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I spoke with Rho Sandberg MCC in late August 2018 soon after she achieved her ICF Master Certified Coach credential. I felt a special sense of excitement as Rho was one of four PCC coaches, including me, who spent a day with Belinda MacInnes MCC on her farm near Ballarat for an orientation for MCC.

I spoke with Rho Sandberg MCC in late August 2018 soon after she achieved her ICF Master Certified Coach credential. I felt a special sense of excitement as Rho was one of four PCC coaches, including me, who spent a day with Belinda MacInnes MCC on her farm near Ballarat for an orientation for MCC.

Rho is the first of our cohort to achieve MCC and in short order – a mere three months! We recorded this interview as celebration for her fine achievement. At the same time we wanted her story and insights to inspire our members and credential coaches to make the push towards MCC.

I’ve attempted to pull together some key messages from the interview with Rho:

Starting reason for pursuing MCC was a push to meet the requirements for the programs offered through the Global Coaching Institute, however the journey towards MCC was unexpectedly amazing.

A feeling of relief when Rho was formally advised of her success. The new question was around “what does it mean especially in relation to my commitment to the profession”.

#1 learning was surrendering and letting go, believing in herself. The AHA moment was when Rho realised she was examining herself when coaching and listening to her recordings. With this insight, she decided her job was to coach and let others do the evaluation and provide feedback. When she stopped critiquing herself and quietened the inner critic, her coaching opened up.

One thing Rho said she wished she’d known at the beginning of this journey was that despite a lot of talk about how difficult it is to achieve MCC, she found it “way easier and straightforward than she had imagined”

Rho has two pieces of advice for coaches wanting to pursue their MCC – get your documentation, recording, signatures and permissions for coaching log in order; and find a coach mentor and peer group to work with you.

She also suggested that going for MCC does not mean we have to be 100% which is “fake and unattainable” – to coach at MCC level, we are asked to drop all props, tricks and cleverness that we have relied on in our coaching. “All there is to be is to be”.

Rho is looking forward to teaching and writing more; and supporting the work of colleagues like Julie Diamond in her work on Power Intelligence around the question of how leaders can build greater Power Intelligence and how to use power well. The goal is to help “leaders cultivate a level of personal power that matches the authority bestowed on them by their role”. Something that is so needed in a world that is volatile, full of uncertainties, increasingly complex, and in turn more and more ambiguous.

Congratulations again Rho and we look forward to hearing more about the difference you are continuing to make to your clients, to the coaching profession and the world in which we live and work.

About Grace Thomas

Grace Thomas PCC is the Immediate Past President of ICF Australasia Victoria and the interim Head of Member Experience of ICF Australasia Chapter. An executive leadership and team coach, Grace works with senior executive leaders and key leadership talent to build their leadership capability and capacity to optimise their individual, team and organisation effectiveness.

Grace can be contacted at ipp.victoria@icfaustralasia.com.

An MCC Journey – Rho Sandberg MCC