ACC Exam questions on the core competencies

Coaching Competencies, Strategies and Techniques is 40% of the ACC Exam: about 24 of its 60 questions.

What this topic covers

This topic asks how a coach uses the eight ICF Core Competencies in a session. The questions are about presence, listening, questions that evoke awareness, working with a client’s words and beliefs, and tools such as scaling.

It has the most questions of the three topics. Most give you a moment in a session and ask what the coach should do next. The right answer follows the client’s thinking, not the coach’s.

Source: ICF, ACC Exam page

Five worked questions: competencies

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Daniel's client, Amara, describes caring for her father, who has dementia. Daniel went through the same experience last year and feels a wave of grief, but he can still follow what she says. What is the most appropriate response for Daniel?

AManage his feelings, and ask Amara whether she wants to move to another part of her goal.

BNotice his own feelings, manage them and keep his focus on Amara.

CNotice his grief, and tell Amara briefly that he has been through something similar.

DPause the session, and seek supervision before going on.

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The answer is B.

Coaches will sometimes be touched by what clients bring. The competency asks the coach to be aware of their own reaction and manage it so attention stays with the client. Self-disclosure, a change of topic or a pause all shift the session toward the coach's needs. Only a reaction that truly impairs the work calls for other steps.

Based on: ICF Core Competencies 2019, Competency 5 Maintains Presence (5.3). ICF Code of Ethics 2020, Section II Responsibility to Practice and Performance (Standard 17).

An original question in the style of the ACC Exam, written for Robin. Not affiliated with the ICF.

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Tomás says his job feels "like running on a treadmill." What is the most effective way for the coach to use this metaphor?

AOffer another image, a marathon, and ask which one fits him better.

BAsk what makes his workload feel that way, and what is on his plate.

CInvite Tomás to say more about the treadmill and what he wants from it.

DAsk whether the treadmill means he feels burnt out, and what would help.

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The answer is C.

ICF names metaphor as a tool for evoking awareness. The client's own image usually carries more meaning for them than any image the coach offers. Exploring it in the client's words builds insight without the coach interpreting it.

Based on: ICF Core Competencies 2019, Competency 7 Evokes Awareness (competency definition, which names metaphor; 7.5). PCC Marker 6.2 describes exploring the client's words.

An original question in the style of the ACC Exam, written for Robin. Not affiliated with the ICF.

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Graciela is 63. She says she wants to use coaching to think about "the next chapter" of her working life. Which question best shows the coach seeking to understand her in her own context?

A"What first step could you take on it in the next month?"

B"As you plan the next chapter, what part does retirement play?"

C"When you say 'the next chapter', what do you mean by it?"

D"What would you like to have clear by the end of this session?"

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The answer is C.

The coach seeks to understand the client within her own identity, experiences and values, and stays aware of their own assumptions. Bringing in retirement projects an age-based assumption onto Graciela. Asking for a session outcome or a first step is useful later, but neither seeks her own meaning. The question that leaves the meaning open lets her define it.

Based on: ICF Core Competencies 2019, Competency 4 Cultivates Trust and Safety (sub-point 4.1), Competency 1 Demonstrates Ethical Practice (1.2) and Competency 2 Embodies a Coaching Mindset (2.4).

An original question in the style of the ACC Exam, written for Robin. Not affiliated with the ICF.

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Ngozi, a school principal, says: "A good leader should always have the answer ready." Which coach response best invites her to examine this belief?

A"How does that idea shape the way you lead your staff each day?"

B"What might change if you sometimes asked staff for the answer?"

C"What questions could you prepare answers for before staff meetings?"

D"What answers will your staff expect from you this term?"

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The answer is A.

Evoking awareness about a belief means helping the client look at the belief, not correcting it or working around it. Asking how the idea shapes her leadership lets Ngozi notice its effect and decide for herself whether it still serves her. Arguing, accepting or planning around the belief all leave her own thinking untouched.

Based on: ICF Core Competencies 2019, Competency 7 Evokes Awareness (7.3, 7.4). PCC Markers 2020, 7.1, 7.2 and 7.6, as a description of this in practice.

An original question in the style of the ACC Exam, written for Robin. Not affiliated with the ICF.

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Over a six-session engagement, Esi wants to track how clearly she sets boundaries with her co-founder. She says she wants to judge her own progress. Her coach suggests a 0 to 10 scale. Which approach best supports Esi's growth across the engagement?

AThe coach sets what each number means and asks Esi to agree, so ratings stay consistent.

BEsi describes what key points on the scale mean to her and how she will use it.

CThe coach records Esi's score each session and tells her if her progress is on track.

DThe coach compares Esi's scores with those of other clients to give her a benchmark.

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The answer is B.

A scale is most useful when the client gives the numbers their meaning and decides how to use it over time. This keeps the tool in service of the client's own learning and progress. The coach partners on the method rather than defining, judging or benchmarking the results.

Based on: ICF Core Competencies 2019, Competency 8 Facilitates Client Growth (8.2, 8.3).

An original question in the style of the ACC Exam, written for Robin. Not affiliated with the ICF.

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These are original practice questions written for Robin. They are not questions from the real exam, and they do not reproduce ICF text.

Robin is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) or Pearson VUE. ACC and ICF are trade marks of the International Coaching Federation, used only to name the exam.