintaining coaching agreements
- Building trust and psychological safety
- Listening beyond the client’s words
- Asking questions that evoke awareness
- Supporting client-generated learning and action
- Staying in coaching rather than advising, consulting or solving
Development lens: ACC Minimum Skills Requirements and the ICF Core Competencies.
Objective: Demonstrate ACC-level coaching consistently in a real coaching conversation.
PCC Mentor Coaching
From Competence to Depth
At PCC level, mentoring moves beyond competent application of skills towards deeper client partnership,responsiveness, meaning-making and client-led discovery.
- Coaching the person, not merely the presenting problem
- Sustaining partnership throughout the conversation
- Listening beyond words to emotions, beliefs, values and meaning
- Responding to what is emerging in the moment
- Evoking rather than supplying insight
- Allowing the client to determine what is meaningful
- Recognising subtle coach direction, attachment or over-processing
- Integrating competencies naturally rather than mechanically
Development lens: PCC Minimum Skills Requirements, supported where relevant by developmental understanding of PCC Markers and other ICF assessment resources.
The shift: “Am I using the competencies?” → “What is happening for this client—and how do I stay completely in partnership with it?”
MCC Mentor Coaching
Evolving Towards Mastery
At MCC level, mentoring is less about adding techniques and more about refining presence, partnership, responsiveness, simplicity and being.
- Creating profound partnership
- Trusting the client and the coaching process
- Listening multidimensionally
- Noticing words, emotions, energy, silence and emergence
- Responding fluidly without imposing interpretation
- Remaining unattached to outcome or direction
- Creating space for significant client awareness and transformation
Development lens: MCC Minimum Skills Requirements and deep integration of the ICF Core Competencies.
The inquiry becomes deeper: Not only “What did I do as a coach?” but “Who was I being while I coached?”
WHY INNERMOST SHIFT
Mentoring as Coach Development—not Compliance
12–14 HOURS
STRUCTURED MENTOR COACHING
More developmental time than the 10-hour ICF minimum—allowing practice, feedback and integration to deepen.
REAL COACHING
REAL CONVERSATIONS
Actual coaching sessions become the material for observation, reflection, feedback and developmental learning.
PRECISE FEEDBACK
CLEAR DEVELOPMENT
Recognise what you demonstrated, what you missed and what to strengthen at your credential level.
ACC • PCC • MCC
LEVEL-SPECIFIC MENTORING
Mentoring is differentiated to develop the competence, presence and depth appropriate to each credential level. We support and develop you.
PRACTISE AGAIN
INTEGRATE THE LEARNING
Apply feedback repeatedly until coaching competencies become increasingly natural, responsive and integrated.
EXPERIENCED MENTORS
DEVELOP THE COACH
Learn with experienced Mentor Coaches focused not only on assessment, but on developing the human being who coaches.
WE UNDERSTAND MENTORING IS A VERY IMPORTANT STEP TOWARDS GETTING ACCREDITED
Ready to Deepen Your Coaching?
Whether you are developing towards ACC, PCC or MCC, our Mentor Coaching is designed to meet you at your current level and help you evolve towards the competence, presence and depth expected at the next stage of your coaching journey.
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