Mentoring Matters in the ICF Credentialing Journey

Mentor coaching is often approached as one more requirement on the way to an ICF credential.

A certain number of hours. A mentor. Feedback. Completion. Move on to the next step.

And yet, if you speak to coaches who have been through the journey, you may hear a very different story. The coach may have come for the hours. And they stayed for the learning.

Mentor Coaching is not merely a requirement to be completed.

Done well, it can become one of the most meaningful relationships in a coach’s professional journey. A mentor may begin as your guide in developing coaching competence. But that's not all they can be.

They help you notice what you cannot yet see in yourself.

They challenge your assumptions.

They listen for what sits beneath your words.

They help you recognise patterns in your coaching.

And they give you a space to experiment, reflect and find your own voice.

And at times, the relationship becomes much more than that. A trusted space for conversations. A relationship grounded in mutual respect and honesty. A person whose perspective you continue to value long after the credentialing process is over — and, sometimes, a deeply personal or even spiritual connection.

So flip the question from: “Who can give me my mentor-coaching hours?” to: “Who do I want beside me while I become the coach I want to be?”

Choose your mentor, not just your mentor-coaching hours

That distinction matters.

So, how do you choose? Think of this as a checklist — not of credentials alone, but of the qualities that can make the mentoring relationship meaningful.

Look beyond the credential.

Your mentor should be appropriately trained, credentialed and experienced — not only as a coach, but also in mentoring coaches.

But credentials alone don’t tell you everything.

Look for experience that has become wisdom.

Look for someone who has lived a substantial professional life and turned that experience into perspective, maturity and wisdom. Someone who continues to learn. Someone who can hold complexity without rushing to give you an answer.

Look for the coaching mindset beyond the coaching session.

Look for someone who demonstrates selflessness, humility and generosity and embodies the ICF coaching mindset not only in a coaching session, but in the way they live, listen and relate to people.

See how they see you.

Do they connect with you as a person, or do they treat you as another participant in a credentialing process?

Meet them before you decide.

If there are two core mentors, speak to both. Have a one-to-one conversation before deciding. Notice what happens in that conversation.

Can you be vulnerable with them? Will they challenge you without diminishing you? Do they evoke reflection, responsibility and growth?

Ask yourself whether they will help you find your voice.

The right mentor helps you discover your own coaching voice rather than turning you into a replica of themselves. They shouldn’t make you sound like them. They should help you hear yourself more clearly.

Don’t confuse visibility with mastery

In a world where coaching has become increasingly global, it can be tempting to choose a mentor because of where they are based, how visible they are, or how impressive their profile looks.

But a global footprint is not the same as mentoring competence.

Geography is not competence.

Visibility is not mastery.

A polished profile is not presence.

And marketing is not mentoring.

What matters is the quality of the person sitting across from you — and the quality of the relationship you are able to build with them.

Your mentor does not need to be from another country to give you a global perspective.

They need to bring depth, curiosity, experience, humility and the ability to meet you where you are.

Treat it as a relationship, not a requirement

Mentor coaching at Regal Unlimited is supported by a community of 20+ mentors who are also practising coaches. They bring their own coaching practice, experience and continued learning into the mentoring relationship.

Invest in this relationship - with your time, openness, practice and trust. The value of a great mentor extends far beyond a credential, an assessment or ten hours of mentor coaching.

Choose someone who will help you become not only a better coach, but also a better human being.

Because perhaps the value of a great mentor is not only in the coach you become. It may also be in the kind of mentor you eventually become for someone else.

The credential may mark a milestone. The mentoring relationship can illuminate the path.