Competencies

Professional coaching isn’t accidental.

It is built on competencies recognised by the International Coaching Federation and Coaches and Mentors of South Africa — covering ethics, presence, communication, psychology, leadership, and business mastery. 

 Ethics & Professional Standards 

1. Understanding ICF Code of Ethics
   
   

2. Understanding COMENSA Code of Ethics
   
   

3. Maintaining confidentiality
   
   

4. Professional boundaries
   
   

5. Conflict of interest management
   
   

6. Contracting clearly
   
   

7. Informed consent
   
   

8. Ethical decision-making
   
   

9. Cultural sensitivity
   
   

10. Diversity awareness
    
    

11. Professional accountability
    
    

12. Record keeping
    
    

13. Referral competence
    
    

14. Supervision participation
    
    

15. Continuing professional development
    
    

16. Transparency in fees
    
    

17. Scope-of-practice clarity
    
    

18. Power dynamics awareness
    
    

19. Data protection compliance
    
    

20. Integrity in marketing
    
    

 Coaching Mindset 

21. Growth mindset
    
    

22. Non-judgmental stance
    
    

23. Curiosity
    
    

24. Self-awareness
    
    

25. Reflective practice
    
    

26. Emotional regulation
    
    

27. Patience
    
    

28. Humility
    
    

29. Presence under pressure
    
    

30. Resilience
    
    

31. Openness to feedback
    
    

32. Bias awareness
    
    

33. Ethical maturity
    
    

34. Compassion
    
    

35. Courage
    
    

36. Authenticity
    
    

37. Personal alignment
    
    

38. Commitment to mastery
    
    

39. Learning agility
    
    

40. Self-management
    
    

 Coaching Presence 

41. Deep listening
    
    

42. Active listening
    
    

43. Somatic awareness
    
    

44. Intuition
    
    

45. Silence tolerance
    
    

46. Energy awareness
    
    

47. Rapport building
    
    

48. Holding space
    
    

49. Emotional attunement
    
    

50. Observing body language
    
    

51. Voice modulation
    
    

52. Managing session pace
    
    

53. Staying present
    
    

54. Interrupting skillfully
    
    

55. Managing strong emotions
    
    

56. Psychological safety creation
    
    

57. Confidence in uncertainty
    
    

58. Staying client-focused
    
    

59. Managing distractions
    
    

60. Groundedness
    
    

 Communication Skills 

61. Powerful questioning
    
    

62. Open-ended questioning
    
    

63. Clarifying questions
    
    

64. Reflective statements
    
    

65. Paraphrasing
    
    

66. Summarising
    
    

67. Reframing
    
    

68. Metaphor use
    
    

69. Direct communication
    
    

70. Constructive challenge
    
    

71. Feedback delivery
    
    

72. Non-verbal awareness
    
    

73. Tone control
    
    

74. Concise language
    
    

75. Language precision
    
    

76. Silence use
    
    

77. Emotional labeling
    
    

78. Scaling questions
    
    

79. Hypothetical questioning
    
    

80. Values elicitation
    
    

81. Strength spotting
    
    

82. Story elicitation
    
    

83. Future pacing
    
    

84. Accountability questioning
    
    

85. Reality testing
    
    

 Client Awareness & Insight 

86. Identifying limiting beliefs
    
    

87. Identifying patterns
    
    

88. Systems thinking
    
    

89. Stakeholder awareness
    
    

90. Cultural context analysis
    
    

91. Organisational awareness
    
    

92. Strength-based assessment
    
    

93. Personality awareness
    
    

94. Motivation theory understanding
    
    

95. Behavioral observation
    
    

96. Emotional intelligence
    
    

97. Cognitive bias recognition
    
    

98. Change readiness assessment
    
    

99. Values clarification
    
    

100. Identity exploration
     
     

101. Assumption testing
     
     

102. Leadership capability awareness
     
     

103. Career transition insight
     
     

104. Life stage awareness
     
     

105. Trauma sensitivity (within scope)
     
     

 Goal Setting & Action Planning 

106. SMART goal facilitation
     
     

107. Outcome clarity
     
     

108. Vision crafting
     
     

109. Milestone planning
     
     

110. Action design
     
     

111. Accountability structures
     
     

112. Habit formation knowledge
     
     

113. Time management coaching
     
     

114. Performance coaching
     
     

115. Measurement alignment
     
     

116. Results tracking
     
     

117. Resource identification
     
     

118. Obstacle mapping
     
     

119. Risk analysis
     
     

120. Strategic thinking
     
     

121. Decision-making frameworks
     
     

122. Prioritisation coaching
     
     

123. Behavioural experiments
     
     

124. Commitment reinforcement
     
     

125. Celebration facilitation
     
     

 Psychological & Development Knowledge 

126. Adult learning theory
     
     

127. Positive psychology
     
     

128. Neuroscience basics
     
     

129. Behaviour change theory
     
     

130. Motivational interviewing principles
     
     

131. Cognitive reframing techniques
     
     

132. Emotional intelligence models
     
     

133. Leadership theory
     
     

134. Systems theory
     
     

135. Personality frameworks (e.g., Big Five)
     
     

136. Conflict resolution models
     
     

137. Resilience science
     
     

138. Stress management principles
     
     

139. Habit science
     
     

140. Identity development theory
     
     

141. Change curve understanding
     
     

142. Group dynamics basics
     
     

143. Organisational development concepts
     
     

144. Feedback models
     
     

145. Performance psychology
     
     

 Business & Practice Management 

146. Coaching niche clarity
     
     

147. Branding
     
     

148. Marketing strategy
     
     

149. Sales conversations
     
     

150. Proposal writing
     
     

151. Corporate contracting
     
     

152. ROI articulation
     
     

153. Stakeholder reporting
     
     

154. Digital presence management
     
     

155. Social media strategy
     
     

156. Workshop facilitation
     
     

157. Group coaching design
     
     

158. Online platform competence
     
     

159. Client onboarding process
     
     

160. Financial management
     
     

161. Tax compliance awareness
     
     

162. Time blocking
     
     

163. Pipeline management
     
     

164. Referral network building
     
     

165. Thought leadership
     
     

 Advanced Coaching Mastery 

166. Executive coaching skills
     
     

167. Team coaching basics
     
     

168. Systemic constellations awareness
     
     

169. Transformational coaching
     
     

170. Identity-level coaching
     
     

171. Shadow exploration
     
     

172. Values-based leadership coaching
     
     

173. Difficult conversation facilitation
     
     

174. Crisis containment (within scope)
     
     

175. Supervision literacy
     
     

176. Mentor coaching skills
     
     

177. Coaching assessment interpretation
     
     

178. Ethical escalation handling
     
     

179. Multi-stakeholder alignment