The International Coach Federation has identified “Coaching Presence” as one of the eleven core coaching competencies. It’s core because it’s incredibly important and foundational to any coaching that makes a difference. But what exactly is coaching presence and how do you develop it?

Aside from the ICF’s definition and description, I think about coaching presence as how you show up. Specifically, you have coaching presence when you:

• Show up as a coach and not as something else (consultant, trainer, mentor, friend, parent). This is basic, but the basics matter. A coach’s main intent is to facilitate and support, not to tell, solve, fix, or advise.
• Show up with power and influence, not as a wallflower or mere observer. Some coaches mistakenly think a coach sits back and watches the client work. While the client should be the one who is doing the hard work, the coach is a catalyst who ignites and supports the client’s hard work.
• Show up on behalf of the client. A coaching presence means having the client and the client’s best interests in mind, even when this requires challenging the client. You’re not showing up in order to be liked or to make the client happy, but to support the client in carrying out the client’s agenda.
• Show up dedicated to the coaching process. As a coach, it’s your job to hold the space for the client and to ensure that it’s a coaching space. You can’t be distracted or detoured. This is why it’s so much more powerful to BE a coach than it is to show up as someone who is DOING coaching.

Our list could go on, but let’s shift from describing what coaching presence is to focusing on how to develop your coaching presence. Here are five ways to develop your coaching presence.

1. Self-awareness. The more you truly know yourself, the more you can show up as the YOU version of a coach. When you are coaching, it’s important to be the authentic you. However, you cannot coach by showing up as the unfiltered, untamed, unintentional you. You have to inhabit the coaching space in the way that only you can but without lazily just doing whatever you want in the way you want. Develop your coaching presence by growing your self-awareness through journaling, clarifying your deepest needs, wants and values, and admitting your personality patterns.
2. Coaching Review. After each coaching session, reflect on your coaching presence. This is different than noticing your coaching skills. Instead of reviewing what you did as a coach, review who you were as a coach. This includes the internal conversations you were having, especially at the deep levels that might be thought of as “sub-logical” – the mental patterns that occur without words. Notice the drivers, motivations, instincts, needs, and values that influenced your coaching presence.
3. Competence. Your coaching presence is not synonymous with your coaching ability, but the two are linked. The more capable and competent you are as a coach, the stronger and more vivid your coaching presence will be. A well-developed coaching skill set will also help ensure that you are not “faking it” as a coach. Work on strengthening your coaching skills and you’ll tend to find that your coaching presence develops, too.
4. Confidence. Nobody wants a coach who is uncertain about her ability as a coach or the coaching process. Your confidence acts like a dimmer switch on your coaching competence. Increased confidence can’t magically transform a mediocre coach into a masterful coach, but it can ensure that more and more of your coaching ability get expressed. As you grow in your confidence, you’ll show up as someone who trusts yourself, the client, and the coaching process. That’s the kind of person your client needs you to be!
5. Credibility. The other four ways to develop your coaching presence deal with how you experience yourself as a coach, but this final one is about the client’s perception of you. Bottom line: if there is anything hindering your client from trusting you, remove it. Please notice that I mention this one last because while it’s important, it’s not a great place to start in developing your coaching presence. Why? Because too many coaches are tempted to focus on the client’s perception of the coach instead of the coach’s perception of the coach. It’s far more powerful to develop your coaching presence from the inside out, not from the outside in.

Okay, so how’s your coaching presence? Do you feel like you show up with a strong and client-centered coaching presence? Or do you have some growing to do? If you need to grow, pick just one or two of the suggested ways to develop and get started! Also, we’d love to hear of your experience with coaching presence, so please share your experience in comments section.