Wisdom for new coaches

About a month ago, we asked our Facebook fans to share one thing they wish they had done (or knew or considered) when they first became a coach.

Several people chimed in and to share the knowledge, all responses are listed below. If you are a new coach (or you know someone who is newly treading the coaching waters), these are great pieces of advice to consider.

• “The crucial importance of smart marketing, business planning, and partnerships. Though the coaching skills may be there, these are the backbone of a sustainable practice.” (Andrew Carter)
• “That I would have made it into my 'passion' as full time work.” (Neal Elefant)
• “…basic business practices and a graduate level marketing course.” (Becky Henry)
• “That 'career of my dreams' wasn't synonymous with 'a walk in the park.'” (Marlene Davis McCallum)
• “I wish I had better information on courses offered. I am very happy with the Life Coach Institute, but I still do not know how the other courses compare.” (Jason Holcomb Bour)
• “That I believed in myself, my coaching skills and the power of coaching a lot earlier and charged what I charge now back then! I'd have made a lot more money a lot faster!!” (Simon Smith)
• “Wish I knew how important the sales/marketing piece was.” (Natalie Kallen Trabert)
• “The importance of getting experience!” (Huda Al-Medlej)
• “Wish I would have made creating a website/CMS a priority.” (Matt Naskrent)
• “That everything's about STARTING.” (Jimmy Loyal)
• “Be more interactive with the coaching community.” (Mau Espinosa)

What about you? What is something you wish you had known or done when you first began coaching?

ICF to make first appearance at SHRM annual conference

ICF will make its first appearance at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Annual Conference and Exposition this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. This event annually draws some 13,000 human resource professionals—setting up a unique opportunity for coaching to make its way onto the minds of people from companies across the globe.

Beginning June 26 (through June 29), Ross and myself will join local ICF members (a huge thanks to the willingness of the members of the Nevada Professional Coaches Association!) to run the ICF booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

SHRM is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. They represent more than 250,000 members in over 140 countries and serve the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession.

As we did through our appearance at the ASTD conference last month, we will represent the ICF and coaching while promoting the benefits of coaching within organizations and the value of coaching in general. We will have numerous collateral pieces available to share such topics as how to find a coach training program, how to earn an ICF Credential, and how to hire a coach. In addition, we will promote the documented ROI of coaching through a case study highlighting our 2010 ICF International Prism Award winners, Genentech and the TINE Group.

Songquan Deng / Shutterstock.com

If you (or your clients) will be at the SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition, be sure to visit our booth, #2941! We will tweet during the show from our Twitter feed at twitter.com/ICFHQ and once we are back in the office, there will be a follow-up post documenting our experience in Vegas.

We look forward to our appearance at SHRM and the people we will meet as a result!

Interested in using the collateral we have created for these events?
Why become credentialed?
How to choose a professional coach
Coach Training Programs

Look for more information on the ICF’s presence at this event and others like it through ICF social media channels, primarily Twitter, Facebook and the ICF Blog.

Philanthropists of tomorrow

This article first appeared in Coaching World.

A small group of emerging business leaders, drawn mainly from Northern Virginia’s hotbed of technology and government contracting firms, outside Washington D.C., USA, is quickly becoming a force in local business community and philanthropy circles.

They’ve been a group, convening monthly, for about 18 months and already their philanthropic contributions just slightly trail those of big business. At the recent Community Foundation Gala, Young Business Leaders (YBL) was one of the largest contributors behind Booz Allen Hamilton, a leading strategy and consulting firm.

YBL is a vision of ICF member Steve Gladis, ACC, a longtime leader and philanthropist in Northern Virginia, who noticed an aging philanthropic population. He facilitates YBL pro bono and offers business coaching to the group’s members.

“Two years ago, I found myself having breakfast with a group of aging leaders and philanthropists. One of the senior participants asked where we thought we were going to find the next generation of philanthropists,” Steve said. “The value of YBL for me is that it represents the future of the Northern Virginia region which I call home.”

Steve started with the names of 20 or so young local entrepreneurs and sent out an email inviting them to an impromptu meeting to discuss future philanthropy in Northern Virginia Today the group includes executives, CEOs and founders of Northern Virginia businesses in their 20s, 30s and 40s. The group’s community impact is great, and the returns members are getting are equally impactful.

“YBL provides me with a unique perspective on leadership, best practices and business development,” says Lawrence Stanley, managing partner and founder of The Cap-X Group, LLC. “As I focus on taking my business and philanthropic life to the next level, YBL has encouraged me to think outside the box to refine my business model while balancing work/life challenges.”

“The forum pushes you to do more as you aim to keep up with some of the most talented and motivated individuals in our region on personal, professional and philanthropic levels,” says Kevin DeSanto, founding partner of Kipps-Desanto.

The price for this type of return is small compared with other business leadership groups that charge $8,000-10,000 annually for membership. For YBL, the only cost of admission is a donation to the Community Foundation of Northern Virginia ($1,000 annually).

“YBL has reinforced the value of giving back to our community, both as a responsibility and an opportunity to leave a legacy," added Emeka Moneme, executive managing director, the Carmen Group.

YBL meetings include a guest speaker from the community, typically people from government and private industry, as well as from large and small companies, who discuss their business, leadership and corporate and personal philanthropy.

Steve encourages other coaches to think about how they could work with community foundations in their hometowns.

“It would be great for other coaches around the country to consider linking up with their local community foundations (almost every community has one)….and for the coaches to start a Young Business Leaders forum themselves…focused on business, leadership and philanthropy. I’m happy to connect with anyone interested in starting such a group.”

For ideas on starting a YBL group in your area, contact Steve at sgladis@stevegladiscommunications.com.

We want YOU to be a part of the 2011 Global Coaching Study

Five years ago, nearly 6,000 coaches in over 70 countries took part in the ICF Global Coaching Study. Coaches were surveyed on their coaching practice and client demographic information, as well as revenue.

Commissioned by the ICF (and conducted by independent research firm PricewaterhouseCoopers), the study was a first—its groundbreaking findings provided the world’s first look at the coaching profession from a global perspective.

And now, the time is here to repeat the revolutionary study. And ALL coaches (ICF member or not) are invited to participate. The 2011 study will track key trends that have emerged since 2006 and will serve as a useful and insightful comparison to the original Global Coaching Study.

If you are a coach, please take some time to complete the online survey. Doing so will help bring the global landscape of coaching in 2011 into clear focus. The data collected will lead to the creation of a robust “state of the industry” report that will provide coaches, organizations and the media an opportunity to learn more about the profession.

Like the 2006 study, the 2011 Global Coaching Study will be conducted by PwC. As of June 17, the survey is available in English and Spanish. It will eventually be available in a total of nine languages (also including French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Portuguese).

Once you complete the survey, invite your coaching peers around the world to participate by forwarding the study link. All survey respondents will receive an advance copy of the Executive Summary that PwC will develop based on study findings.

Participate in the 2011 Global Coaching Study.

We are ICF

For each member of the International Coach Federation, there is a reason for choosing to be a part of the world’s largest professional coaching association. To illustrate this, nine individual members have been highlighted since the start of the 2011-2012 membership renewal season. 

Sackeena is an executive coach in the United States.

Sackeena Gordon-Jones, PCC, has been a member of the ICF since 2005. Why does she choose to belong to the ICF?

“ICF provides overarching support, structure, nurturing, networking and guidance to the Practice of Coaching. Because of the ICF, Coaching has become a credible and dignified specialty. It is innovative and has embraced a global world-view, which allows Coaching to impact the world, helping people be their best.”

A member of ICF-RAC (Raleigh Area Chapter), Sackeena finds connection with other members to be her most value-added member benefit.

Since the end of February, we have shared the many reasons professional coaches choose to belong to the ICF. To read about these other reasons, be sure to click on the label ICF Members (on the right side of the blog) to be taken to each of these posts.

If you are a coach and you aren’t yet a member of the ICF, what are you waiting for? Learn how you can become a member of the ICF here.

Body domain: the lost continent

What can coaches do when they hit an invisible verbal ceiling with their coachees? How should coaches continue the process when it seems that words aren´t enough?

Usually there is a deficit to use somatic knowledge when in session. When a coach not only has distinctions of non verbal communication, but is able to apply body dynamics (not only focused in techniques); these competencies allow for increasing the effectiveness of the interventions. The body dialectic enriches the process…

On one hand there are coachees who just cannot clear verbalise their real breakdown. Others may feel they can. But when it´s time to show what is happening for them and their desires, the body has its own voice in a different way of getting the message across. That means that very frequent the body´s coachee talks something different than his mind, has a different code, a different time to learn.

To further the coaching process, coaches should use a combination of verbal and non verbal approach. That is to say to know which type of strategy should be used to work the breakdown, to be aware of what the coachee is able to do when doing a body dynamic, what techniques or disciplines.

It doesn´t have the same impact and we have to know when it´s appropriate and timely to use music or elements with symbolic meaning to solve a breakdown and when not, when it´s adequate to draw or to make a collage, etc. I have learned when to move together with my coachee, and when to leave well alone; in so doing I practice being a compassionate and alert witness.

When using this approach, body manisfestation should be brought to the attention of the coachee so he could make a connection with his everyday life.

Andrea Gregoris Kamenszein

It is amazing to use power of movement as a way of growth. Often it supports a faster and deeper coaching process that the coachee clear can appreciate.

How is your experience regarding the body domain in session?

If you are a Spanish Speaking coach you are invited to participate in the SIG Coaching and Corporalidad. Feel free to ask me about this group.

Lic. Andrea Gregoris Kamenszein
www.evolucionmovimiento.com.ar

ICF and ASTD = a fantastic combination

The ICF’s second appearance at the ASTD (American Society for Training and Development) International Conference and Exposition was a fabulous experience!


May 23 booth staff

 At the end of May, more than 8,000 training and development professionals from 70 countries convened at the Orange County Convention Center in sunny Orlando, Florida, USA.

The three-day event included an international Expo hall where the ICF was situated. Attendees from 24 countries visited the ICF booth asking for more information on membership, the ICF Credential, coach training programs.



May 24 booth staff



This setting was the perfect venue for the ICF to promote the value coaching can provide an organization. Attendees were very interested in coaching as several of their conference sessions mentioned it and some speakers even referenced our booth in the Expo hall!

The ICF was well-represented; volunteers from the Tampa Bay Professional Coaches Association and the ICF South Florida Charter Chapter assisted two ICF Global staff members in manning the booth. They fielded questions around coaching—how (and why) it works.

The ICF would like to thank those ICF members who dropped by our booth and those ICF member volunteers who made our experience at ASTD spectacular: Charlene Balleine, ACC; Pegotty Cooper; Lorraine Lane; and Maria Martinez, ACC, and Marcelo Bianchi Montana.

We are looking forward to exhibiting at this show next year in Denver!

The Internal and External Conversations We Have Around Healing

Since February 2011, when I started the Energy Work & Coaching SIG, I’ve been surprised, even amazed with the depth of our conversations as we celebrate the value and benefits combining these two modalities has provided both us and our clients.

Participation in the third Monday of each month call is an invitation to expand our individual skill set in the areas of Coaching Presence, Building Trust and Intimacy and Powerful Questions, to name a few of the ICF Core Competencies, but more important, these calls affirm a commitment to expanding our coaching repertoire so that we better model a whole/ authentic identity. We are not alone, as the recent popular documentary, I AM, asserts. During these calls I lead the group in a centering/ embodiment practice which serves to ground our conversations.

Today’s call (May 2011) focused on the healer label; our personal, even cultural concerns about calling ourselves healers. My partner in this discussion, Sheridan Gates (http://www.purposeatwork.com/) is a seasoned coach and certified energy practitioner, who has over time, shifted her focus from corporate coaching and consulting to finding a more authentic way to present her gifts. She pointed out that this has been a journey; it has taken some time to embody the healer’s mantle as part of her overall coaching persona.

We all acknowledged how the inclusion of energy work has opened up possibilities in our practice; clients often change their lives completely. Clients experience more peace, more joy and more possibilities for how they can live and work in the world.

We discussed the hurdles we encounter to bridge what is often viewed as disparate identities—energy healer on one side, and business or executive coach on the other. We pointed to many examples within our culture where healers are physicians, providing cures-- not coaches. Are these two separate paths, or is there a way we can with confidence and humility incorporate both identities?

Rhona Post, MCC

Sheridan and I talked about surrendering to our passion, giving ourselves permission to publicly state that we are energy workers and coaches.

I’ve observed that the more we accept where we are on this journey, the easier it becomes for others to accept and trust us. The June SIG promises to be another hot topic: “Why Taking on a Spiritual Practice Is a Good Thing.”

For more information on Healer Coaching and The Energy Work & Coaching SIG, contact Rhona Post, +1.941.554.8466, www.thehealercoach.com.

How Edgy are YOU?



Lynn Meinke

As coaches we “dance” with our clients as we follow where they lead. This is a major premise of coaching and one that serves our clients well. There is another aspect of coaching that allows us to take coaching into the outer reaches of what is possible and that is when our clients and we engage in “Playing to the Edge.”

“Playing to the Edge,” means that we are willing to stretch or challenge our thinking, our ways of being, allow ourselves not to know and take appropriate risks. “Playing to the Edge” encourages us and our clients to step out of mediocrity and move into the vastness and excitement of potential. If age, money, health or education were not a consideration, what would you do? Who would you be? What is your wildest, most outrageous dream? What would it take for you to move in that direction?

“Playing to the Edge” is the theme of this year’s ICF International Conference. The Educational Steering Committee chose this theme for many reasons. First, the Conference is in Las Vegas, which is known for risk taking. Second, as coaching continues to mature, we need to stay fresh, look at new realities, and challenge our beliefs and knowledge. Third, “playing,” indicates a sense of spontaneity and freedom, so how can we light-heartedly continue our growth as human beings and coaches as we examine and explore new ideas, challenge old concepts and arrive at new plateaus of meaning?

Join us in Las Vegas from September 24-27 for the ICF International Conference and pick the topics and presenters that will stretch you and support you in “Playing to the Edge.”

Also, have fun during the entire Conference and especially at the opening reception that is designed to inspire your creativity as you enjoy a comparative wine tasting, or if you’re not a wine drinker you’ll engage in a comparative chocolate tasting.

Go to: www.coachfederation.org/conference for more in depth information.

Please introduce yourself…I’d love to personally greet you!

cheers!

Lynn MeinkeChair: 2011 ICF Conference Educational Steering Committee

We are ICF

Since the end of February, we have been sharing the multiple reasons coaching professionals choose to be a part of the International Coach Federation. These reasons have spanned educational and networking opportunities, as well as ethics, standards and credibility. 

Pedro has been an ICF member since 2008.

Pedro Amador, ACC, of Spain, belongs to the ICF “because it’s a professional way to grow the coaching business and it helps me keep in contact with other professionals.”

Likewise, he finds his shared experiences with other ICF members a value-added member benefit.



Other reasons people choose to be a part of the ICF will be shared in future blog posts.

Learn how you can become a member of the ICF here.