Path 01 · Knowledge questions
Latest field note · ICF exam prep
Could You Study the 2025 ICF Standards and Still Pass an Exam Built on 2019 and 2020?
Probably. The standards did not fundamentally change. But ‘probably’ is not a good reason to ignore the documents your exam was written to test.
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Path 02 · Situational judgment
Studying for the PCC
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FeaturedICF exam prep
Could You Study the 2025 ICF Standards and Still Pass an Exam Built on 2019 and 2020?
Probably. The standards did not fundamentally change. But ‘probably’ is not a good reason to ignore the documents your exam was written to test.
ICF exam prep
The Most Coach-Like Answer Is Often Wrong on the ICF Exam
The same open question can be the best answer on one item and the worst on the next. Nothing about the question changes. The facts around it do.
ICF exam prep
Stop Studying for the ACC Exam Like It Is a Competency Quiz
The Core Competencies matter. But the category bearing their name is only 40 percent of the exam, and even that category includes more than the eight competencies.
ICF exam prep
Two PCC Exams, Two Rulebooks: Which ICF Exam Should You Take?
From November 10, 2026 through March 31, 2027, PCC and MCC candidates can choose between the current situational-judgment exam and a new mixed-format exam built on updated standards.
ICF exam prep
Passing the ICF Exam Does Not Prove You Can Coach
The exam tests what you know and how you judge a written scenario. It cannot show what you do when a real client goes quiet, changes direction, or says something you did not expect.
ICF credentialing
ICF Is Removing the Final Performance Evaluation. Is That a Mistake?
Beginning in 2027, ICF is shifting ACC and PCC competence validation toward enhanced mentor coaching and ongoing assessment. That may produce better coaches, or it may make independent verification harder.
ICF exam prep
Ethics Changes the Answer: When Coaching Is Not the Next Move
Partnership matters. But once confidentiality, conflicts of interest, safety, or scope enters the scenario, another coaching question can be the wrong move.
ICF exam prep
Why You Keep Missing ICF Practice Questions
Knowing the competencies is not the problem. The challenge is recognizing which distinction a question is testing and why your reasonable answer loses to a stronger one.
Coaching agreements
The Agreement Isn't Finished After the First Five Minutes
The session agreement is not an opening ritual. It is how you and your client keep choosing the work together.
ICF exam prep
Which ICF Competencies Should You Study for the ACC or PCC Exam in 2026?
The standard exams and the profession are running on different editions. Here is which one ACC and PCC candidates should study, and why.
Coaching judgment
Helpful Is Not the Same as Coaching
Some weak coaching sounds warm, intelligent, and genuinely useful. The problem is that it can quietly take the client's work away, and ICF exam questions often test that distinction.
Coaching presence
The Shift from "Am I Doing This Right?" to Actually Being Present
Studying the ICF Core Competencies can make coaches more self-conscious, not more present. Here is what changes when you stop performing the competencies and start embodying them.
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