Introducing One ICF | ICF Professional Coaches

The International Coaching Federation (ICF) has taken a bold step forward into the future of coaching. A refreshed brand identity now reflects ICF’s interests in many areas of the coaching industry, represented by six unique family organizations that make the whole or “One” ICF.

First, ICF’s CEO Magdalena Mook introduced the new brand for the entire ICF ecosystem. Now, this seven-part series continues to the ICF Professional Coaches family organization. Coaching World interviewed ICF Professional Coaches Vice President Ann Rindone, ACC, to bring you insights and inspiration as ICF forges ahead and empowers the world through coaching.

Q: Tell us about what the new ICF brand identity means for the ICF Professional Coaches family organization.

A: Any rebranding signals a change of some sort. Since ICF Professional Coaches in large part resembles the previous “ICF” organization that you have always known and loved and respected – it’s less about change and more about being bolder in how we deliver on the demands of our members. It shows an evolution of that change, but an evolution toward innovation, greater relevance and how we create demand for coaching and for trained, qualified coaches.

I think the big word here for us is bold. For the last twenty-five years ICF has been about giving coaches who change the world the tools they need to change it. Now, through ICF Professional Coaches, our new emboldened purpose is to empower coaches to achieve their ultimate goal. We have greater focus on helping you grow your clients and your business so that you can go change the world.

Q: Why is the new brand important and how does it reflect ICF’s work in the coaching industry?

A: I think it goes without saying that a lot has changed in the last year alone.  As ICF has grown, we’ve grown with the coaching industry, and that’s the 25-year evolution that we’ve seen and just finished celebrating. As that growth happens, inevitably you’re going to expand your stakeholder group – you’re going to have more people that you’re speaking with, serving and providing tools and resources to be successful in this industry.

Twenty-five years ago, the coaching industry was largely about that one-to-one coach-client relationship. But now, coaching has spread to a majority of the countries and territories around the world. I think there are 195 countries and territories and we’re in about 150 of them. That is a massive global expansion. And with that, there’s now greater demand for what we, as the organization that represents coaches and coaching, have better defined as those areas that are crucial to the future of coaching.

And the rebrand does give greater visibility to work that we’ve been doing for years. It gives visibility to the specific areas of excellence – those areas that ICF believes are critical to the future of coaching, the success of the industry and the success of our coaches. So, we are now – as we always have been, but with better visibility – dedicating more time, talent, resources and expertise to ensure that we continue to lead the industry in bolder, fresher ways with new ideas.

Q: For ICF Members and those thinking about joining, how do these changes add value to their membership?

A: Professional Coaches and what you’ve known ICF to be all these years is not changing; it’s not going away. But this should give an indication to our members and other stakeholders that there’s more in store for you at ICF. An ICF Member has access to all the tools and resources and excellence from every single one of the family organizations. As we’ve grown our focus and our expertise, we’ve also grown our information and your access to it. We have added more than we’ve ever had before to our offerings as ICF which adds more value to your overall membership. We’ve grown your access to the knowledge, resources and network of ICF.

Q: Visually and aesthetically, what excites you the most about ICF’s new brand identity?

A: I think it absolutely makes you stop and take notice of what’s changed at ICF. What excites me is that it gives us an opportunity to reach new people, to tell our story in a different way, and to instantly indicate that we’re taking a different approach.  It shows our agility to shift with the changes in the marketplace. Especially as we’re seeing growth in our base of millennial coaches, this new brand can bridge our legacy members and coaches and connect them to this new generation of coaches. The industry is much different today than it was when people started out even 10 or 15 years ago. This new brand is fresh and contemporary, and it reflects our shifting approach to expand the industry globally because our markets are always evolving.

Q: What do you hope this renewed structure and visual identity will inspire for ICF coaches and the larger coaching community?

A: It’s kind of like getting new pieces to your wardrobe. If you’re looking at your wardrobe, you see those basic pieces that are never going to go out of style – they’re never going to change because they just work. From there, you then figure out what to add to your wardrobe to show that you’re on trend, that you have a new outlook on life – you might add a little color, you might try a pattern you’ve never tried before and so on.

For me, a new wardrobe breathes new life into me. So, when I think about ICF’s new visual identity, it should breathe new life into our coaches.

We are keeping those basic “wardrobe items” so to speak – we know what works. But we are adding things that show we’re on trend – that we’re listening to the requests and demands and needs of our members and trying things we’ve never tried before in the name of innovation.

Q: What branding or aesthetic changes do you think the ICF community will be most excited to see?

A: Let’s stay on that clothing analogy for a minute. Everybody has a different style. And everybody’s going to gravitate toward what style speaks to them and where they’re comfortable. Our community should look at this than more than just “clothing” or aesthetics – this is much more than just putting on a new face. It is the change that a new look can make to your outlook. That you can look in your closet and see all these different styles to choose from that will fit whatever style you need in the moment. There might be something you need from your ICF Credentials and Standards closet – which is your core competencies, every single day. And then there might be something you need from your community closet – and that’s ICF Professional Coaches – chapters and our volunteer system around the world. So now there is choice and variety – and with that, I think our community will say “I feel like a brand-new person, a brand-new community.”

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: At the end of the day, what we want to make sure that everyone understands that we are still One ICF, we are still interconnected, we are still one community. It’s important to know what each part of the system is focused on, and for our stakeholders, members and community, it’s still One ICF for you. We’re delivering it to you in a bigger, better, refreshed way so that we can bring you more innovation. You should feel empowered to do the work that you do because you know that you’re supported by all the best tools, resources and information you need to grow yourself as a coach and individual, to deliver excellence to your clients and grow your business.