Step Into Your Coaching Journey: Why New Coaches Should Attend ICF Converge 2025

Starting out — or leveling up — in your coaching career can feel like stepping onto a new dance floor: a little uncertain, but full of energy and possibility. There’s a beat to find, moves to learn, and partners to connect with.

Where do you begin?

ICF Converge 2025 is one-of-a-kind global coaching conference for new and aspiring coaches, offering the tools, training, and connections you need to grow your coaching career. With access to 80+ sessions, industry experts, credentialing guidance, and a welcoming community of professionals from around the world, Converge offers a launchpad for your coaching journey.

Whether you’re building foundational skills, seeking mentorship, or looking to connect with like-minded peers, you’ll find the inspiration, tools, and support you need to move in sync with your purpose.

Here’s how Converge 2025 can help you take your next big step.

Sessions and Spaces Designed for New and Aspiring Coaches

Attending your first major coaching event can feel both energizing and intimidating — just as if you were stepping onto the dance floor. That’s why key parts of Converge 25 are crafted especially for new and aspiring coaches.

From the moment you arrive, you’ll find sess ions and spaces designed to help you settle in, find your rhythm, and start moving forward with clarity.

All sessions are organized into three content levels, making it easy to choose what aligns with your current experience. Foundational-level sessions are ideal if you’re newer to coaching or expanding your coaching skillset into new areas. They offer solid overviews of essential topics, practical strategies, and tools to help you take your next step.

To focus your learning, choose from six content themes, including Business Development for building your coaching business and Coaching Practice for deepening your skills in line with ICF standards.

Additionally, a few specific sessions that may be of interest to you include:

• The Signature Author Talk “The Unspoken Rules: How to Help Early Career Professionals Perform Not Just ‘OK…’ but ‘Great!’” by Gorick Ng explores how to thrive early in your professional journey.
• The Coaching Spotlight “From Coached to Coach: Gen Z Is Changing the Game” offers insight for those coaching — or identifying with — a rising generation.
• In “CoachBoCK Unveiled: Your Guide to the New ICF Body of Competencies and Knowledge,” you’ll discover a powerful new resource that will help you deepen your expertise and elevate your skills,

Outside the main sessions, small-group experiences invite meaningful conversation and connection. Whether you join an ICF Member Resource Group (MRG) discussion or dive into an interactive session on artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging tools, these more intimate experiences are built to spark fresh thinking, practical insights, and real relationships.

Throughout the event, you’ll also have access to information to help you better navigate what’s ahead on your coaching journey. There will be dedicated booths where you can ask questions about membership, continuing education, and the ICF credentialing process. You’ll meet friendly faces who are happy to guide you, cheer you on, and share what they’ve learned along the way.

Find Mentors and Build Your Coaching Network at ICF Converge 2025

You don’t need to know every step to belong on the dance floor. You just need the courage to show up and the openness to learn from those already moving with confidence.

At ICF Converge 2025, you’ll be surrounded by a vibrant mix of seasoned coaches and passionate newcomers. Some have been in your shoes; others are just a few steps ahead — and all of them can help light the way forward.

Building authentic coaching relationships and mentorship connections early in your career is a catalyst for long-term success. The mentors, peers, and collaborators you meet now can offer critical insights, challenge your thinking, and even open doors to future opportunities.

Kick off each morning in a Learning Circle, which is a small, facilitator-guided group where you’ll reflect on key themes, exchange ideas, and learn from each other’s experiences.

Throughout the day, explore the Exhibit Hall to discover coaching tools, business resources, and networking opportunities that will support your coaching business and development. You can also meet speakers at book signings or connect during informal conversations that go beyond the stage.

Then, unwind at Terrace Talks. These casual meetups take place in a relaxed outdoor setting that invite real conversations and fresh perspectives. Whether you’re swapping stories or planting the seed for future collaboration, these moments can lead to lasting professional connections.

Step into these opportunities. Let the energy of the crowd pull you in. You don’t have to lead; you just have to be willing to join in.

Learning from Coaching Industry Experts and Thought Leaders

Great coaches aren’t wallflowers. They step onto the floor, try new moves, and grow through the discomfort of learning. At Converge 25, you’ll learn directly from top coaching experts, industry leaders, and global thought leaders who are shaping the future of the industry and eager to share what they’ve discovered along the way.

With access to more than 100 speakers, you’ll benefit from diverse learning opportunities, including:

• Keynotes that challenge your thinking: Opening Keynote Heather Hansen will explore how identity, culture, and communication shape powerful coaching conversations. Closing Keynote Nilofer Merchant will help you uncover the invisible forces that influence breakthroughs — for your clients and yourself.
• Coaching Spotlight led by experienced coaches: For example, Carylynn Larson, PCC, will share practical tools and mindsets to support mental health and foster healing communities while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.
• Sessions that align with professional standards: Presented by ICF staff and volunteer subject matter experts, these sessions bring real-world insights into ethical client contracting, the importance of written agreements, and what to expect during the credentialing exam process — including study techniques, preparation strategies, and practical guidance to support your success.

Learning directly from experts helps you sharpen your skills faster, avoid common pitfalls, and step into your coaching career with greater credibility and confidence. Because in coaching — just like in dance — growth comes from stepping forward, stretching yourself, and learning from those who’ve mastered the art.

Coach Educators and Organizational Leaders: Your Place at Converge 2025

Like any great dance floor, ICF Converge 2025 brings together a diverse mix of people — each bringing their own style, energy, and goals. And all emerging leaders across the coaching spectrum, including coach educators and organizational leaders, are welcome.

If you’re a coach educator, you’ll find inspiration and practical tools in the Coaching Education content theme. Explore evolving frameworks, innovative teaching strategies, and new models for developing the next generation of coaching professionals in sessions like “From Competency to Mastery: Integrating Transformational Development in Coaching and Education” and “Embracing Cultural Humility in Coaching.”

If you’re an organizational leader, the Internal Coaching content theme is designed with you in mind. Discover how to establish and scale coaching programs, measure ROI, and embed coaching into leadership development and organizational culture in sessions like “Building a Coaching Culture: Overcoming Organizational Imposter Syndrome” and “Strategic Coaching Program Design for Organizational Impact and Results.”

No matter your role, you belong here. The learning, connections, and insights you’ll gain at Converge 25 will help you strengthen your impact — and move your work forward.

Step Forward with Confidence: Why Converge 2025 Matters for New Coaches

Every coaching journey has a moment when things click — when inspiration, insight, and connection align to move you forward with purpose. Your moment is waiting for you at ICF Converge 2025.

Over three immersive days, you won’t just gain knowledge, you’ll also build momentum. You’ll meet people who challenge your thinking, share your passion, and expand your possibilities. You’ll step into a space designed to fuel your growth — whether you’re mastering the basics or preparing to lead on a global stage.

Here’s what makes Converge 25 the perfect place to find your rhythm:

• Build foundational coaching skills aligned with professionally recognized standards.
• Learn from global experts shaping the future of coaching.
• Connect with mentors, collaborators, and future partners.
• Get credentialing guidance from those who lead the process.
• Feel part of a vibrant community that celebrates your growth.

This is your opportunity to learn from the best, connect with your people, and take your next bold step. Because growth happens when you show up, step forward, and join the dance.

Register today for ICF Converge 2025 — the premier coaching conference for new professionals ready to build skills, expand networks, and grow their careers. The first steps matter. Let this be yours.