The Coaching Tools Company and the ICF: More Than a Partnership

International Coaching Week is a good moment to pause. Not to market, not to promote. Just to reflect on what we are actually doing here, and why it matters.

Coaching is a young profession

As a skill, coaching has ancient roots. Socratic questioning, reflective dialogue, the kind of conversation that helps someone think more clearly: these are not new. But coaching as a profession is relatively young. The structures that give a profession its shape: governance, ethics, credentialing, oversight, community, are still being built. That is not a weakness. It is a stage of development. And it means the choices coaches make about how they show up in the industry carry more weight than they might in a more established field.

When I think about my own commitment to the ICF, as a coach, as a psychologist, and now as Director of Coaching at The Coaching Tools Company, it comes back to something straightforward. Being a professional means being part of the professional community. It means contributing to something larger than your own practice. It is not optional, and it is not marketing. It is simply what professional membership looks like.

What our ICF partnership means for you

The Coaching Tools Company has been an ICF Business Solutions Partner since 2014. That relationship exists because we share the same mission: to help coaches do their best work with their clients.

The ICF is here to support coaches. So are we. For over a decade and across coaches in countries around the globe, The Coaching Tools Company has been building tools that give coaches confidence, credibility, and a clear sense of direction with their clients. Tools that are not shortcuts or AI-generated templates that look plausible but miss everything that matters. They are crystallised wisdom from experienced coaches, built to help you work with depth and rigour from your very first session.

That mission alignment is why we partner with the ICF. And it is why that partnership comes with real, tangible benefits for ICF members: a permanent 10% discount across our entire catalogue, and 20% off our best-selling Welcome Pack Toolkit. If you're a member, you'll find the discount codes here >>

The world has changed considerably since 2014. Our mission has not.

How to make the most of International Coaching Week

ICW is a chance to step back from the commercial noise of client acquisition and reconnect with why you became a coach.

For us at The Coaching Tools Company, it is an opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the coaches who are out there every day doing the work: helping clients see beyond their current boundaries, pursue what they are genuinely capable of, and create change in their own lives and in the world.

For you as a coach, ICW is something more active. It is a chance to celebrate your clients and the impact they are having. It is also one of the best opportunities of the year to build visibility for coaching in your community and help people understand what is possible through a genuine coaching partnership. Consider what events, conversations, or experiences you could create this week that would give people a real taste of what coaching is and what it can do.

To explore ICW events happening around the world, visit the official ICF events page >> 

What we are doing for ICW

This year for International Coaching Week, The Guiding Matrix, in collaboration with Your Coaching Community and The Coaching Tools Company, is hosting a series of 7 live panel conversations.

These sessions explore what coaching really looks like in practice, in real contexts. Topics include career coaching, leadership, marketing and positioning, the business of coaching, and a range of perspectives across the week.

All sessions will take place live inside Your Coaching Community, which is free to join and attend.

Monday 11 May

Career Coaching: Navigating Change, Identity, and Decision-Making
With Gamze Senfer, Anju Saini, Nisa Abulhasanova and Dr Steve Jeffs
10:00–11:00 AM GMT | 5:00 – 6:00 AM EDT

Group Coaching: Structure, Experience, and Transformation
With Jennifer Britton, Lynda Monk and Dr Steve Jeffs
2:00–3:00 PM GMT | 9:00 – 10:00 AM EDT

Tuesday 12 May

Myths & Paradoxes in Coaching
With Tinus van der Merwe and Dr Steve Jeffs
10:00–11:00 AM GMT | 5:00 – 6:00 AM EDT

Building a Coaching Business: What Actually Works
With Frankie Picasso, Ann Farrell and Erwin de Grave
3:00–4:00 PM GMT | 10:00 – 11:00 AM EDT

Wednesday 13 May

Coaching Marketing: What Works Now, What Doesn’t, and What’s Changing
With Dr Trudy Beerman, Elle Oren and Erwin de Grave
6:00–7:00 PM GMT | 1:00 – 2:00 PM EDT

Thursday 14 May

Leadership in Practice: What It Really Requires
With Vincent Reyes, Paul Dupuis and Dr Steve Jeffs
11:00 AM–12:00 PM GMT | 6:00 – 7:00 AM EDT

AI in Coaching: What Changes, What Doesn’t, and What Matters
With Garry Schleifer, Dr D Ivan Young, Yetty Williams and Erwin de Grave
3:00–4:00 PM GMT | 10:00 – 11:00 AM EDT

View the full schedule and reserve your place here:
ICW Panel Series >>

If you’re not able to attend live, recordings will be available for a limited time after each session.

Are you an ICF member? Your discount is ready for you >>

Not yet an ICF member? International Coaching Week is a good moment to explore what belonging to the professional community could mean for you and the coaches you serve.

You may also like:

• The Complete Guide to Life Coaching Tools, Forms and Exercises (with examples)
• The Complete Guide to The Wheel of Life (for Coaches)

Contributing Author:

Dr Steve Jeffs is a Master Certified Coach (MCC), business psychologist, and leadership transformation expert with over 20 years of global experience. Before becoming a full-time coach, Steve led large-scale leadership assessment and development programs, organisational change initiatives, and cultural transformation projects across the Middle East, working with government bodies, multinationals, and high-growth businesses. His early career as a registered psychologist and management consultant continues to shape his pragmatic, systems-oriented approach to coaching and leadership.

Today, Steve serves as Director of Coaching at The Coaching Tools Company, where he brings together his expertise in psychology, strategy, and personal development to create practical, impactful tools for coaches and leaders alike. He is also the host and co-founder of The Coaching Edge Podcast, and co-Founder of The Guiding Matrix, a company dedicated to helping coaches grow sustainable businesses while expanding their leadership capacity. 

With over 5,000 coaching hours, Steve has worked with executives and teams in more than 20 countries, including in the UK, UAE, KSA, USA, Egypt, South Africa, and the Philippines. His coaching clients include leaders from organisations such as HSBC, Siemens, Roche Diagnostics, STC, Etisalat, Sanofi, and Dubai Holding. As one of the first MCCs in the Middle East, Steve has also trained and mentored over 1,000 coaches globally and continues to supervise coaches through their credentialing journeys.

Steve is a multi-award-winning coach, recognised globally for his work on leadership and innovation—including honours from the World Innovation Congress and CHRO Asia. He is co-author of Stuck No More: Practical Self-Coaching for Everyday Problems and Shift Up: Strength Strategies for Optimal Living, and is the creator of multiple strengths-based assessments and coaching tools, including the StrengthsMultiplier™. With a Doctorate in Leadership and a Master's in Organisational Psychology, Steve blends deep psychological insight with practical coaching to help individuals, teams, and organisations thrive.

Originally from Australia, Steve now lives in the UK having worked in the UAE for over a decade, bringing both global perspective and deep regional understanding to his work. When not coaching or creating tools, you’ll likely find him exploring deep caves or shipwrecks—he’s a certified technical diver and cave explorer who brings the same spirit of curiosity and courage to his coaching and leadership work.

Learn more about Steve & see all their articles here >>