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.