by Tara Rodden
Robinson
Back in the
January '07
issue of the IAC VOICE, IAC President Natalie Tucker Miller introduced
me as the "test pilot" for the COGs. I am happy to report that the
first COG is ready for a test flight!
The first
Community Outreach Group will come together to train COG
leaders. Members who would like to lead a virtual group of
IAC coaches are invited to join the first COG. We are
specifically looking for people who would like to lead one
or more COGs on the following topics:
Certification
The Masteries
(as a whole and individually)Ethics and
Risk ManagementTransition
between the Proficiencies and the Masteries
Here are some
of the features you can expect from the COGs:
Specific:
Each COG will take on a particular topic so that
participants will have the opportunity to go deeper in their
learning with the goal of achieving mastery. This means that
each COG will have a project focus with specific outcomes
toward which participants will work.
Collaborate: COGs meet for the purpose of constructing
new knowledge or creating new products. COGs can be formed
around the needs of the IAC, its membership or the
profession at large. For example, a COG might be created as
an ethics sounding board for specific issues that arise in
practice or to act as an organizing committee for a
conference. The possibilities are nearly limitless.Discrete:
Each COG will meet for a specific length of time. The COGs
will be scheduled in advance so that community members can
plan ahead to fit COG participation into their schedules.Flexible:
The web setting will allow group participants to log on at any time,
from anywhere, to read material, listen to podcasts and post questions
or comments. COGs may also include live chats, whiteboards, and other
real-time features so that coaches will get to interact with each other
and the expert COG leaders who will serve as hosts and facilitators for
each COG.Accessible:
The BaseCamp messaging format is much like a blog. Blog
posts are typically short, easy to read and conversational.
The BaseCamp format also allows participants to subscribe to
the RSS feed as for any other blog. Participants can comment and engage in conversation. (By the
way, if you don't know what RSS feed is, don't worry, we'll
explain all this in the
first COG.)Individual
attention: Each group will be limited in size so that
everyone will have the opportunity to participate in a
meaningful way by contributing to the fruitful discussion of
the topic. Participants will enroll in each COG separately.
Professional: The COGs will be moderated and monitored
to keep discussions on track and held to the highest
standards of professional discourse. Coaches will be able to
learn how to disagree without acrimony and how to discuss
contentious issues with courtesy.Personal
and professional growth: Both group members and
facilitators will be able to take on new challenges and
acquire skills in new teaching methods and subjects.
And here are
some of the benefits of getting involved:
Connecting
with other like-minded professionals, particularly important
for this "virtual" professionStaying
current with the coaching profession; helping define and
contribute to its needs and growthFinding other
coaches to collaborate with to enhance coaching skills, grow
practices and share resourcesLearning how
to collaborate with other professionals (sounds silly, but
this takes practice)Contributing
to the coaching community for the greater good
COG 1:
Learning How to Create and Run an IAC COG will run from
Monday, March 19 until Friday, March 23, 2007. To sign up,
or if you have further questions,
click here.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Peace be with
you,
Tara Rodden Robinson
tara@zugunruhecoaching.com
www.zugunruhecoaching.com
Tara Rodden Robinson
PhD is a coach, educator, and writer working toward IAC certification.
She teaches genetics, hikes, and walks her dog in Corvallis,
Oregon.
