From the President

by Susan R. Meyer, MCC (IAC)
president@certifiedcoach.org

Broadening the Path to Coaching Mastery

Redefining, expanding and enriching opportunities for learning and growth on the path to coaching mastery have always been the central focus of the IAC. Our single-minded focus on the professional development of coaches has spanned across many initiatives, including:

• Our initial creation of a certification process based on mastery of the Proficiencies developed by Thomas Leonard,
• The two-year efforts of an international team of masterful coaches to develop the nine IAC Coaching Masteries^®,
• The addition of Learning Agreements as a vehicle for capturing ongoing professional development,
• Regular meetings with our licensees and
• Our inclusion of ReciproCoach as a way to hone coaching skills

One exciting new development in our quest to provide learning opportunities and to expand knowledge of the IAC Coaching Masteries^® is the creation of IAC Student Chapters. These chapters will be open to anyone enrolled in coach training, whether through a university-based program or through one of our licensees.

Certification has been an important component of the path to coaching mastery, and since its inception, the IAC has engaged in a continuous process of monitoring and reviewing our certification process. This month, I am delighted to share with you a change in certification designations that is the result of many discussions and extensive reviews of certification tapes.

As of February 1, 2012, all current Certified Coaches will be designated as Master Certified Coaches. A number of coaches who scored slightly lower on their recordings will be awarded the Certified Coach designation.

We are tremendously excited, and, at the same time, do not take this change lightly. This change is the result of a thorough review of all tapes where candidates scored 3 (out of 5) on each of the nine Masteries. One of the many wonderful results of adopting the Masteries and refining our coaching measures is that we are now able to more clearly define and distinguish levels of skill. The review showed that coaches who scored 3 and above all demonstrated a high level of understanding and expertise, with those scoring 4 and above showing the highest level of mastery. This new two-tiered system acknowledges that highest level of mastery.

Other professional associations and coaching schools use the designation MCC to indicate the highest level of achievement and we are proud to join them in an effort to make MCC internationally recognized as a designation of coaching excellence. As some of our coaches already hold this designation from the ICF or other bodies, we are suggesting that MCC (IAC) is the most appropriate format when adding this to your credentials.

We are all constantly moving and changing on the path to coaching mastery, and the IAC is committed to continuing to blaze new trails, clear the path and light the way in support of the journey of each member.

With warm wishes for your success,
Susan R. Meyer

Susan R. Meyer, MCC (IAC) is President of Susan R. Meyer, Coaching and Consulting and of Life-Work Coach. She provides personal and executive coaching and facilitates seminars on topics including life planning, emotional intelligence, leadership development, communication, and coaching skills for managers. www.susanrmeyer.com.