What is Mentor Coaching?
Mentor coaching is one of the most misunderstood terms in professional coaching. The name suggests something between mentoring and coaching. In practice it is neither. It is a specific professional development process required for ICF credential applications, and understanding it clearly matters whether you are pursuing a credential or choosing development for your coaching practice.
This is covered in our broader guide to coaching qualifications explained. For a clear comparison of mentoring and coaching as separate disciplines, read our article on coaching vs mentoring.
The ICF definition of mentor coaching
The International Coaching Federation defines mentor coaching as a dialogue of coaching and feedback in a collaborative and appreciative manner, based on observed or recorded coaching sessions.
Three things in that definition are worth exploring.
First, it is based on observed or recorded coaching sessions. This means your actual coaching work is the material. Your mentor coach reviews your real sessions, not hypothetical scenarios. This is what makes it a competency development process rather than a general learning experience.
Second, it is a dialogue. Mentor coaching is not a one-way assessment. It is a structured conversation between you and your mentor coach, exploring what you did, why you did it, and how your coaching might develop.
Third, it is collaborative and appreciative. The feedback is constructive and specific, grounded in the ICF core competencies, and oriented toward building on what is working as much as identifying what needs development.
What mentor coaching is not
The confusion around mentor coaching is largely caused by the word mentor in the name. It leads people to assume it involves an experienced coach sharing wisdom and guidance from their own practice, the way a mentor shares experience with a mentee.
That is not what mentor coaching is.
ICF mentor coaching requirements
The ICF requires mentor coaching as part of every credential application. The specific requirements apply across all three individual credentials: ACC, PCC, and MCC.
The three-month minimum is intentional. The ICF requires that mentor coaching takes place over sustained time so that development is genuine and observable, not concentrated into a short burst of intensive feedback. You need to coach, receive feedback, adjust your practice, and coach again.
For a full breakdown of the credential requirements including training hours and coaching hours, read our guide to coaching qualifications explained or our ICF vs EMCC comparison.
How mentor coaching works in practice
A mentor coaching programme combines group sessions with individual one-to-one sessions. The two formats serve different purposes.
Group sessions bring together a small number of coaches working toward their credentials. You review the ICF core competencies together, observe live or recorded coaching, discuss what you are noticing in each other's practice, and build breadth of perspective. Hearing feedback on other coaches' sessions often illuminates your own blind spots as much as direct feedback on your own work.
Individual one-to-one sessions are where the most targeted development happens. You submit a recording of one of your coaching sessions. Your mentor coach reviews it, maps what they observe to the ICF core competencies, and gives you specific, evidence-based feedback. The conversation that follows explores what is working, what could develop, and what you want to focus on next.
Across both formats, the feedback is always grounded in the ICF competency framework. You leave each session with a clearer picture of where your coaching is strong and where targeted development will make the most difference to your practice and your credential application.
Our Mentor Coaching programme provides 10 hours of ICF-recognised mentor coaching across a minimum of three months. It includes four group sessions and three individual one-to-one sessions, each one hour in length, with competency-aligned feedback on your recorded coaching sessions throughout. It meets the full ICF mentor coaching requirement for ACC, PCC, and MCC credential applications.
Book a call with the team to find out whether the next cohort is the right fit for where you are in your coaching journey.
Mentor coaching vs coaching supervision
Both mentor coaching and coaching supervision are professional development tools for practising coaches. Both matter. They are not interchangeable.
Focused on ICF core competencies and credential requirements.
Based on observed or recorded coaching sessions.
Competency-aligned feedback on your specific coaching technique.
Has a clear credentialing purpose and documented outcome.
Typically completed over a defined period as part of a credential journey.
Oriented toward reflection and holistic professional development.
Explores personal coaching challenges, dilemmas, and identity.
Nurtures coach resilience and self-awareness over time.
Less about compliance, more about sustained depth of practice.
An ongoing part of professional practice throughout a coaching career.
The most developed coaching practices use both. Mentor coaching builds your competencies in alignment with professional standards. Supervision nurtures the reflective capacity and coach identity that sustains practice over the long term. TPC Coaching Academy offers both: Mentor Coaching for credential development and Group Supervision for ongoing reflective practice.
When to do mentor coaching
The timing of mentor coaching matters. It is most effective when you have sufficient coaching practice to review. Most coaches begin mentor coaching after completing an accredited training programme, once they are actively coaching clients and have sessions to submit for feedback.
If you are working toward an ICF ACC credential, the typical sequence is: complete your accredited training, begin accumulating your coaching hours with clients, and undertake mentor coaching alongside or after that process. Your mentor coaching hours and your coaching hours can run in parallel.
If you are working toward a PCC or MCC, the same principle applies, but you will be further into your coaching practice and the feedback from mentor coaching will address more advanced competency development.
You do not have to be at the point of credential application to benefit from mentor coaching. Coaches at any stage who want structured, evidence-based feedback on their actual coaching practice will find it valuable regardless of whether they are currently pursuing a credential.
Where mentor coaching sits in your coaching pathway
If you are working toward an ICF credential, your pathway typically looks like this. You complete an ICF-accredited training programme such as the Coach Practitioner qualification. You build your coaching hours by working with clients. You complete your 10 hours of mentor coaching. You submit your credential application to the ICF.
The Fundamentals of Coaching programme is the entry point to training if you are new to coaching. For a full picture of the pathway from training to credential, read our guide to how to become a coach in the UK. For an overview of all the ICF and EMCC credentials and what each requires, read our coaching qualifications page.
If you are unsure where you are in the process or which step is next, the team at TPC Coaching Academy are happy to help. Book a call and we will help you map out the right sequence for your situation and goals.