As ICF continues to evolve, so too must our organizational values. With the collective challenges of 2020 and the uncharted territory that still lies ahead, we've taken the time to examine our values and put what matters most at the forefront of everything we do.
Check out what the ICF community is saying about each ICF Core Value.
“The [new core values] represent me as a person as well as a professional coach.”
– Pat Mathews, MCC (USA), ICF Global Board Chair
“Values are super important, but how we breathe life and make these values come alive is through our own behavior.” – Lola Chetti, MCC (China)
“Having [the values] as our foundation, it allows all our interactions to begin in a place of trust, and commitment to what it means to be an ICF Professional.” – Todd Hamilton, COO, ICF
“Professionalism means that the ICF Code of Ethics is incorporated in any action and conversation, not only in the coaching session but beyond it.” – Alla Kazajeva, Regional Development Manager, ICF Professional Coaches
“I try very hard to be authentic in my communication with my colleagues and represent myself honestly and openly. I feel this makes me approachable and opens up dialogue.”
– Karen S. Bernstein, Vice President, ICF Learning & Development
“Collaboration to me means going outside the box, throwing out ridiculous ideas, then honing in on what is realistic and making it happen.” – Ashley Pak, Content Coordinator, ICF Education
“It’s about listening with openness to hear the diverse perspectives across the organization, while also listening for those elements that draw together and unite the coaching community.”
– Carrie Abner, Vice President, ICF Credentials and Standards
“Humanity is the backbone in everything I do. In essence, coaching is a humanitarian profession.”
– Haitham Shaheen, Senior Regional Development Manager, ICF Professional Coaches
“[To me, humanity means] always looking for the good in people … being generous with my time and listening, knowing we all have good and bad days.” – Stephanie Norris, Awards Director, ICF
“Having [the values] as our foundation, it allows our interactions to begin in a place of trust and commitment to what it means to be an ICF Professional.” – Todd Hamilton, COO, ICF
“Equity is equal to courage for me. In some cases it means foregoing some of what we have to make space for others … in other cases, it means having the courage to speak up and take a stand.” – Lola Chetti, MCC
“Justice and equity go hand in hand based on who I am and what my code system of belief is all about.”
– Haitham Shaheen, Senior Regional Development Manager, ICF Professional Coaches
“I am excited to have recently joined a Global organization and the opportunity this provides me to learn about and embrace the culture diversity of coaching around the world.”
– Karen S. Bernstein, Vice President, ICF Learning & Development
To create this statement, we sought input from across ICF’s community from the earliest stages of the process.
In the fall of 2020, ICF invited a group of volunteers to a Values Summit to review our legacy Values statement. The Summit included 19 members, staff and representatives from each Family Organization. During the Summit, the volunteers recommended a set of revised ICF Core Values to reflect what is most meaningful to our organization and to our members.
Following the Summit, a Values Task Force crafted recommendations for this reviewed set of Core Values and presented its initial thinking to the ICF Global Board of Directors. The resulting dialogue led to valuable input and further development.
Then, we shared our work with you and invited reflections from our 41,000-plus ICF Members. After all, you are the experts on the values you live every day in your work as an ICF-credentialed coach.
Our Member Values Survey went out to all members for input based on the criteria of meaningfulness, resonance, language and acceptance of the proposed values. Then, we carefully assessed the feedback we received from over 4,000 respondents.
Because it is of such great importance to ICF that our updated Core Values are a true reflection of our incredible coaching community.
Each quality of the final updated statement had more than 75% endorsement from you and your member peers — an overwhelming endorsement of these updated Core Values. These values also encompass the ICF Ethical Principles, which are designed to ensure that all our members share a common mission and commitment to professional and personal conduct.
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