ICF Strategic Plan: 101

The ICF is constantly working to advance the coaching profession by setting high standards, providing independent certification and building a worldwide network of credentialed coaches. But do you really understand the reasoning behind everything the ICF does?

Most associations work according to a strong strategic plan. Without one, it would be very easy to get wrapped up in work that may or may not have anything to do with the goals the association hopes to achieve. In fact, they may not even know what their goals are or how to get to where they want to be.

By having a strong strategic plan in place, the ICF remains focused and prepared to work toward the goals members have identified as important. Rather than pursuing a lot of good work, the ICF Board is making sure the association is clear on what activities will produce the best value for members.

The ICF Strategic Plan is set up as a living document [meaning that it will constantly be reviewed and measured against] that assists in the guiding efforts of association staff and volunteers. In other words, it is the ICF’s road map. It keeps us on the path we want to be on as an association, ensuring that we reach the goals we have identified as important.

Our long-term strategic plan was first prepared in 2006 and faced its first five-year evaluation last month at the ICF global Board of Director’s meeting. During this meeting, an updated strategic plan was approved.

The approved strategic plan includes:

Vision statement: In service of humanity flourishing, we choose to…

Core purpose: Lead global advancement of the coaching profession

Key strategies:

• Create attractive credible presence and voice for professional coaching; and
• Create global strategic alliances.

Three initiatives (or areas of focus for the next 18 months):

• Construct global standards system;
• Build high performance organization; and
• Become preferred resource for business community.

These strategies and focus areas will be supported and accomplished through various efforts and projects. To see a complete outline of the updated ICF Strategic Plan, please visit Coachfederation.org.

Happenings from the January Board Meeting

Dear ICF Colleagues-

The global ICF Board held a very productive meeting on January 22, 2011 covering a broad range of topics. I wanted to give you a brief summary of what the Board did with more details to follow.

2011 Global Board of Directors

Recognizing the importance of communicating clearly and effectively to our members in a multi-lingual environment, the Board approved a formal policy for the translation of documents that will take effect on April 1, 2011 and provides for (1) refreshing the current Spanish, French, German and Portuguese micro web sites at least once each year and updating key documents as needed; (2) translating member survey questionnaires into our four primary languages other than English; (3) translating the monthly member updates along with the monthly President's column from the Coaching World newsletter, and relevant press releases.

In the credentialing and program accreditation area, the Board approved two policies dealing with the definition of "Mentor Coaching" and the reinstatement of credentials where they have lapsed or expired. The Board wishes to thank the many member volunteers who have worked on these policies through the Credentialing and Program Accreditation Committee, as well as the many other policies and procedures they are continuing to work on related to enhancements to this program area.

In terms of developing future leaders from within ICF's ranks, the Board approved in principle a proposal to create an ICF Leadership Institute, with a pilot program to begin sometime this summer subject to the approval of a business plan and adequate funding being available. The Leadership Institute proposal is based on the Harvard University Graduate School of Education model for Management and Leadership. It will have a Steering Committee and Advisory Board made up of ICF members and led by global Board members Damian Goldvarg and Cheryl Vermey, respectively. More details on applying to be a participant or subject matter expert presenter will be made available in the coming months.

The Board also approved Chapter Leadership Ethical Guidelines that were developed in a collaborative effort by the Membership & Community Committee and the Ethics and Standards Committee. These Guidelines give more clarity about the high standards of ethical and professional conduct that we expect of our chapter leaders (presidents, board members and committee mebers) and how chapter members can hold their leaders to those standards without the need for micromanagement from the global organization. The Guidelines also recognize that resources are available from global, such as mediator assistance, when needed.

I also reported to the Board on a program being developed called the Diversity and Multicultural Awareness Group. Starting in February, I will host a series of calls where all ICF members can come and discuss the challenges and ways to meet them so that ICF can be a model of inclusivity for all international member organizations. I expect that many global Board members will also want to attend these calls and to hear first-hand how we can work together to build on the strengths we have with nearly 18,000 members in 104 countries around the world.

Ed Modell, PCCPresident, International Coach Federation

Update on ICF Board Discussions

Hello,

With this blog posting, I wish to provide members with an update on the most relevant discussions and initiatives the Board has taken recently and the discussion topics of the next Board of Directors meeting on March 18.

I look forward to hearing your response to this update through the various feedback channels listed at the end of this post.

Developing an Environment of Trust
The Board of Directors voted on a number of initiatives to foster a feedback culture, increasing openness and transparency of the organization’s governance. The initiatives that will be undertaken in the next few months include:

• Building consistency and reliability into the credentialing process;
• Conducting a member satisfaction survey and publishing the results;
• Designing a mechanism to receive, handle and address complaints (possibly to be addressed through the creation of an online suggestion box which the Executive Committee would be in charge of and monitor); and
• Include ICF Chapters in project implementation.