Taking Off The Blinders Reveals The True Self

Rhona Post, MCC

The second Energy Work and Coaching SIG call (held Monday, March 21) was a great success. I’ve received really positive feedback including “great, practical exercises to use with clients” and “thought provoking and interesting teleseminar.”

I invited Sandy Mobley, an MCC executive coach and fellow energy practitioner to join our dialogue.

On the heels of my talk last month about the intersection of embodiment and presence resulting in our expanded capacity I used this call to educate participants about the behind the scenes practices they can do to strengthen a centered, coaching presence, which results in their increased competence to listen deeply, ask powerful questions, and build trust and intimacy.

Sandy and I are both Strozzi (http://www.strozziinstitute.com/) certified coaches, and energy healers (http://www.coreindividation.com/). We encouraged SIG participants to try a variety of centering postures, including the Strozzi exercise of practicing length, width and depth, following one’s breath, and moving one’s breath from head to heart. We drew some distinctions between being centered and being grounded, and invited participants to spend the next thirty days practicing these different exercises as they interact with others.

I encourage coaches on the combined energy work and coaching path to engage in a spiritual practice, like Insight meditation, as a way to learn about their own thoughts, feelings, and sensations. Meditation is a powerful tool/technique to reduce suffering.

April’s talk will take place for 60 minutes beginning at 11 a.m. (New York) on Monday, April 18. During this call, we will delve in the waters of embodiment-what does it mean to embody coaching qualities of compassion, respect or empathy? The goal of the Energy Work and Coaching SIG is to strengthen seasoned coaches’ competence and confidence to explore the parts of ourselves that we often ignore, deny or avoid, and to use this increased awareness in relationships—at work and at home.

Rhona

For more information on Energy Work & Coaching, please contact Rhona Post, MCC, via e-mail at rpost@thehealercoach.com. Learn more at http://www.thehealercoach.com/.

I support youth!

Do you coach teens or young adults?

• Are you passionate about coaching youth?
• Or are you a corporate coach who just happens to have a couple teen clients?
• Do you include parents in your coaching sessions?
• What about getting permission to coach minor youth?
• Who in the world pays for youth coaching?
• Is there any difference between coaching adults and coaching youth?
• What about college youth?
• Do you coach youth with AD/HD?
• How can I build my practice coaching youth?
• Where do I find information about coach specific training for working with youth?

The ICF Teen SIG is just the place for you to get ideas, share resources and connect with other coaches who work with teens and young adults. We have guest speakers to provide us with ideas and information. We have a “pot luck” where we each bring in ideas and resources to share with each other. We have an online "group site" where we can connect with each other individually for collaboration, information and support.

My name is Sandi Lindgren: this is my second year as the Teen SIG leader. Randy Nathan started this SIG in 2006, when there were only a few of us. We felt a bit isolated, and unsupported in our endeavor to coach this population. Under Randy’s leadership, the TEEN SIG group grew to over 45 members. Now, I am HAPPY to report, we are now 100 members strong! (Woot!) We are passionate about youth! We are not picky about what age you call “youth.” We are very eclectic and varied in our experience as coaches. And–we want YOU! That is, IF you are interested in supporting youth though coaching!

We meet the first Tuesday of each month at 12:00 p.m. EST (US). The call in number is: 1.218.895.3033, pin:8275657#. Please contact me for any questions, ideas and also if you’d like to be a guest speaker and share YOUR insight and wisdom about coaching youth! Email me at sandi@isupportyouth.com.

-Sandi Lindgren, LICSW, PCC

Applying for an ICF Credential? Enhanced application coming soon.

Early next month, the enhanced online credentialing application* will be unveiled at Coachfederation.org.

This enhancement project has been a long time coming—ICF Credential applicants have long noted that the application process was not user-friendly. Staff and volunteer leaders took this feedback and are ready to share the new online credentialing application.

Most notably, the new application process will make applying for (and renewing) an ICF Credential much more streamlined and simple for applicant use—everything will be broken into logical steps and applicants will be guided through the process like never before.

A recent letter that went out to all ICF members said that the new online application will:

• Streamline applying for an ICF Credential;

• Have easy-to-follow instructions;
• Allow coaches to create an application and complete forms incrementally before submitting their work for review (and payment) when complete;
• Show coaches their current application status when they access their credentialing record;
• Send an automated e-mail to coaches when their credentialing application status changes, as well as provide reminders for tasks needing to be performed;
• Track correspondence between applicants and ICF staff in one location for easy reference; and
• Make renewing an ICF Credential easier.

And that’s just a start. ICF staff members are investigating the possibility of adding additional features at a later date, including the ability to allow applicants to track continuing coach education units (CCEUs) as earned and credentialing exam scheduling functionality.

If you recently submitted an application that is being reviewed, waiting for an exam opportunity, have started an application but have not yet submitted it or are getting ready to apply for the ICF Credential, visit the full article at Coachfederation.org for further direction on what you need to know.

Look for updates on the launch of the new online application at Coachfederation.org in the ICF News section (on the home page of Coachfederation.org). Should you have any questions regarding these enhancements or the new application (once it is available), contact the ICF Credentialing staff via e-mail at icfcredentialing@coachfederation.org.

*Enhancements were only made to the online application process, NOT to the actual credential requirements.

We are ICF

Like other professional organizations, members of the International Coach Federation choose to be a part of its ranks for numerous reasons. For Gürkan Sarioglu (an executive and leadership coach in Turkey), it came down to the Code of Ethics; Code of Conduct; globally recognized accreditation and credentialing process; and the experience sharing through regional and global conferences.

Gürkan joined the ICF global community in 2007.

When asked what member benefit provides him the most value, Gürkan responded “All the information I could reach through the ‘members only’ section of the website is the most valuable benefit for me, as I could come across at least one or two articles, surveys, or papers on almost every subject I am looking for, which would enlighten me, inspire me or make me knowledgeable.” 

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.

Strengthening our ICF Community: What Will You Do?

For the past 15 months, the ICF Global Membership & Community Committee has spent almost all our time discussing, listening, researching, and making recommendations about membership. It has been all membership, all the time. And it’s been good. Really good. We have learned a lot through extensive conversations with ICF members, and our recommendation for minimum eligibility requirements for membership has been approved by the ICF Global Board (look for more on that next month).

However, with our focus on membership (and quite appropriately so, given the direction provided to us by the Board), perhaps we have unconsciously drifted away from the “community” part of our Committee name. Membership AND Community Committee.

So how do we renew our focus on community? I believe the answer lies beyond the rules and procedures, the research and recommendations.  Community can’t be mandated. And community is not the responsibility of just a few hundred Chapter Leaders, and Global Board and Committee members. Community is up to each one of us, in our day-to-day actions as ICF members.


Community at the 2010 ICF Annual International Conference



So as the evolution and growth of our ICF community continues, and as we steadfastly pursue raising the standards for our organization, and for the coaching industry itself, I’m curious: What will YOU do to contribute?

• Are you a coach in a region where an ICF Chapter is just now emerging?  What could you do to lend a hand to those who are leading the charge?

• Are you a member of an established ICF Chapter, attending its meetings and events?  How could you help your Chapter Board with all the behind-the-scenes work they do?

• Do you read the monthly Coaching World newsletter?  What special knowledge or experience could you write up as an article?

• Are you a graduate of an accredited coach training school?  When will you go back and tell new coaches-in-training about what the ICF offers and how they can get involved in your local Chapter?

In this month’s Coaching World, our ICF President, Ed Modell, writes, “The future of ICF is in our hands! Remember we are ICF. Let us co-create our future together.” Indeed. So what will YOU do?

Kara Exner, M.C.Ed., CPCC, ACC
Chair, 2011 ICF Global Membership & Community Committee