Case Analysis & Practical Application Flashcards
7 cards from real ICF practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Case Analysis & Practical Application flashcards as text
A coach has been working with a client for six months, but the client's goals keep expanding. When is it appropriate to revisit the coaching agreement?
Answer: Whenever the client's focus or goals shift significantly from what was originally agreed.
ICF Competency 3 requires coaches to re-contract when goals, direction, or scope change meaningfully during the engagement.
A client shares a solution to their challenge at the start of a session. The coach believes a different solution would be far more effective. What should the coach do?
Answer: Explore the client's proposed solution through questions, offering alternatives only if given permission.
ICF coaching builds the client's own thinking capacity; the coach may offer alternatives with permission but does not impose their own judgment.
A client who is usually talkative gives only short, flat answers during a session. What is the most ICF-aligned response?
Answer: Notice the shift aloud and gently ask how the client is showing up today.
ICF Active Listening includes noticing shifts in the client's energy, tone, and engagement and naming them with care.
A coach is asked by a potential client to guarantee specific outcomes (e.g., 'I will get promoted within 6 months'). What is the correct ICF-aligned response?
Answer: Explain that coaching supports the client's growth and goal pursuit but cannot guarantee specific external outcomes.
ICF ethics prohibit coaches from guaranteeing specific results, as outcomes depend on the client and external factors beyond coaching.
A client is stuck between two career paths and wants the coach to tell them which to choose. The coach has strong intuition about which path suits the client. What is the ICF-aligned approach?
Answer: Invite the client to explore both paths more deeply rather than offering the coach's preference as a directive.
ICF coaches support the client's own decision-making process; even strong intuitions are shared tentatively, not as advice.
During a session, a client mentions that they have been falsifying expense reports at work. What is the coach's primary obligation under ICF ethics?
Answer: Acknowledge the disclosure, review the confidentiality agreement's limits, and potentially discuss mandatory reporting obligations.
ICF ethics require coaches to discuss the limits of confidentiality at the outset and handle disclosures of illegal activity according to those established agreements and applicable law.
A client has achieved their initial coaching goal but the relationship has become very friendly. The client asks to continue sessions as informal check-ins. What is the best ICF-aligned response?
Answer: Clarify with the client whether the relationship is shifting from coaching to friendship and establish clear boundaries.
ICF ethics address dual relationships and require coaches to maintain clarity about the nature of the professional coaching relationship.