Session 11 Lesson Plan - Assignment

Assignment - Improve this script with your own insight

MCC LEVEL COACHING SCRIPT (ICF FULL COMPETENCY MAPPED)

CONTRACTING (Pre-ICF Core Competencies)

(Contracting) What would make today’s conversation meaningful for you
(Contracting) What would you like to focus on right now
(Contracting) What outcome would feel valuable from this session
(Contracting) How would you like to use our time together
(Contracting) What do you need from me as your coach today

PRESENCE AND AGREEMENT

(1.01) I am fully present with you
(1.02) I am listening deeply to what is said and not said
(1.03) I am staying aware of my own thinking as I listen
(1.04) I am noticing what is emerging in the moment
(1.05) I will follow your thinking, not lead it

TRUST AND SAFETY

(2.01) What feels most important for you right now
(2.02) What would help you feel fully present in this conversation
(2.03) What would make this a safe space for you to think out loud
(2.04) What do you need from me to think more clearly
(2.05) Take your time

LISTENING AND AWARENESS

(3.01) I notice a shift when you say that
(3.02) What is happening for you as you say that
(3.03) What are you not saying yet
(3.04) What feels underneath that
(3.05) What is the deeper meaning for you here

EVOKING AWARENESS

(4.01) What do you already know about this that you are not saying
(4.02) What perspective have you not considered yet
(4.03) What is this revealing about you
(4.04) What feels true even if uncomfortable
(4.05) What is becoming clearer right now

DEEPENING INSIGHT

(5.01) Say that again slowly
(5.02) What stands out most as you say that
(5.03) What is the real issue here beneath the surface
(5.04) What truth is becoming harder to ignore
(5.05) What is shifting in your thinking right now

EVOKING AWARENESS THROUGH PERSPECTIVE SHIFT

(6.01) What would this look like from another perspective
(6.02) What assumption might be shaping your view
(6.03) What would change if that assumption wasn’t true
(6.04) What are you making this mean
(6.05) What else could this mean

EVOKING AWARENESS (CORE COMPETENCY 7)

(7.01) What feels most useful to notice here
(7.02) What is this teaching you about yourself
(7.03) What belief is showing up here
(7.04) What pattern do you recognise in this
(7.05) What is the deeper insight forming now

FACILITATES CLIENT GROWTH (CORE COMPETENCY 8)

(8.01) What feels different for you now compared to the start
(8.02) How does this change how you see the situation
(8.03) What now feels ready to move into action
(8.04) What might you learn by taking that step
(8.05) What would meaningful progress look like

ACTION DESIGN

(8.06) What options do you see now
(8.07) Which option feels most aligned for you
(8.08) What would you choose if there were no expectations
(8.09) What action naturally emerges from this awareness
(8.10) What feels genuinely yours here

AUTONOMY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

(8.11) How would you like to hold yourself accountable
(8.12) What does accountability mean for you personally
(8.13) How will you know you are making progress
(8.14) What might get in the way for you
(8.15) How will you respond if that happens

RESOURCES AND SUPPORT

(8.16) What support do you already have available
(8.17) What resources could strengthen your next step
(8.18) What internal strengths can you rely on
(8.19) What is within your control here
(8.20) What is outside your control

INTEGRATION OF LEARNING

(8.21) What is the key learning from today
(8.22) What is the most important insight you are taking
(8.23) How is this changing how you see yourself
(8.24) What has shifted internally for you
(8.25) What will stay with you after this session

SUSTAINING CHANGE

(8.26) How will you carry this forward in daily life
(8.27) What will be different in your behaviour
(8.28) What no longer fits for you now
(8.29) What identity shift is happening here
(8.30) What are you becoming more of

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

(8.31) What progress do you notice in yourself
(8.32) What would you like to acknowledge about yourself
(8.33) What feels important to recognise right now
(8.34) What has changed in how you show up
(8.35) What are you proud of in this process

CLOSING THE SESSION

(8.36) What feels complete for you now
(8.37) Is there anything still unfinished for you
(8.38) What are you taking with you from today
(8.39) How would you describe this session in one sentence
(8.40) What feels important as we close

MCC PRESENCE CLOSURE

(1.01–8.40 Integrated) I am noticing what has shifted for you
(1.02–8.40 Integrated) I am staying with your experience as it lands
(1.03–8.40 Integrated) I am allowing silence here
(1.04–8.40 Integrated) I am not rushing closure
(1.05–8.40 Integrated) I trust what has emerged

NATURAL END

(8.41) It feels complete here
(8.42) We can leave it there for today
(8.43) Thank you for your openness in this process
(8.44) I appreciate what has emerged today
(8.45) I look forward to continuing from here

MCC FINAL MOMENT

(Presence) silence
(Presence) silence
(Presence) “something has shifted here”
(Presence) silence
(Presence) client responds

FULL MCC COMPLETION

(8.46) This is complete for today
(8.47) No further action required now unless you choose it
(8.48) Let this integrate
(8.49) We will continue from here next time
(8.50) End session

CORE COMPETENCY 1: Demonstrates Ethical Practice

Criteria

1.01 Demonstrates ethical standards
1.02 Maintains coaching agreements
1.03 Maintains confidentiality
1.04 Maintains appropriate boundaries
1.05 Manages dual relationships

MCC Marker

Ethics is invisible because it is fully embodied
No over-explaining or referencing ethics explicitly
Boundaries are naturally maintained without tension

Script

(1.01) I am fully present with you in this space
(1.02) What would you like to focus on today
(1.03) This conversation stays fully between us
(1.04) I am here as your coach, not advisor or expert
(1.05) What feels appropriate for us to explore

CORE COMPETENCY 2: Embodies Coaching Mindset

Criteria

2.01 Maintains openness and curiosity
2.02 Seeks learning and growth
2.03 Manages emotional reactions
2.04 Maintains presence
2.05 Holds non-judgmental stance

MCC Marker

Coach has no agenda
Curiosity is constant and silent
Emotional neutrality is stable under pressure

Script

(2.01) What feels most alive for you right now
(2.02) What are you discovering as you speak
(2.03) I notice I am staying with your thinking here
(2.04) What is happening for you in this moment
(2.05) I am curious about what is emerging for you

CORE COMPETENCY 3: Establishes and Maintains Agreements

Criteria

3.01 Sets coaching agreement
3.02 Clarifies goals
3.03 Adjusts agreement when needed
3.04 Manages focus
3.05 Revisits agreement fluidly

MCC Marker

Agreement is implicit, not procedural
Focus shifts organically with client thinking
No rigid structure enforcement

Script

(3.01) What would make today’s conversation meaningful
(3.02) What would you like to explore first
(3.03) Is this still the most important focus for you
(3.04) Where would your attention like to go now
(3.05) Does anything feel more important now

CORE COMPETENCY 4: Cultivates Trust and Safety

Criteria

4.01 Creates safe space
4.02 Demonstrates respect
4.03 Encourages openness
4.04 Accepts client expression
4.05 Builds trust through presence

MCC Marker

Safety is felt, not stated
Silence is held without discomfort
No rescuing or reassuring

Script

(4.01) Take your time with this
(4.02) I am with you in this
(4.03) Say more about that
(4.04) What is true for you here
(4.05) What do you notice as you speak

CORE COMPETENCY 5: Maintains Presence

Criteria

5.01 Fully attentive
5.02 Responds to client energy
5.03 Comfortable with silence
5.04 Adapts in real-time
5.05 Detached from outcome

MCC Marker

Silence is active coaching
No rushing to fill space
Coach follows energy shifts

Script

(5.01) … (silence)
(5.02) What is happening right now for you
(5.03) … (pause held)
(5.04) What just changed for you
(5.05) I am with what is unfolding

CORE COMPETENCY 6: Listens Actively

Criteria

6.01 Listens beyond words
6.02 Notices emotion and energy
6.03 Identifies patterns
6.04 Reflects meaning
6.05 Tracks what is unsaid

MCC Marker

Listening includes silence, tone, energy
Reflection is minimal but precise
Coach reflects essence, not content

Script

(6.01) Something shifts as you say that
(6.02) What is underneath that for you
(6.03) I notice a pattern emerging here
(6.04) What does that really mean for you
(6.05) What is not being said yet

CORE COMPETENCY 7: Evokes Awareness

Criteria

7.01 Uses questions and silence
7.02 Challenges assumptions
7.03 Evokes insight
7.04 Expands perspective
7.05 Encourages deeper thinking

MCC Marker

Insight emerges without forcing
One question often enough
Challenge is subtle, not confrontational

Script

(7.01) What do you already know here
(7.02) What assumption is shaping this
(7.03) What is becoming clear right now
(7.04) What else could this mean
(7.05) What are you noticing about yourself

CORE COMPETENCY 8: Facilitates Client Growth

Criteria

8.01 Integrates awareness
8.02 Designs action and goals
8.03 Supports autonomy
8.04 Explores learning from action
8.05 Identifies barriers and resources
8.06 Summarises learning
8.07 Sustains progress
8.08 Acknowledges progress
8.09 Closes session

MCC Marker

Action emerges from identity shift
No imposed planning
Closure is natural, not structured

Script

Integration

(8.01) What is different for you now
(8.01) How has your view shifted

Action emergence

(8.02) What now feels ready to move
(8.02) What feels like the natural next step

Autonomy

(8.03) What feels truly yours here
(8.03) What would you choose without pressure

Learning from action

(8.04) What might you discover by doing that
(8.04) What could this reveal about you

Barriers/resources

(8.05) What might get in the way internally
(8.05) What already supports you

Integration

(8.06) What stays with you from today
(8.06) What is the key insight

Sustaining

(8.07) How will this show up in your life
(8.07) What changes now

Acknowledgement

(8.08) What do you recognise in yourself
(8.08) What has shifted for you

Closure

(8.09) What feels complete now
(8.09) Is there anything still unfolding
(8.09) We can close here when you are ready
(8.09) … (silence)
(8.09) Session closes

MCC FINAL MARKERS (ASSESSOR VIEW)

MCC PASS INDICATORS

Coach does not lead client thinking
Insight emerges naturally, not forced
Silence is comfortable and productive
Questions are minimal but precise
Client owns all decisions
No advice, no direction, no teaching
Transformation is identity-level, not task-level

MCC FAIL INDICATORS

Over-questioning
Structured “step-by-step” coaching
Advice disguised as questions
Premature action planning
Filling silence
Leading client thinking

CORE COMPETENCY 1: Demonstrates Ethical Practice (MCC Questions)

1.01 Ethical standards embodied

What feels important to hold true for you in how we work together here?
How do you want this conversation to reflect what matters to you professionally?

1.02 Maintains coaching agreement

What would make today’s focus most useful for you?
Where would you like us to place our attention right now?

1.03 Maintains confidentiality

What feels important for you about how this space is held?
What helps you feel fully safe to speak openly here?

1.04 Maintains boundaries

What role would be most useful for me to hold with you right now?
What do you need from me in this conversation as your coach?

1.05 Dual relationships

What would feel clean and appropriate in how we work together?
What supports clarity in how I show up for you here?

CORE COMPETENCY 2: Embodies Coaching Mindset

2.01 Openness and curiosity

What are you discovering as you speak this out loud?
What feels most alive in what you’re sharing right now?

2.02 Learning and growth

What is this situation teaching you about yourself?
What are you noticing that you haven’t seen before?

2.03 Emotional regulation

What is happening for you as you sit with this?
What do you notice in yourself as you talk about this?

2.04 Presence

What is most present for you right now in this moment?
What is asking for attention as you speak?

2.05 Non-judgment

What is simply true for you here, without needing to judge it?
What becomes possible when nothing about this is wrong?

CORE COMPETENCY 3: Establishes and Maintains Agreements

3.01 Sets agreement

What would make this conversation meaningful for you today?
What would you like to leave here having explored?

3.02 Clarifies goals

What would you like to understand more clearly by the end of this?
What shift would be most valuable for you?

3.03 Adjusts agreement

Is this still the most important focus for you right now?
What feels more important as we speak?

3.04 Maintains focus

Where does your attention want to go now?
What feels most important to stay with here?

3.05 Revisits agreement

How is this still relevant to what you came here for?
What is emerging that changes the direction of this conversation?

CORE COMPETENCY 4: Cultivates Trust and Safety

4.01 Safe space

What would help you go deeper into this safely?
What feels important to slow down with here?

4.02 Respect

What matters most for you in how this is explored?
How would you like to be met in this moment?

4.03 Encourages openness

What feels true for you that hasn’t been said yet?
What would you say if nothing needed to be held back?

4.04 Accepts expression

What is important in what you are feeling right now?
What is your experience of this as it is?

4.05 Trust through presence

What do you notice about being fully heard here?
What supports trust for you in this conversation?

CORE COMPETENCY 5: Maintains Presence

5.01 Full attention

What is happening for you right now as you say that?
What do you notice in yourself in this moment?

5.02 Responds to energy

What just shifted for you there?
What feels different as you say that?

5.03 Comfortable with silence

… (silence held)
What is emerging in the space right now?

5.04 Real-time adaptation

What feels most important to explore now?
Where is your thinking naturally going?

5.05 Detached from outcome

What wants to happen in this conversation for you?
What becomes possible if there is no fixed outcome?

CORE COMPETENCY 6: Listens Actively

6.01 Beyond words

What is underneath what you just said?
What is really being expressed here?

6.02 Emotion and energy

What feeling is most present right now?
What is the emotional tone of this for you?

6.03 Pattern recognition

Where have you seen this pattern before?
What seems consistent across your experience?

6.04 Meaning reflection

What does this actually mean for you?
What matters most in what you are describing?

6.05 Unspoken

What is not yet being said here?
What is still forming for you?

CORE COMPETENCY 7: Evokes Awareness

7.01 Silence + question

What do you already know here that you haven’t fully trusted?
What becomes visible when you slow this down?

7.02 Challenges assumptions

What assumption is shaping this that may not be questioned yet?
What if that assumption wasn’t true?

7.03 Evokes insight

What is becoming clear as you speak this?
What new understanding is forming right now?

7.04 Expands perspective

What else could this mean?
How else might this be seen?

7.05 Deep thinking

What are you noticing about yourself in this situation?
What is this revealing about how you think?

CORE COMPETENCY 8: Facilitates Client Growth

8.01 Integrates awareness

What is different for you now compared to when we started?
How has your view of this shifted?

8.02 Action emergence

What now feels ready to move into action?
What feels like the natural next step?

8.03 Autonomy

What choice feels fully yours here?
What would you choose if nothing was expected of you?

8.04 Learning through action

What might you discover by trying that?
What could become clearer through doing it?

8.05 Barriers/resources

What might get in your way internally?
What already supports you in this?

8.06 Summarises learning

What stays with you from today?
What is the key insight you’re taking forward?

8.07 Sustains progress

How will this show up in your everyday life?
What will make this real beyond this conversation?

8.08 Acknowledges progress

What do you recognise in yourself right now?
What shift do you notice in yourself?

8.09 Closure

What feels complete for you now?
Is there anything still unfolding here?

MCC REALITY CHECK (what makes these MCC-level)

These questions only become MCC-level when:

You ask one question at a time
You don’t stack questions
You don’t rescue silence
You don’t explain the question
You don’t steer toward action
You let the client do the cognitive labour
You follow energy, not structure
You let insight emerge before moving forward

How to Create a Breakthrough in Coaching

What 12 of the World’s Best Coaches Actually Do (and the Questions Behind It)

Most coaching breakthroughs don’t come from insight alone.

They come from a shift in awareness, perspective, or ownership that leads to new action.

Across 12 major coaching approaches, the patterns are surprisingly consistent.

Below is what they actually do—and the exact questions that create breakthroughs, mapped to ICF coaching competencies where relevant.

1. Michael Bungay Stanier — Curiosity First (The Coaching Habit)

Core idea: Stay curious longer than your urge to fix.
(ICF: Core Competency 7 – Evokes Awareness)

Breakthrough questions:

What’s on your mind?
And what else?
What’s the real challenge here for you?
What do you want?
What’s most useful right now?

👉 Breakthrough happens when thinking slows down and clarifies.

2. Sir John Whitmore — GROW Model Structure

Core idea: Clarity before action.
(ICF: Competency 6 – Listening; Competency 8 – Facilitates Client Growth)

Breakthrough questions:

What do you want to achieve?
What is happening right now?
What options do you have?
What else could you try?
What will you do next?

👉 Breakthrough happens when confusion becomes structured thinking.

3. Byron Katie — Belief Inquiry (“The Work”)

Core idea: Thoughts create suffering, not reality.
(ICF: Competency 7 – Evokes Awareness)

Breakthrough questions:

Is this thought true?
Can you absolutely know it’s true?
What happens when you believe it?
Who would you be without it?
How else could this be true?

👉 Breakthrough happens when belief loses authority.

4. Timothy Gallwey — Inner Game (Removing Interference)

Core idea: Performance = potential minus mental interference.
(ICF: Competency 5 – Maintains Presence; Competency 7 – Evokes Awareness)

Breakthrough questions:

What are you telling yourself right now?
What do you notice in your body when that happens?
What happens when you stop judging yourself?
What shifts if you simply observe?
What would trust look like here?

👉 Breakthrough happens when self-criticism quiets.

5. Nancy Kline — Thinking Environment

Core idea: Better thinking requires uninterrupted attention.
(ICF: Competency 5 – Presence; Competency 6 – Listening)

Breakthrough questions:

What would you like to think about?
What more do you think?
What are you discovering as you think?
What feels most important here?
What new thought is emerging?

👉 Breakthrough happens in silence, not interruption.

6. Marshall Goldsmith — Feedforward

Core idea: Focus on future behaviour, not past analysis.
(ICF: Competency 8 – Facilitates Growth)

Breakthrough questions:

What would you like to improve going forward?
What ideas do you have for doing that differently?
What support would help you?
What will you commit to changing?
What will success look like?

👉 Breakthrough happens when reflection becomes action.

7. Robert Dilts — Logical Levels of Change (NLP)

Core idea: Problems exist at different levels of thinking.
(ICF: Competency 7 – Evokes Awareness)

Breakthrough questions:

What are you doing in this situation?
What capability is involved?
What belief supports this behaviour?
How do you see yourself here?
What is this ultimately about for you?

👉 Breakthrough happens when identity shifts, not behaviour alone.

8. Peter Hawkins — Systemic Coaching

Core idea: The client is part of a wider system.
(ICF: Competency 7 – Evokes Awareness; Competency 3 – Establishes Trust)

Breakthrough questions:

Who else is affected by this?
What pressures are coming from the system?
What expectations are you responding to?
What would others say about this?
What patterns do you notice across relationships?

👉 Breakthrough happens when perspective expands beyond self.

9. Steve de Shazer & Insoo Kim Berg — Solution Focused Coaching

Core idea: Build solutions from exceptions, not problems.
(ICF: Competency 7 – Evokes Awareness; Competency 8 – Facilitates Growth)

Breakthrough questions:

When is this less of a problem?
What’s different in those moments?
What would “better” look like?
What’s already working slightly?
What small step could improve things?

👉 Breakthrough happens when capability is already visible.

10. John Whitmore — GROW (Applied Depth Version)

Core idea: Ownership creates performance.
(ICF: Competency 8 – Facilitates Growth)

Breakthrough questions:

What do you really want?
What is stopping you?
What options do you see?
What would you choose if there were no fear?
What will you do next?

👉 Breakthrough happens when ownership becomes explicit.

11. Bill Campbell — Trust + Radical Honesty Coaching

Core idea: Safety + truth creates performance.
(ICF: Competency 4 – Cultivates Trust; Competency 8 – Facilitates Growth)

Breakthrough questions:

What’s really going on here?
What’s not being said?
What conversation are you avoiding?
Who needs to be involved in this?
What would courageous action look like?

👉 Breakthrough happens when truth is finally spoken.

12. James Flaherty — Developmental Coaching

Core idea: People evolve through stages of meaning-making.
(ICF: Competency 7 – Evokes Awareness; Competency 8 – Facilitates Growth)

Breakthrough questions:

Who are you being in this situation?
What meaning are you making of this?
What habits are shaping your response?
How are your relationships influencing this?
Who are you becoming through this?

👉 Breakthrough happens when identity expands.

Final Insight

Across all 12 approaches—and across all International Coaching Federation competencies—a breakthrough is never created by telling.

It is created by:

Better awareness (Competency 7)
Deep listening (Competency 6)
Strong presence (Competency 5)
Client autonomy (Competency 8)
Trust (Competency 4)

Closing Thought

Coaching breakthroughs are not techniques.

They are conditions for thinking differently about one’s own experience.

And when that shift happens, action becomes inevitable—not instructed.