by Susan R. Meyer, MMC Ave Atque Vale, Gratitude and Joy This old Latin phrase, hello and also farewell, seems a fitting introduction to my last President’s Message. The past two years have been interesting times for the IAC, and as I move to Immediate Past President, this is a good time for a review as well as a few hints of things to come. The second part of the title, gratitude and joy, is also timely as I prepare to head off to the Boston area to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends. Moving Forward I am so excited that, as of January 1, 2014, Vicki Zanini will assume the presidency of the IAC. I can’t imagine a better successor. In addition to being a strong supporter and contributor over the past two years, Vicki took on the challenge of serving as Treasurer, a job I can’t even fathom handling. She’s already got wonderful plans to move the IAC forward and a very strong Board of Governors to support her. I’m not going to announce the full Executive Committee or the additions to the Board of Governors; I’d rather let Vicki have that honor in January. I’m also excited that Natalie Tucker Miller will continue as General Manager for at least the first few months of Vicki’s presidency, providing continuity and giving Vicki access to two past presidents for advice and support. You’ll be hearing much more about two conferences hosted by IAC Board members in 2014, but it’s never too soon to start thinking about your travel plans. Peter Rusznak has announced that the Hungarian Chapter is involved in planning a conference in Budapest at the end of May. Shanmugam D.Moorthi (Shan) is planning a conference which will take place in Kuala Lumpur on April 23 & 24, 2014. Both present excellent opportunities to broaden your horizons, increase your coaching knowledge, see a bit of the world, and, of course, mingle with other IAC coaches. Looking Back There have been a number of challenges over the past two years as well as great successes. First, the challenges: We were contacted by the ICF in relation to our use of the MCC designation. When the BOG adopted this designation, we were unaware that the ICF held a trademark on it. Our decision was, therefore, to change our designations to better reflect the central focus of the IAC – the IAC Masteries™. We had some real behind-the-scenes catastrophes that we weathered as well. The back end of the website simply didn’t function. That meant that members either couldn’t renew or were bombarded with unnecessary notifications. Lists were mingled, mangled or lost. It took months of hard work and the eternal patience of Diana McFarlane to migrate to a new platform and work out all the bugs. But we survived! The systems glitches caused a drop in membership that has finally started to reverse thanks to the extensive outreach efforts of the BOG, the Licensees and the Chapter Presidents. Somehow, the infrastructure of the IAC had also been ignored for a while. We created the temporary position of General Manager, which allowed us to bring Natalie Tucker Miller in. She’s made vast inroads in getting us organized, pushing the officers (mostly me) to write procedures and create a sound structure as we move forward. Now, the successes: Conferences We were active in promoting and participating in conferences. In April 2012, I attended the International Coaching Conference in Kuala Lumpur, jointly organized by CESMED and TeamCoach International and co-sponsored by the IAC. Immediate Past President Bob Tschannen-Moran, MCC (IAC) gave the keynote address: Coaching Mastery: A Commitment that Matters. Other speakers include Certifier Bonnie Chan, MCC (IAC), Megan Tschannen-Moran, M. Shanmugam and Past President Angela Spaxman. To kick off the final session, in a World Café addressing the conference theme, Shan revealed the Bahasa Malaysia translation of the IAC Masteries®. The IAC was invited to present at the World Business and Executive Coaching Summit in 2012 and 2013. A panel of IAC members including Krishna Kumar, Natalie Tucker Miller and Aileen Gibb, and myself, discussed the using Masteries to develop coaching skills in managers in a variety of settings. The IAC also co-sponsored ISEC’s Leadership Mantras for the Modern Age in Bangalore, India. The conference was created by IAC Vice President Krishna Kumar. The keynote speaker was Sir John Whitmore and speakers active in the IAC include Krishna Kumar, M. Shanmugam (Shan), Teo Jin Lee, Bonnie Chan, and Nigel Cumberland. Krishna presented the first two of four awards that were part of our Tenth Anniversary Celebration. Finally, we were one of the sponsors of the Conversation Among Masters Conference. I had the opportunity to speak to the group about the beauty of the Masteries and awarded two free one-year memberships to the winners of a drawing. Webinars and Chats We created a number of virtual learning experiences over the past two years. We began with taking the Inside Scoop column live. This was followed with a series of webinars on special topics or approaches designed to expand our toolkits and our thinking. Kim Ades and Kristi Arndt hosted a series of webinars featuring many of our member benefits. In May, 2013, I hosted our first webinar for members. Dr. Doris Helge spoke about transforming painful events into personal empowerment. Over the past two years, we had built a library of interviews with masterful coaches including Julia Stewart, Shirley Anderson, Angel Spaxman, Natalie Tucker Miller and Aileen Gibb. Interviewers included me, Ed Britton, Kristi Arndt and Natalie Tucker Miller. You can find a complete list and access to the recordings on the website. Krishna hosted a second webinar with Natalie Tucker Miller speaking about the Masteries. We’ve held open calls for the licensees and Ask the Certifier calls, both series conducted by our Certifiers. We’ve also had regular Open Chats, available to members and anyone interested in learning more about the IAC, hosted by a variety of Board members. Forums We’ve created a forum for the Licensees in order to promote a sense of community. There’s a Members’ Forum, a Research Forum, and a Groupsite for Volunteers – all designed to promote communication within the IAC. Celebration We celebrated our tenth anniversary throughout the year. Highlights included awarding free memberships to a small group of early adopters and to all past presidents. We also gave two Lifetime Achievement Awards to Sir John Whitmore and Natalie Tucker Miller, and two President’s Awards to Bonnie Chan and Shirley Whitmore. We also contributed an article to choice’s tenth anniversary issue. Joy and Gratitude I hope you’ve stayed with me for this very long message, because this is where I have the opportunity to say thank you. It has been a joy to serve all of you and to bring us all further along the path to coaching mastery. I am grateful for every member of the IAC. You demonstrate what masterful, world-class coaching looks like both in your work and in who you are. I am grateful to everyone who has served on the Board of Governors and on the committees that keep the IAC vibrant. Vicki, Kristi, Krishna, Peter, Shan, Pepe, Tatiana, Penni, Jin, and former BOG members Joan, Bonnie Kerryn and Kerul, You’ve all done brilliant work. I’m grateful for our staff – Wendy, Becky behind the scenes and Ed, Beth Ann, Diana and Natalie with both public and private roles. Thank you all! Vicki – I’m grateful that this crew has your back! Wishing you all continued success on your path to coaching mastery. Warmly,
Dr. Susan R. Meyer, MMC is President of Susan R. Meyer, Coaching and Consulting. As a Life Architect, she helps wise and wild women construct a joyful life, provides executive coaching and instills a coaching approach to leadership for organizational success. www.susanrmeyer.com. |
