Small shifts that keep your coaching true.
It's rarely the coaching that drifts. It's the structure around it: the agreement at the start, the learning at the end, the silence you didn't leave.
Holding True reads your own session transcripts against the ICF competencies, at ACC or PCC level, and shows you the patterns across them. Then it hands you one thing to practice. Just one.
Friction is information. Here's where it shows up.
A Holding True review reads your session closely, in your own words, and leaves notes in the margin. These are the three places coaching most often slips.
The agreement slips
A warm open, and a topic will emerge. But what she wants to walk away with, and why it matters today, never gets said out loud.
Helping becomes telling
You came in less than a second after she finished, with a suggestion. A pause here could have handed the thinking back to her.
Measured from the timestamps in a Zoom caption file
The close gets rushed
The next step is yours, not hers. You might ask: what do you want to do with what you noticed today?
And the report around those notes
An overall read at ACC or PCC level, the patterns across your sessions in plain words, a rating for each of the eight competencies, and how each session compares.
Below that: your strengths, your growth edges in priority order, a practice plan for your next session, and detail for every session, including all 37 PCC markers at PCC level.
From a sample report, based on made-up sessions.
Confirm your client agreed. Drop in a transcript. Read your review about ten minutes later.
Any transcript works. A caption file from Zoom or Teams has timestamps, so Holding True can also measure silence, pace and interruptions. Names, employers, places and other identifying details are removed in your browser, and you check the transcript before anything is sent.
Drift is quiet. Holding true is a practice.
Prepare for your credential with it. Then keep coming back. One session a quarter, one small shift each time.
Opening to coaches after the early 2027 pilot.
Before anyone pays for a review, I'm testing Holding True for consistency and privacy. Answer a two-minute survey about how you get feedback on your coaching now, and your first review is free when it opens. Share feedback on your review and get a second one free. The pilot runs in early 2027, and everyone who answers can join it. No commitment and no cost.
Christine Lloyd-Newberry, MPA, SHRM-SCP. Founder of Emerge Empowered Coaching & Consulting.
I built this while preparing for my own PCC.
When I ran my sessions through it, I found patterns no single session had shown me. My in-the-moment coaching was strong. The structure around it wasn't. That was a small shift to make, once I could see it.
Your clients trusted you with these conversations, so I built Holding True around that trust:
I'm an executive coach with an Executive Coaching certificate from Emory University, a Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths Coach and a licensed MSCEIT2 emotional intelligence practitioner. I also hold an MPA and the SHRM-SCP, and I've spent more than 25 years in nonprofit and public service, including 15 as Executive Director of two human services organizations.
A consent form that does the explaining for you.
A legally reviewed consent form โ one page, in plain language your clients will actually read: recording, review by a mentor or AI tools, and how you'll protect their privacy. Pilot coaches get it with their invitation.
Questions coaches ask
Is this an ICF assessment?
No. It's a self-development tool based on the ICF Core Competencies, PCC Markers and ACC Minimum Skills Requirements, used with ICF cited as the source. It is not accredited by, affiliated with or endorsed by ICF, and it can't tell you whether you'll pass.
What changes in 2027?
From April 1, 2027, ACC and PCC portfolio applications no longer need a recorded performance evaluation. A mentor coach observes at least three of your sessions instead. Check ICF's site for current requirements.
What kind of transcript do I need?
Any text transcript works, auto-generated is fine. A caption file with timestamps (the .vtt from Zoom or Teams) lets Holding True measure silence and pace too. Speaker labels from Granola, Otter or Notion make talk time more accurate. No transcript captures tone of voice.
I'm already credentialed. Is this for me?
Yes. It's designed for a quarterly check-in too: review one session, notice what's drifted, pick one small shift.
Do I need my client's permission?
Yes, to record and to review, including with AI tools. Some states require everyone's consent to record. Pilot coaches get a legally reviewed consent template from me to start from.
Does it count toward mentor coaching hours?
No. That has to be a qualified mentor coach. Holding True helps you bring better questions to those hours.
Holding True by Emerge Empowered ยท emerge-empowered.com ยท ยฉ 2026 Emerge Empowered Coaching, LLC
Holding True is an independent tool made by Emerge Empowered Coaching, LLC. It is not accredited by, affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or approved by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Competency content is adapted from the ICF Core Competencies, PCC Markers and ACC Minimum Skills Requirements, with ICF as the source. ICF, ACC, PCC and MCC are marks of the International Coaching Federation. Reviews are not ICF assessments and do not count toward mentor coaching hours.
