Beyond the Badge | Week 5
ICF Core Competency 5: Maintains Presence
Have you experienced this ??
There was a moment during my PCC journey when a coaching conversation suddenly went silent.
Not the usual pause. Not the polite pause before the next sentence.
A deeper silence.
The kind of silence that makes the coach slightly uncomfortable… because you don’t know whether to step in, ask, support, rescue, or simply stay.
My instinct was to fill it.
To ask another question.
To move the conversation forward.
To make the moment feel useful.
But something in me held back.
I stayed.
Fully.
Quietly.
With the person.
And after what felt like a very long pause, the client looked up and said something that completely changed the direction of the conversation.
That moment taught me more about coaching presence than any textbook ever could.
“Maintains Presence” is not about being physically available in a conversation.
It is about being fully conscious, open, flexible, grounded, and confident with the client.
It is about staying with the WHO of the client – not getting lost only in the WHAT of the issue.
For senior leaders, this matters deeply.
Their conversations are often crowded with decisions, dashboards, deadlines, stakeholders, and expectations.
But beneath the business challenge sits the human being.
Thinking. Feeling. Processing.
Carrying. Deciding.
a coach must be present enough to notice both :
The words – and the UNSAID .
The strategy – and the emotion.
The problem – and the person.
My powerful learning from this competency:
“Presence is the discipline of not abandoning the moment.”
– Not rushing to solve.
– Not hiding behind technique.
– Not forcing insight.
But staying open, steady, and available to what is emerging.
Because sometimes the most powerful coaching moment is not the question we ask.
It is the silence we are willing to hold.
And that is where real clarity often begins.
Ping me for a Virtual coffee.
No agenda. No obligation. Just two professionals sharing learning and exploring possibilities….
Chander Sharma
Executive Coach | Leadership Coach | Facilitator | Conversationalist