IAC VOICE, Volume 4, Issue 19, October 2007, Circulation: 11,965
October 10, 2007
Angela
From the Editor
New faces, new resources. At the IAC we put a lot of energy into this organization as a contribution towards creating the world of coaching that we want. And so it’s very encouraging to receive your feedback and especially your offers to volunteer. This month you’ll notice some new faces, and there will be more to come.
First of all, I’m very pleased to welcome Pat Beck to the editorial team. Pat is a member of the IAC’s Phoenix Chapter and she coaches individuals to achieve both personal and professional goals through her company Advanced Perceptions. Pat is very keen to support us through writing and interviewing for the VOICE.
In this issue, Pat interviews one of our newest Board members, Des Walsh. Des brings a different perspective to the organization from sunny Australia.
Masterful coaching creates the possibility for anything to happen.
This is the level of coaching the IAC certification applicants aspire to when working with their clients. Thomas Leonard knew that in order for our profession to be sustainable, it had to produce sustainable results. The way to sustainable coaching results is through the collaboration of masterful coaches and their clients. When you begin to embody the effective behaviors and look for the measures outlined in the Masteries E-book, you are on your way to understanding how and why masterful coaching accomplishes this.
The IAC certifying examiners are committed to supporting the members to this level of coaching. The certification team had planned to present the Observer’s Guide this month; however, they have since determined a greater value would be discussing the Masteries individually in article format which will appear in the monthly editions of the Voice. This new approach is underway and we will keep you posted on progress. In the meantime, get very familiar with the Masteries E-book, which is a treasure trove of coaching information in and of itself!
Another way we support masterful coaching is through IAC local chapters. Chapter members meet to jointly raise their understanding of the IAC Masteries, to practice coaching, to prepare for IAC Certification, and for all kinds of mutual support activities. Kerri Laryea has been hosting the Phoenix chapter for several months now and supporting the formation of new Chapters, details below.
To get the most from your IAC membership, you can join an existing chapter, or consider hosting one in your community.
Practice coaching with buddies can also help grow your coaching skills. Last month we announced the new feature in the directory where members can list themselves as buddies. Please be sure to have contact info available in your profile if you choose this option, so coaches can get in touch with you!
Although we are not a training organization, we are continually seeking ways to support our members to a masterful level of coaching. If you'd like to be part of this mission, consider volunteering on the many committees eager for your input!
Appreciatively, Natalie
A Conversation With Des…
by Pat Beck
I recently spoke with IAC board member Des Walsh as he enjoyed a beautiful fall morning on the Gold Coast of Australia. Des, a lively conversationalist with a contagious enthusiasm and passion for life, spoke at length with me about his bright vision of coaching and its importance.
The key event that led to his career transition from business training and consulting to coaching was a simple exercise. When he was asked in a workshop to envision the epitaph on his own (future!) tombstone, he most decidedly did not like what he saw! “Here lies a man who wrote interesting reports that were never read or never acted upon”.
Not content for a moment to settle for such a boring eternal memorial statement, Des looked for a new calling and direction in life and found in coaching a way to refine and refocus his own professional goals. The decisive event in that transition was a workshop conducted in Sydney by Thomas Leonard.
For Des, coaching is a highly rewarding profession that encourages his own growth. “I attract clients who are demanding and challenging,” he laughs, “I like the challenge; it keeps me on my toes!” He is, he states emphatically, “a lifer at coaching!”
Des says his clients are successful individuals who have achieved a great deal in their professional lives. His practice focuses on small business owners and entrepreneurs, encouraging and mentoring their further growth and personal development. Most are in the age range 35 – 55. What focuses his energies as a coach is the Coachville proficiency of eliciting greatness.
Des refers to himself as a blogging evangelist. He believes fervently in multimedia and the need for professionals to be conversant and comfortable in the online world, and has even explored the virtual world of Second Life on their behalf. He mentors his clients in becoming knowledgeable in what he calls the “social media world”.
“I help my clients understand how such things as Facebook can help their business,” he says. “It is part of the changing professional landscape.” This knowledge is critical in a global climate in which business is now routinely conducted through virtual home based offices that just as routinely cross international cultural boundaries.
Des has seen a positive change in the last several years in the way in which businesses perceive coaching. “Coaching has gone from where business contacts were dismissive of it to coaching being respectable.”
He sees great growth in the field of coaching and feels that there really can’t be too many coaches. It is better than coaches come from all walks off life so as to better relate to clients. Variety in the type of individuals coaching makes coaching accessible for a greater range of humanity. This can only be a good thing in Des’s estimation. The best thing coaches can do, Des feels, “is to have meaning in their own lives” before they deal with clients’ most profound thoughts and emotions.
When I asked Des what drew him to IAC, he responded immediately that it was the vision of providing a means of certification for a wide range of people in different contexts and with varied life experiences.
Another meaningful aspect of IAC for Des is being able to be a part of connecting coaches across countries and cultures. Coaches are positioned to guide people into work/life balance. Des stresses that “work/balance is not a destination but a process.”
Coach, author, speaker and blog evangelist Des Walsh is uniquely qualified to be at the forefront of IAC. With timeless warmth, enthusiasm and love of humanity, Des is an inspiration to all of us in field of coaching. Visit Des at his website: www.deswalsh.com.
IAC Local Chapters
The IAC Chapters are beginning to spring up around the world! The first IAC Pilot Chapter launched in Phoenix, Arizona in March of this year, and less than a year later, it's my pleasure to announce these new Chapter launches:
Hong Kong Chapter President: Bonnie Chan, IAC-CC Phone Number: (852) 9023 2392 Email: bonnie@coachlite.com Meeting Information: The next meeting is on Oct 9 and will be a dialogue about what masterful coaching is. For info on future meetings, link to: http://iachkchapter.blogspot.com
St. Louis Metro Area Chapter, St. Louis, MO, USA President: Julia Stewart, IAC-CC Phone number: 314-779-3586 Email: info@schoolofcoachingmastery.com Meeting Information: Contact Julia Stewart for more information or link to: http://iacstl.blogspot.com/
Spain Chapter, meeting in Madrid and Barcelona President: Robert Culpepper Phone Number: 34 934 267 051 Email: IAC@tisoc.com Meeting Information: Contact the president for more information or link to: http://www.tisoc.com
Julia's St. Louis chapter had a great turnout of passionate, smart, supportive coaches. The Hong Kong Chapter is working on translating the IAC Masteries into Chinese. And Spain's chapter is taking the country by storm with two locations booked and even overbooked for their first meetings!
If you are interested in starting a chapter in your area, please contact the chapter coordinator, Kerri Laryea, via email at kerri@thecoachingweb.com. You must be a member to start a chapter.
A Member's Voice
Thomas Leonard asserted that coach certification should be based on demonstration of proficiency (quality) rather than clocking hours (quantity). At a conference in 2002, Thomas reemphasized this point, saying many of us were already great coaches due to natural abilities or previous professional training and experience. When he affirmed how much the world needed us, I knew he was talking to me. For these reasons, I pursued my certification through IAC and strongly encourage other coaches to support this incredible organization.
The highest level of maturity is to be real, genuine and authentic without a need to impress, pretend, feel ashamed, or fear. Inherent in this definition is a person’s willingness to take full and complete responsibility for his or her thoughts and resultant actions. This person is free to stretch, make mistakes and grow. When people abdicate this responsibility by placing blame for their thoughts and actions on someone or something else, they can become powerless victims of circumstance.
Those who take full and complete responsibility for their thoughts and actions discover one of the greatest secrets of success: “The only thing we can control in this life is our thoughts.” These people give up the senseless and futile attempt to control situations and people. Instead they focus their energy on controlling what can be controlled – their thoughts.
As a result, they are transparent to the need to impress, pretend, feel ashamed, and fear. They are confident, comfortable in their own skin, capable of addressing serious issues and situations on a moment’s notice – ready to serve others. As masters of their thoughts, they have become the captains of their destiny and they bless everyone around them. The choice is simple. Be a victim imprisoned by circumstance or be a captain free to sail the wide oceans of life.
We are not our thoughts. These are just thoughts. We are metacognitive – beyond thought. And if we are not our thoughts, who are we? We are the observer and chooser of our thoughts. We have thoughts and these thoughts belong to us, but that’s not who we are. Consider the captain and owner of a sailboat. He can guide the boat and choose its direction. The boat is his, he is the caption, but he is not the boat. He can step back and observe his boat even while it is sailing and can make choices based upon his observations. He is in control of where his boat will sail. So we, too, can become the captain of our thoughts.
Like the sea captain, YOU are the observer. You observe all at your command (your thoughts) and then choose the actions you will take. Your task is to become a master Observer/Chooser. This is the essence of true success. Success begins with a conscious choice and choosing again and again and again in every moment until you have shed your old skin and developed a new habit of being YOU.
Dave Blanchard is the Chairman and CEO of The Og Group, Inc. and family of companies, The Greatest Salesman, Inc. and 6 Advisors, Inc. He is the co-developer of the 6 Advisors Assessment Report™ and coaching curriculum. http://www.6Advisors.com
Change by Bob Tschannen-Moran (c) 2006
The gnawing preoccupation That something might be wrong That something has gone wrong That something will go wrong Does not inspire great change
Do this, or die Lose this, or die Gain this, or die Achieve this, or die Measure up to this, or die
The ultimatums of what must be done And the babble of things gone wrong Paint the case for change On a canvas of Failure, frustration, and fear
It takes courage to step away,
To let the noise die down, And to listen for that still, small voice
Forever whispering The message of life:
"Let there be nothing wrong now." "Let there be nothing wrong." "Let there be something right now." "Let there be something right With life!"
The whisper roars And planets turn Infants reach And lovers embrace For life
The canvas bursts with Aspiration, hope, and change As the voice Forever speaking Proclaims things good
Good enough to dream again Of things that might yet be Good enough to design again A different destiny
Such is the mystery of change!
We welcome the conversation And befriend the challenge Becoming who we are At our best
We trust in the future With anticipation Declaring what we see On the quest
Bob Tschannen-Moran, IAC-CC, is the President of LifeTrek Coaching International and a prolific and popular author who writes and edits LifeTrek Provisions, a weekly electronic newsletter with 50,000 subscribers in 152 countries. After graduating from Yale Divinity School in the late 1970s, and serving as a pastor for 20 years, Bob went through Coach U and transitioned into full-time coaching in the late 1990s. www.lifetrekcoaching.com
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First of all, I’m very pleased to welcome Pat Beck to the editorial team.
The highest level of maturity is to be real, genuine and authentic without
It takes courage to step away,
