We’re in the final months of our tenth anniversary and there’s still some celebrating left to do. We’ve created new awards to recognize significant achievements in the field of coaching and in service to the IAC. Two of these awards were given out earlier this year during the conference in India, hosted by Vice President Krishna Kumar. Sir John Whitmore, who was the keynote speaker at the event, was presented with an IAC Lifetime Achievement Award, acknowledging his many contributions to coaching. A President’s Award was presented to Bonnie Chan, who has done so much to represent the IAC in China.
I am delighted to announce that two additional awards were presented in September. Shirley Anderson was presented with an IAC Lifetime Achievement Award and Natalie Tucker Miller was presented with a President’s Award. You can find interviews with Natalie and Bonnie on our website and I will be interviewing Shirley within the next few weeks.
The IAC has represented the best in coaching over the past decade and this month, I’m devoting this space to telling you a bit more about our honorees, three of whom are long-time IAC members and IAC Master Mastery Coaches.
Sir John Whitmore
This first award was the only one presented to a coach who is not a member of the IAC. Sir John Whitmore is Chairman of Performance Consultants International. Whitmore, who was deeply influenced by The Inner Game of Tennis, has written five books on leadership, coaching and sports. Coaching for Performance is the best known, having sold 500,000 copies in 17 languages.
Whitmore was a motor racing champion in his 20’s before retiring to run a large agribusiness, a product design company and a Ford Main Dealership. In 1968 he gave up business to study psychology in the USA, before returning to England to set up a tennis school and a ski school in the Alps licensed by Timothy Gallwey of the Inner Game. The GROW (Goal, Reality, Options/Opportunity, Will/What Next) model of coaching has been developed and popularized by Whitmore.
Shirley Anderson
Shirley Anderson was active on the Board in the earliest days of IAC. Anyone who has ever heard her present or has been on a Coach Salon call will appreciate this self-description from Shirley’s website:
“My colleagues have dubbed me “Coach Yoda.” This makes me laugh. I trust it describes my relating and mentoring skills, rather than how I look. I’m known as the truth teller and someone who brings intelligence, compassion, education, and maturity to my work with clients.”
The article below from the IAC VOICE, Vol 1, Num 4, May 27, 2004, announces Shirley’s appointment as the first Chair of the Certification Committee and the Board of Governors:
Shirley Anderson, IAC’s newly elected Chair of the Board of Governors (BOG), has been coaching since 1989. She has worked with more than 1,000 clients, helping them to achieve their goals and leverage their skills. She works with executives, authors and other professionals.
Shirley holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in criminal justice. Her coaching certifications include Certified Masteries Coach, Master Certified Coach (MCC), and IAC Certified Coach (IAC CC).
As a member of the IAC Certifier/Examiner Committee, she was one of the three original coaches to earn IAC’s Certified Coach designation. Shirley has been active in IAC since it was founded, originally focusing on Advanced Coaching Models and Systems. In addition to her role on the BOG, Shirley serves as Chair of the Certifier/Examiner Committee and is working with the certifying team to bring Step Two of the IAC Certified Coach exam to the full membership.
Looking back to the inception of coaching, Shirley recalls that “twenty years ago coaching was an executive perk, available only to corporate executives and leaders.” As a pioneer in the field, she says coaching emerged as a discipline with distinct models, principles, concepts and techniques “thanks to the brilliance and leadership of the late Thomas Leonard.” She believes that the “diverse business and professional backgrounds of new coaches enriches the profession and makes coaching available to the ordinary person.” She views coaching research as the most exciting current industry activity and says it “is helping to distinguish the work we do as a true profession.”
Bonnie Chan
Bonnie Chan has been a member of the Board of Governors and is currently a Certifier. She has worked tirelessly on behalf of the IAC throughout Asia and is currently working closely with Natalie Tucker Miller towards completing certifications in Chinese.
After Bonnie graduated from the Keio University of Japan with a major in Human Science in 1985, she worked in Hong Kong, Japan, Canada and China.
Bonnie is the first IAC Master Masteries Coach from Hong Kong. She is the founding member of the Hong Kong International Coaching Community (HKICC) and was elected President in 2005/6. She is actively involved as the Honorary Advisor to the community. She is currently a part-time lecturer in the HKU Space teaching Corporate Coaching. Bonnie has lived and worked in Hong Kong, Japan, Canada and China and speaks English, Putonghua, Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese.
Natalie Tucker Miller
Natalie Tucker Miller is an internationally recognized speaker, certified coach, instructor and coach certifier. She was one of a handful of members to invest in a lifetime membership in the IAC and has been active on the Board of Governors. As a Certifier, she was part of the two-year process to create the IAC Masteries. From 2006-2008 she served as president for the IAC. She currently serves as Lead Certifier for the IAC and was instrumental in the development of the Learning Agreement process.
Natalie works with leaders in the elder care industry and provides training and coaching for executives and staff. She is the founder of Ageless-Sages.com, a publishing company specializing in illustrated picture books for elders, as well as producing books on historic events of interest to elders and personal development.
These are four amazing coaches, and we can all be proud that three of them are among our membership. There are many other incredible, distinguished coaches in our midst, and I am grateful every day to have been granted the privilege of being in such distinguished company.
Oh – A little something extra – Choice magazine subscribers can read “Building on a Solid Foundation” in the September issue. Natalie Tucker Miller and I wrote this for Choice’s Tenth Anniversary issue. You can also read it here (the IAC article starts on the second page). Don’t miss a feature article by our own Kim Ades as well.
Warmly, Susan
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.
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I add my thanks. Behind their accomplishments are many personal and public battles successfully navigated.