ICF Credentialing Exam | The Academies

Welcome everyone to the Academy's Facebook Live event. We are celebrating International Coaching Week this week by having daily Facebook Live sessions, and today's session is about the new ICF Credentialing Exam. Uh, I have been doing a lot of research around it myself as the Coaching Curriculum Manager here at the Academy. It's to stay on top of resources to provide to our participants. And I am joined by James Beaman, who is a new MCC, which we are still celebrating, and we'll be joined in a couple minutes by Jennifer James, who is a new Professional Certified Coach, and, and they recently took the new exam, so they get to share their insider knowledge of how it went for them And we also just want to talk today about, uh, what it is, why the changes happen, what we see around it as a team, because it's new. And when there's uncertainty, there is anxiety, and we want to be able to provide resources for those of you watching on how you can prepare and just help to maybe tame some of the emotions that are coming up around the uncertainty. So to give a little context before we dive in, our focus at the academies is providing Level 1 and Level 2 coaching education programs with a neuroscience foundation. And after you go through coach training, then you log your experience hours coaching clients, you do mentor coaching, You pass a performance evaluation of audio, and then you go take the ICF Credentialing Exam. It used to be called the Coach Knowledge Assessment, but they've updated it to be a situational judgment format exam with 81 scenarios that you respond to with a best and a worst response. So that is the context. Anything you'd add to that, James, before we dive in?

I think that's a good place to start. I mean, I think as I was thinking about why, right, that the credentialing exam, like, what makes it important now, I was thinking about how, you know, the ICF core values are professionalism, collaboration, putting myself on the spot, humanity, and equity. And with this new credentialing exam, I think it's a sign, it's a positive positive sign of the growing professionalism of the industry, and I think also works to address some of that equity component as well that we were looking at. So yeah, I think, I think you hit it pretty well there.

Yeah, I love that you tied those in, and something I've noticed as I've attended events the ICF has done about it is that there's an ongoing plan to keep updating the exam yearly. And so that also looks like a way that they're working to increase equity and respond to concerns and questions people have about it. And also just to keep the material fresh. I think there's a lot of professionalism in this by creating exam content that is aligned with standards in the industry. There are other organizations that do situational judgment type exams for credentials, and so that's awesome. And then the ongoing desire to make it fresh and new and do it in the proctored environment, which has also brought some stress but brings a greater level of you've got to be on the ball and you've got to be professional. And proctoring is very common for credentialing exams.

So, yeah, I mean, that's what exactly I was thinking. I was thinking, you know, project managers, the Project Management Institute has the CAPM, the PMP exams, right? And so this sort of newer exam, I think, speaks to the credibility of the credential and equity. So I was reading up on this a little bit before today's session, but I noticed that this The, uh, the people, the coaches who were volunteered to provide these, uh, case studies as well as, um, inform the case studies and even the some of the answers were ICF credentials around the globe. They weren't just, uh, in the US. Um, and I think also by offering it on Pearson VUE, um, both the in-person and the online exam, especially the online exam, can be accessed around the world also. So I think that opens up and really does begin to address the equity components that the ICF coaching and coaching industry wants to make important. And it looks like we have Jennifer.

Welcome, Jennifer. Thanks for joining us.

Of course. Hi, Jessica and James.

It's great to see your smiling face. I'll give you a little context where we're at in the conversation. We just talked about the context for the new exam and some of the values and benefits that are reflected in making this shift to the new exam. And then I just want to take a moment to say as well to our livestream watchers, please share your comments and questions with us as we talk. I'd love to work those into our conversation as I'm facilitating. We did this for you because we've heard lots of questions, and so we want to address those live as we go. One other thing I wanted to share, James, on what we were just talking about is I know that also the ICF is working on rolling out the exam in other languages. So people who don't, who are not having English as their first language, ideally won't have to take it in English eventually. Some are already rolled out. I know there's others in the works. So that's awesome. And then there also are opportunities for accommodations for any needs. So that's another great thing to look into if you've got concerns about the time, the language, any aspects like that. I know that ICF is working hard to create resources to accommodate. All right. Well, let's talk about your experiences. What was it like as two people who recently took the exam?

I'll jump in and say—

I thought it was really— Oh, go ahead, Jennifer. Sorry.

Yeah, you know, I thought it was thought-provoking and yet doable. That's kind of the two terms that I walked away with after having the experience.

Nice. I was joking about it being traumatizing. I think that's a good word to use. It, it, but it did actually feel to me a little bit like the whole actual process of, because I took the exam online, the whole process of like logging in and downloading the software and filling out forms, it did feel a little bit like for me what going through customs is like, right? I had to like get my ID, make sure I filled out all the forms correctly. And so for me, these, those types of experiences naturally raise my energy and excitement levels, probably because they're less common for me and I'm not in control or facilitating them. So I think, yeah, that was, that was one part of my experience of taking the exam.

Okay.

Well, James, I take my hat off to you. I was gonna say, Jessica, that when I read the details about what it took to take it at home online, it was so foreign to me that I just aborted and decided that the test center was the place for me. It just felt much more in my comfort zone.

Great. Well, this is awesome to have an example of both. So James did it through the online Pearson VUE and Jennifer, you did it through a test center. So walk us through, like, what were the main highlights of the experience? They don't have to be positive highlights, but like the high points of the experience, um, technically what did you have to do to show up well?

So at the test center, it was very methodical. It did kind of feel like going through a security check. System. You know, I had rules I had to read right out of the gate, present identification to prove who I was, then fingerprinting occurred. So really just kind of a full-scope focus on making sure that I was who I said I was and that also I understand the rules of the game, which is once I'm in that room that I'm 100% devoted to that test with no additional talking or anything like that. So definitely very formal. It felt real when I showed up at that test center.

All right, and were there other people in the room with you when you were taking the test or how did that work?

Yeah, so the test center that I went to is one that allows tests of any kind that are similar in nature to the ICF. I picked a really slow day, which was awesome. So I think it was only about 4 of us in the room, but we were all taking different tests and thankfully due to the rules that are in place, it was so quiet. We also had a nice little like earmuff that we could put on to just dampen like any kind of typing noise or anything. So very much a space that I could concentrate.

OK. Awesome. What about you, James?

Right. I remember distinctly this one moment in my experience of taking this online at home in the comfort of my gym shorts and t-shirt that— so as an auditory learner, I like to read things aloud because when I hear it, then I sort of comprehend it a little bit better. And so for about maybe a third of the test, I was sort of reading to myself and I evidently got to be a little bit too loud. And so the proctor came on, I'm sitting there minding my own business. The proctor comes on my speakers and says, "Sir, you can't read it that loudly." Oh, but you can whisper. I'm like, okay. So I did have to bring my voice down out of the normal talking voice to a whisper. So that was a little bit of a surprise that I hadn't expected in taking the exam at home because I figured no one else is here. I'm not bothering anybody.

I think you also had mentioned to me previously, James, that you had to clear everything off your surface so it was just your— computer you were working from?

Yes, and that was, that was more challenging for me just because it's, it's out of— it's different, right? We were talking about newness, um, and newness and novelty can be, can be, uh, something that the brain likes. But for me, I have this big monitor here, I usually have 3 or 4 drinks that are all lined up over here, um, and, and a whole bunch of other things that make my desk feel sort of home for me, and I did have to clear, clear all those things. I had to pick up my laptop and show her the corners of my desk. I mean, there was quite a bit of a process to making sure that I wasn't somehow cheating in some way.

Yeah, which is challenging and can feel strange when you know you're not, but also does add to that professionalism aspect as we were talking about. It's reminding me of when I took the GRE, the Graduate Requirement Exam. And you sit in a room, you take a test. So there's a lot of similarity to other exam-taking experiences. How about content-wise? Oh, go for it. Sorry.

Yeah, so I found it exceptionally tough. And I don't know if this is true for you, Jennifer. But I found it— I've taken a lot of standardized tests. In my undergrad. I've supported lots of other undergraduate students in taking standardized tests, and so I feel relatively comfort— comfortable with standardized tests in general. However, I did find it especially challenging, and I think it speaks to the credibility and the validity of the coaching industry and the exam, but I found it especially challenging to not only pick the best answer for each of the scenarios. But the worst one, my brain had trouble with that. And it probably brought my score down a little bit. And if I had to guess which one I probably got more wrong, it would probably be the worst answer. But the experience was good. In fact, I did pass and Jennifer obviously did too because she has her PCC. So I guess, In terms of the experience overall, it was a positive one 'cause the end result was also positive.

Yeah, James, I couldn't agree more. As I read the scenarios, I love that they were real life. So like when I first started reading to myself, I would get excited about, you know, gosh, this is good content. And then when I got to the choices, I would almost immediately be able to see the best. And then I found myself struggling between 2 or 3 for the worst. And the thing I kept saying to myself was, all right, just get out of your head. Just, just make a choice, right? So that, that way I could move to that next thing. But the worst for sure presented more challenge for me than picking the best.

Yeah, we've, we've got a question from Jessica Patterson Fall. Do you have to pick the best and worst for each scenario or best for some and worst for the other?

So it is best and worst for each scenario.

Yeah. So you have 81 scenarios. And for each of those, essentially, you've got 2 questions, right? Which one is best of these 4 options and which one is worst of these 4 options?

And you aren't penalized for wrong answers. You're only given credit for the right answers.

Right, the answers you—

and worse, meaning that those are the right answers, both of those.

Yes, yes. So if you're taking the assessment, you want to answer all the questions like Jennifer said. If you're not sure, pick one and probably go with your gut. Is the, the research in the testing world is if you have a gut, go with it, because that's most likely to be the correct answer. And then move on so you can dedicate your thinking toward other questions.

And I did manage the time for myself during this assessment because you do only have about 2 minutes for each of these situations because there's about 90 minutes for the first half, 90 minutes for the second with 40 questions, right? That breaks down to about 2 minutes. So I didn't check constantly. But occasionally I'd glance up, do the quick math to make sure that I was on track, so make sure that I'd have enough time to be able to look at all the questions because I found in my, my credentialing exam, I found some of the questions, and maybe it was because I was getting a little bit more used to the framework, but I found those towards the end to actually be a little bit easier for me to answer.

Yeah, it could be the framework, could be insights from getting through the test farther.

Yeah, I do feel like—

wanting to get it over with. Oh, sorry, Jennifer.

Yeah, I too felt like I kind of got a rhythm going as the tests progressed. So I think, who knows, maybe it is our brain getting used to it. But I also, James, I agree. For me, like time tends to be a big stressor, and I kind of tend to be historically slow, like I'm a processor, and I always worry because I know myself the way that I do that I'm gonna run out of time. And in this case, I never felt that pressure, and I think I had about 15 minutes to spare when I was done. So I feel like the timing is, is just right.

Those are great tips. We've got a question from Natalia. What are the biggest difficulties in questions?

You know, it's probably what I've already said in that I think really just Being able to narrow my choice to the worst for me was the most difficult. I think the scenario was well presented. It was easy to understand. I personally was able to pretty easily identify the best. I think just process of elimination of feeling confident in my worst answer is what presented the greatest challenge.

I was going to say trying to identify the worst answer was probably a big challenge. For me, also a challenge that I later found out could have been addressed, so I'd recommend this to other people who take it, is the font size of the exam can be adjusted. And I had it, I have a 13-inch monitor, it was relatively small. I found myself about midway kind of having some eye strain, a mild headache, but just know that the font size can be adjusted. I looked for about 30 seconds to try to figure it out. But it can be adjusted, and that would have made the experience even better one for me.

And James, did you ask your proctor for information on how to do that or figure it out on your own?

I just tried to figure it on my own, yes.

Okay, and I have information about that in our ICF credentialing exam prep document, so if that's something that you haven't seen and would like to see, please reach out because we can get that to you. We've got a question from— I think this is Carlos, Carlos Roberto Borges. Which material did you use to prepare for the exam? Any tips?

Yeah, so I'll go here. So I actually reached out to these great people that work at the academies. Who provided me a study guide, and I found those— that information to be helpful. I mean, I reviewed the ICF core competencies, I reviewed the PCC markers. I mean, honestly, I'm sort of saturated in these things all the time being a trainer, but what I did find to be one of the most helpful pieces to prepare was a recording of a facilitator who led some participants through some of the 8 sample questions that you can find on the ICF website. And I found the dialogue and conversations and questions and getting the wrong answers sometimes helpful in terms of preparing for my own exam. In fact, it gave me one of the shortcuts that I used, which was pay attention to the verbs. In the answers. And so if they sound more coach-like or if they didn't sound coach-like, like inform, advise, direct, but if they sounded more coach-like, like notice, observe, inquired, invited, or shared, then I could be assured that those were either the best or worst, depending on which one I was looking for. So noticing the verbs was a helpful insight I got from that recording.

That recording sounds amazing, James. So I used the sample questions. I didn't have the recording, but I also looked at the ICF core competencies. And then I really tried to think about, so what are kind of big picture things that kind of relate to the International Coaching Federation Foundation? That could serve as a guiding compass for me that would help me in decision-making. And the ICF Code of Ethics was huge in kind of being that guiding compass for me. The definition of coaching served well in, in being a compass as I was evaluating the best and the worst choices. And then also I found just thinking sometimes when I really was stumped around what are the ICF core values, which they are professionalism, collaboration, humanity and equality. There was something about that that sometimes gave me a breakthrough. So those bigger picture items, I think, really grounded me.

And another thing that helped me, Jessica, is about a decade ago— and it is a while ago— I took a 6-week coaching— it was like coaching ethics or business ethics and coaching course. And the feature of that was we talked through different coaching situations and scenarios. And so I— kind of went back to that book. And the reason I'm mentioning that is because I was also on a call with Magna Mooc, the CEO of ICF Global earlier this week, and she was discussing ethics. And on a call, there were two books that she mentioned. I'll get those books to you for sure, Jessica, but that have case studies. And I think that the review of those could be really helpful in preparing for the exam as well.

Yeah, please do send those my way and I'll add them to the resource we have. We've got some questions around how to reach out for the prep doc. You can reach out to jessica@theacademies.com. I'll add that into the comments for you to have and I will get that to you. Was that recording referenced in preparing also on the ICF website? No, that recording was not on the ICF website, but I have that one linked in the prep document as well. So reach out to me, I'll get that to you. It's in there. I also found it really helpful as like a way to just walk through and frame and hear other people's perspectives. I've not taken the assessment. I, I kind of want to now just because I've been learning so much about the exam. Let's talk about staying in the blue zone because you've mentioned multiple threats like the time threat. I know there's like the money threat of like maybe I have to redo this. What other threats were involved for you as you were taking the exam that made it a challenge to Stay in the blue zone.

For me, I took it before they incorporated the midpoint break, and because I was at a testing center and I was worried about time, I was really worried and nervous about like, what if I need a break? What do I do? And is that gonna take time away? I made it all the way through. There was no break, but that was in the back of my mind.

Yeah, and they have incorporated a 5-minute break in the middle now for everyone watching.

There is, yes. And I definitely, I took every moment of that time, every second of that 5-minute break in my experience too. What were the threats was the question? The size of the font, like not being like, just that feeling of not being able to necessarily read. And then I noticed occasionally like I could feel my body, or my breathing sort of get a little bit shallow. I could feel myself getting a little bit, I would say, just nervous or excited. So I just take a breath or even do some PQ reps, which is this training course by Shirzad Shamim, and just sort of do something that pulls me back into my body to help keep me in that blue zone.

Love those ideas, and for anyone watching who doesn't have reference for blue zone, red zone, that is the way we talk at the Academy is about the core neuroscience that supports us being in a space of creativity and connection. That's the blue zone where we feel safety and we can create, and the red zone is the space where we're in fight-flight. We are feeling like we've got to protect ourselves from threat. So really a huge part of this exam is being able to like stay in the coaching mindset because that's all about— that's what answering these situational judgment type questions is all about. It's like, as a coach, if you've got that mindset on, what's the best thing you could do to respond? What's the worst thing you could do to respond? Lots of learning opportunity, I'm sure. I'm curious, as you took the questions, did you learn anything from thinking through like what's the best and worst in this scenario?

For sure. You know, as I read the scenarios, I definitely— what stood out to me was it gave me an opportunity for exposure to things that I haven't yet had had exposure to. And now when that happens, then I will be much more prepared for it. And in addition, it also presented to me things that have happened already in my coaching career and kind of helped validate to me, okay, that wasn't weird, right? That was kind of part of this profession and also gave me confidence that I handled it the way that I should have when that opportunity presented itself to me.

And it was helpful to learn, for me, Jessica, it was helpful to learn about myself in the process, right? As you were saying, like, it's a great opportunity to embody the coaching mindset. I would say it's a great opportunity to make sure you have core competency number 5, right? Maintain your presence. And I found myself, okay, James, focus on just this one thing. Forget the question that you just answered and don't worry about the next one, but just stay right here, um, with this scenario. I found it helpful in learning to manage my own emotions as I navigated through it.

Yeah, it sounds like a lot of being present there.

Yeah, and so much talking that you do to yourself. I too, I remember saying like, okay, just read, process, and don't overthink, or don't watch that clock. Many verbal affirmations to myself to keep myself under control and in check and in that blue zone.

And then in the break to keep myself in the blue zone, of course, went to the restroom, refilled my water, but I had about 2 minutes left. And so I stepped to the side and did about 50 jumping jacks just to bring myself into my body and get some of that blood flowing and that energy sort of out.

That's a great idea. Love these practical tips. Um, one other thought that's coming to my mind is just like, get yourself a team of supporters. I know that with James and Jennifer, we were as a team just so excited to celebrate and hear how it went and bring support. And I know that like, whether you pass or whether you don't pass, having that team is such a helpful way to like come back to that place of safety and support and creation so that you can stay in the coaching mindset. Um, all right, that's exactly what I was going to say. Perfect. Um, if you're listening, feel free to share any last questions. Um, if we don't get to them in the conversation, we'll get to them later. And I'd love to close with this question: what would be your one piece of advice for our listeners who are about to take this exam?

I would say that just as you trust your clients and you see them as whole and resourceful, turn that inward and trust yourself and your expertise as a coach. And I guess my closing comment would be, you've got this. Believe that.

Yeah, I was going to say, do whatever you need to do before, during, and even after to reduce the red zone and increase your ability to get in the blue zone because you're going to be able to think. You're going to be able to be more creative, resourceful, and whole as you navigate from that zone, that, that positive brain state, much more than a negative one.

Beautiful words. Thank you for that. All right, well, thank you everyone for tuning in. If you've got more questions, we will answer them in the comments, so feel free to keep leaving them. And feel free to tune in tomorrow for our final day of Facebook Live sessions for International Coaching Week. We'll be talking about our Artificial Intelligence and Coaching. You'll get to hear about how AI is being used in the coaching space and explore what we might expect in the future. So hot topic, lots to talk about there, and would love your engagement and joining the conversation then. Thanks for joining us.