Embodying Coaching Mastery: From ‘the What’ to ‘the Who’ and ‘the Whole’
When we work towards embodying coaching mastery, it helps to keep three important lenses in mind:
- The What.
- The Who.
- The Whole.
Each represents a deeper level of awareness and partnership within the coaching conversation and, as coaches develop their capability and presence, their attention naturally expands through these layers.
Coaching mastery is not about adding more techniques; it is about deepening awareness and expanding our way of being with the client.
The What: The Starting Point of Coaching
Much coaching – particularly at ACC level – begins with the what.
This refers to the issue, challenge, or goal the client brings to the session. It is often:
- Measurable
- Tangible
- Practical
- The presenting reason for the conversation
Clients might want to:
- Improve their leadership presence
- Navigate a difficult conversation
- Make a career decision
- Increase productivity or focus
Working with the what can lead to clarity and helpful actions. However, when coaching stays only at this level, it can become transactional, focusing on solving the immediate problem without exploring deeper drivers.
The Who: The Person Behind the Goal
As coaches grow towards PCC-level capability, their curiosity often expands beyond the goal itself.
We begin to explore the who.
This means partnering with the person in front of us and the person behind the goal. The coaching conversation may include exploration of:
- Values and motivations
- Personal stories and narratives
- Beliefs and assumptions
- Identity and self-perception
- Emotional responses
A conversation may shift from:
- “How do I solve this problem?”
to
- “What does this situation reveal about who I am and what matters to me?”
- “What am I learning about my values and beliefs in this situation?”
When coaching includes the who, clients often experience deeper insights and meaningful learning.
The Whole: Coaching with Systemic Awareness
At the level of true coaching mastery – often associated with MCC-level practice – the lens expands even further.
We begin to consider the whole.
Every client exists within a wider system of influences and relationships. Masterful coaching acknowledges the relational, systemic, and contextual dynamics shaping a client’s experience.
These may include:
- Culture and societal expectations
- Family history and personal background
- Language and identity
- Organisational structures
- Power dynamics
- Religious or philosophical influences
- Relationships and social networks
- Unseen patterns within systems
Coaching with the whole means recognising that thinking, feeling, and behaviour are interconnected within wider systems.
It invites deeper curiosity about how different influences interact and shape the client’s reality.
From Problem Solving to Transformation
Each layer of coaching expands the potential impact of the conversation.
- Coaching only the what may remain practical but surface-level.
- Coaching the who invites personal insight and awareness.
- Coaching the whole honours the complexity of human lives and enables transformation.
When coaches expand their lens, they move beyond solving problems and instead create space for lasting change and expanded perspective.
Coaching Mastery and MCC Expectations
For coaches preparing for MCC performance evaluation, this holistic perspective becomes essential.
The ICF Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) (2022) required coaches to demonstrate deep presence, partnership, and awareness of the client’s broader context. The more recent MCC Minimum Skills Requirements (2025) emphasise mastery not only of coaching technique but of coaching presence and way of being.
This includes:
- Deep listening and observation
- Attunement to the client’s experience
- Systemic curiosity
- Relational awareness
- Spaciousness and presence
Coaching mastery is therefore not about doing more – it is about being more.
More present. More aware. More observant. More connected. More attuned.
Expanding the Coaching Lens
When we expand our perspective from the what to the who and the whole, coaching evolves.
We move from transactional problem solving to enabling genuine transformation.
And in doing so, we create space for clients to see themselves, their choices, and their possibilities in entirely new ways.
Deepening Your Coaching Mastery
If you want to explore what coaching mastery truly entails, you may be interested in the 20 ICF CCE programme “Embodying Coaching Mastery: PCC to MCC”
Created by:
- Caroline Beckett, MCC, EIA/SP, ESIA, MA
- Cindy Schmelzenbach, MCC, ESIA, EIA/SP
- Katie Drescher, MCC, ESIA, SP, JD
This programme is ideal for coaches who want to:
- Deepen their coaching mastery
- Gain CCE hours for credential renewal
- Prepare for the ICF MCC portfolio application process
- Elevate their professional coaching practice
