IAC VOICE, Volume 4, Issue 22, January 2008, Circulation: 12,148

Angela

From the Editor

Happy New Year all! We have a bumper issue
to start off the year.

One of our goals in 2008 is to involve
you more in the on-going creation of this
organization. With that aim in mind, you’ll
find three items of interest here:

• A review of the
  IAC leadership team
  to give you a glimpse behind the scenes
• An introduction to
  China-based Board
  of Governors member Bonnie Chan
• An opening for
  two key volunteers roles
  including a list of the rewards available.

As you consider your plans for 2008, and
if you think a role with the IAC might add
an element of stimulation, contribution
or community, please let us know
through
our volunteer sign-up link.

Our President Natalie demonstrates how
to perfect the present in her report this
month. I can’t tell you how proud
I am to be a part of an organization that
models and lives the coaching philosophy
of seeing the hidden gift in setbacks.
We are blessed to have such an inspiring
leader.

There are three more goodies in this issue,
all for your continuing development:

• One of the authors of ‘How Coaching
  Works’, Joseph O’Connor describes
  some distinct coaching models he uses
  in ‘Seeing What Isn’t There’
  (for members only).
• We have two new member benefits with substantial discounts on the
  Six Advisors™ Coaching Academy and choice Magazine.
• Coaching Moments gets quite practical
  this month, and is still beautiful to
  read.

My thanks go to all the contributors in
this issue, and especially to our proofreader,
Kathleen Richardson, another well-placed
rock who holds us up.

Cheers,

Angela Spaxman
Editor, IAC VOICE
Email: voice@certifiedcoach.org
Web:
www.lovingworkandleading.com

Natalie

Answers
from the President

by Natalie
Tucker Miller


president@certifiedcoach.org

Happy New Year!

I’ve
spend some time this week reading through
some of our VOICE
issues. When I look back over the 2 years
since I was voted President of the IAC,
what I notice most is the dedication and
enthusiasm from our esteemed volunteers,
contributors and members. This has truly
grown into the membership organization we’d
all hoped for. High certification standards
(that’s always been the case!), a
consistent presence via the VOICE, accessible
staff and wonderful resources for our members.
Of course, we’ve always an eye to enhancements
and improvements. Let us know what you feel
would make this an even better professional
organization.

And for the most part we fulfill what we’ve
set out to do. Sometimes we need go back
to the drawing board. But we always make
decisions with the members' best interest
in mind.

That said, here are a couple of items that
fall under the uncategorized “we didn’t
see it coming” heading:

Technology happens…………or
not.

The online exam for the Masteries (we’re
so close we can taste it!) has run into
a minor glitch that will delay the launch
a couple of weeks. I am aware that several
people are chomping at the bit to take this
“next generation” exam and want
you to know we share your enthusiasm and
anticipation. It will be worth the wait!
The test preparers are working diligently
to get this up and running. Keep your eye
to the website for the formal launch!

Secondly, the Virtual Symposium has also
run into snags too paramount to overcome
by the intended February date. Diane Krause-Stetson,
Andrea J. Lee and I have done what we can
do to transcend these technological bumps,
to no avail. We want to thank the speakers
who so generously agreed to impart their
wisdom on mastery. Their presence will remain
on the site so members can read about them
and learn how they’ve made their marks
in their fields.

Refunds will be made promptly and Jean
Gran, the best treasurer an organization
could hope for, has already begun the process.
Thanks, Jean!

I’d also like to publicly declare
my appreciation and reverence for Diane
and Andrea. They have lavishly contributed
their time and talents. Working with them
on this has been a privilege.

On
a pleasing note, we welcome Kim Nishida
to the IAC Board of Governors! Kim is the
head honcho at www.ReadyToEvolve.com
and www.membershipsitesupport.com. We send her a warm welcome and look forward
to her valuable contributions!

As
always, don’t hesitate to contact
an IAC
board member if you have any comments
or questions.

Appreciatively,
Natalie
www.ageless-sages.com

IAC Certified Coaches

Congratulations to Sandy Tremp from
Phoenix, AZ, United States and
Robyn McKenzie from
Warsaw, Poland who both recently passed their Step 2 Exams and became
IAC Certified Coaches.

Volunteering with the IAC Leadership Team


by Karen Doll

As many of you know, our mission at the
International Association of Coaching is
to inspire the on-going evolution and application
of universal coaching standards. The process
for personal and professional awareness,
discovery and growth opportunity is not
only available to you as coaches. It’s
also valuable to you as volunteers, from
those of you holding key leadership positions
on the IAC Board of Governors to those
volunteers in supporting roles.

As with any professional organization,
elections are held each year to bring in
new board members, giving every IAC member
an opportunity to make a real difference.
At this time of year, several Board Members’
terms are expiring, so it is a time of change
and opportunity, and a good time to consider
what your own involvement might be in 2008.

Here is a summary of the key leadership
positions in the IAC, starting with the
four members of the Executive Committee.

Natalie Tucker Miller guides our current
Board as President. In this position, Natalie
is the chief executive officer of the organization
as guided by the Board of Governors. She
presides over the meetings of the Executive
Committee and the membership, and she is
the official spokesperson.

Vice-President Diane Krause-Stetson works
closely with the President in running the
organization and chairs the meetings of
the Board of Governors. Diane has also played
a large role in the creation and implementation
of the IAC Coaching Masteries over the past
few years.

Treasurer Jean Gran is responsible for
all IAC funds. Jean maintains accurate books
and teams up with a Certified Public Accountant to make sure tax
returns and corporate reports are filed
on time. Alongside the Finance Committee
Jean prepares and tracks the IAC’s
annual budget.

Secretary M. Parker Anderson's main
focus has been to work on the development
of the IAC bylaws with special attention
to International Programs and Projects to
support coaching worldwide.

Angela Spaxman, Editor of the IAC VOICE,
works with a five-person team to provide
clear communications with members, subscribers
and prospective members on all IAC matters.

Board Member Bonnie Chan has been instrumental
in helping with input from the points of
view in our Asian market. Bonnie, along
with other volunteer coaches, is translating
the IAC Coaching Masteries into Chinese.

Nina East, lead Certifying Examiner
for the IAC and chair of the Certification
Committee, serves clients of IAC coaches
worldwide by ensuring the highest standards
of coaching mastery.

Do you belong to one of our chapters? Kerri
Laryea is the IAC Chapter Coordinator. In
this volunteer position she provides support
for members who would like to start a chapter
in their community.

Volunteer Tara Robinson is currently assisting
with the development of our new on-line
certification exam.

There
are currently 6 other members of the Board
of Governors that you can read about here
and numerous other volunteers who contribute
to the Voice, the Symposium, as Certifiers
and in other ways.

You,
too, can join us in setting standards
and making the best possible coaching available
worldwide.

As Volunteer Coordinator for the IAC, I
work closely with the President as well
as other department heads in filling open
positions as well as assessing needs for
new projects.

To
volunteer, fill
out this form, and you will be contacted
by the IAC to understand more about your
experience, how you would like to contribute
and to discuss potential positions for you.

If
you’re not yet an IAC member but you’d
like to learn more about volunteering, please
e-mail me, Karen Doll, IAC Volunteer Coordinator
at coachkaren@sbcglobal.net.
In the subject line type “Volunteer
Interest”.

The IAC has many opportunities for volunteers
from executive levels to administration.
Experience, integrity and commitment are
qualities we look for in our volunteers.
Volunteering can be both personally and
professionally rewarding as is evidenced
in the following comments from some of our
volunteers:

Happy
New Year to you all!

Warmly,
 
Karen Doll – IAC Volunteer Coordinator
coachkaren@sbcglobal.net

Meet:


Board of Governors Member


Bonnie Chan, IAC-CC
by Susan Korb

The International Association of Coaching
(IAC) and the coaching profession are growing
and expanding throughout Asia, and in December,
2007, I was privileged to speak with IAC
Board of Governor’s member, Bonnie
Chan, MSc. IAC-CC. Bonnie resides in Hong
Kong, China and speaks fluent English, Japanese,
Mandarin and Cantonese.

In Chinese, Chan translates to Little Swallow,
and traveling expansively was natural while
Bonnie was working in the electronics field
and opening new offices in China. She has
also worked for the Hong Kong Trade Development
Council promoting trade all over the world,
including taking care of Japan and China
markets, and some U.S. markets. Bonnie is
President of the IAC Hong Kong Chapter and
an Honorable Advisor of Hong Kong International
Coaching Community. She also is a PhD candidate
in Applied Eco-Psychology

Natural curiosity attracted Bonnie to coaching
in 2001. With twenty years of international
trade and management experience she began
an Internet search using key words, including
leadership. That was her initial introduction
to the concept of coaching. The idea intrigued
her as she understood counseling, yet
coaching was different. As her search expanded,
she discovered information creating many,
many questions. Was it difficult? What was
involved?

When she hired coach Angela Spaxman, Bonnie
asked her lots of questions about how to
learn coaching. She became a Coachville
member while still working, getting coached
and learning about coaching. She discovered
she already was coaching her team. Bonnie
began to arrange internal workshops for
staff in China using a coaching style. Instead
of hiring outside coaches or trainers, she
was in a position to choose to try the coaching
herself and she developed confidence.

In 2003 Bonnie became a full-time coach.
She offers executive and business coaching
in Chinese (Putonghua and Cantonese), English
and Japanese, and treasures the opportunity
for exposure to different cultures and people.

With coaching expanding rapidly into the
Asian market, the IAC and its coaches are
joining the growth. This began in earnest
in the spring of 2007 when Bonnie contacted
Natalie Tucker Miller, President of the
IAC, requesting permission to translate
the IAC Coaching Masteries™ into Chinese.
The first draft was finished in September,
and Bonnie then recruited a team to assist
in completing this huge project. The aim
of translation was, just like the English
version, to have one Chinese version that
can be understood and used in all the Chinese-speaking
cultures of the world.

(Left to right) Summer Chan, Tan Chew-yen, Angela Spaxman and Bonnie Chan working on the IAC Coaching Masteries™ Chinese translation.

The translation team consisted of Bonnie
Chan, IAC-CC, Tan Chew-Yen, Summer Chan,
and Angela Spaxman (rectification on English
nuances). The Rectifying Team comprised
of Julia Zhu, Selene To, SK Shum, Nana Wong,
Leo Siu, and Diane Chan, who provided feedback,
suggestions and comments. To get a copy
of the completed translation,
please
click here.

During our conversation Bonnie advised
that many companies have branches and regional
offices in Hong Kong, and there are many
opportunities for English-speaking coaches
to work in Hong Kong. Many bilingual senior
executives are very interested in hiring
an English-speaking coach.

With the growing Asian market, coaching
is no longer considered a luxury for senior
executives. They are in need of transition
coaching for development and implementation
of programs and cultures within their companies.

Middle management acclimating to fast economic
development is hungry to know about coaching.
There is a large opportunity for English-speaking
coaches in the Asian market and an even
larger opportunity for those with local
languages.

With the Chinese translation of the Masteries virtually
complete, Bonnie’s focus has turned
to a Japanese translation.
If there are any Japanese coaches who would
like to work with her in co-translating for the benefit
of more Japanese-speaking coaches, please
contact Bonnie.
She would very much appreciate assistance.

As the parent of an 18-year-old son and a daughter of 15,
Bonnie is keen to use coaching skills for
parenting. In 2005 she and two other coaches
wrote a book in Chinese called “ParentCoach”.
It sold out in three months. The book was in
the top-ten ranking for about two months and
a 2nd edition was printed.

Bonnie Chan has already made a large contribution
to the development of coaching in Asia,
and the IAC is very proud and grateful to
have her energy and commitment as part of
our leadership team.

Please get to know Bonnie further through
her website: http://www.coachlite.com/.

Susan Korb is a life coach and buddy coach
in upstate New York. Her blog is at
http://atidbit.blogspot.com.

Seeing What Isn’t There
by Joseph O'Connor

Coaching is like a detective story. There
is no crime, but there is a mystery to be
solved: the mystery of how the client thinks
and what to do about the problem they bring.
So, let us start with a famous dialogue
featuring that greatest of detectives, Sherlock
Holmes. It comes from the short story, ‘Silver
Blaze’.

Inspector Gregory: “Is there any
other point to which you would wish to draw
my attention?”

Holmes: “To the curious incident of
the dog in the night-time.”

“The dog did nothing in the night
time.”

“That was the curious incident,”
remarked Sherlock Holmes.

This sums up for me the central aspect
of coaching. The coach and client together
solve the mystery from clues in what the
client says and does. The coach, like a
good detective, asks questions. And the
answer to the mystery lies not in what the
client says, but in what they do not say.

What then are the practical implications
for coaching and how can a coach see the significance
of what is missing?

Read on… (for members only)

Joseph O’Connor is a coach trainer,
author, executive coach and the co- founder
of the International Coaching Community,
training and educating coaches worldwide.
His latest book, written with Andrea Lages
is ‘How
Coaching Works’, a title that
sums up the book very well. Contact Joseph
at joseph@lambentdobrasil.com. 

Opportunities to Contribute

Along with planning your business year,
are you also planning your contribution
to the industry of coaching?

You probably know that the IAC has been
built substantially on the work of volunteers.
For example, the development of the IAC
Coaching Masteries™ was only made
possible by the donation of many hours of
dedicated work and collaboration by worldwide
teams of volunteers.

Much has been achieved and now with the
launching of the Masteries as the benchmark
for IAC certification, we have more to do.
To help realize the mission of IAC, we are
looking for highly qualified candidates
to fill some key volunteer positions right
now:

1)
Project Team Leader for IAC's Licencing
Agreements

We are now near the end of the multi-year
project in which we created and are implementing
the IAC Coaching Masteries™. We require
a project team head to coordinate the completion
of the Intellectual Property Licencing Agreements.
This person will consult with our legal
advisors, Board Members and other volunteers
to complete the required legal documentation
and present it to the Board for approval.
We anticipate this project to take up to
3 months to complete.

Ideal qualifications:

• 
  Education and interest in law
• Familiarity
  with the recent history of the IAC
• Experienced
  coach
• 
  Good team worker who takes initiative
  
• Clear
  communicator
• IAC
  member in good standing

Rewards:

• 
  Opportunity to work closely with the IAC
  leadership team
• Exposure
  to stimulating legal issues in a progressive
  organization
• Important
  contribution to the sustainability of
  the IAC and thereby the advancement of
  high quality coaching worldwide
• Our
  gratitude and appreciation

If interested or for more information,
please contact Jean Gran.

2)
IAC VOICE Editor

As our current Editor is considering taking
on other responsibilities within the IAC,
we are looking for someone to take over
in producing our monthly newsletter. The
Editor works with a team of 4-5 people to
write, source and edit articles, and to
compile and distribute the email-based newsletter
once per month. The Editor is supported
by a virtual assistant who does the technical
work, a proofreader, and several regular
contributors. The job requires a commitment
of about 10 hours per month.

Ideal qualifications:

• 
  Excellent communication skills
• Ability
  to understand the communication needs
  of the organization and the members
• Ability
  to initiate and follow-through
• Experienced
  coach
• Experience
  in leading a small virtual team
• Reliable
  and committed to take the position for
  a minimum of 1 year
• IAC
  member in good standing

Rewards:

• 
  Opportunity to work closely with the IAC
  leadership team
• 
  Chance to connect with international leaders
  in the coaching field
• Opportunity
  to inform and educate over 10,000 subscribers
  monthly
• High
  visibility in the coaching world
• Important
  contribution to the IAC and thereby the
  advancement of high quality coaching worldwide
  
• Feedback
  and recognition on a continuing basis
  
• Our
  gratitude and appreciation

If
interested or for more information, please
contact Angela Spaxman.

New Member Benefits

The
6 Advisors™ Coaching Academy provides
training and certification in what may be
the most advanced, science-based personal
development coaching system ever. Our in-depth
coach training program will teach you how
to use the 6 Advisors assessment, our ground-breaking
coaching system, and our business development
tools. We will help you dramatically increase
your ability to open doors, build your business,
and make a difference. As a member of our
active community of professional 6 Advisors
Coaches you'll have never-ending support
in creating the life and business you have
always wanted. Click here to learn more
about our special
$500 discount offer for IAC members
and what the 6 Advisors Coaching Academy
can do for you.

choice, the magazine of
professional coaching, celebrating it’s 4th successful year as THE
quarterly professional magazine dedicated to furthering the global coaching
conversation. choice is filled with articles, news, information & essential
products, related to professional coaching. We serve those who use coaching &
those who are seeking information about professional development, human
resources, management, personal & business dynamics & growth. choice is read
by subscribers in over 28 countries and a must read for anyone using coaching
in their lives and careers. For details on how to receive a discount on your
subscription,
log into
your IAC members page.

"Coaching Moments" takes a
thoughtful, and sometimes lighthearted, look at how coaching
can be interwoven into our daily lives. 

War of the Words
by Janice Hunter

Kind
words are short and easy to speak, but their
echoes are truly endless.
~ Mother Teresa

If you’ve never argued with your
spouse, kids, partner or family members,
then I don’t know whether to write
to you for advice, shout “…pants
on fire!” or campaign to get you acknowledged
by the religion of your choice! Most of
us have hurt others with our words at some
time, and even though we may be trained
coaches and linguists, I’m convinced
that most of us still don’t fully
comprehend the power of the words we use
to shape – or destroy – our
lives.

I had a foul exchange with my husband the
other evening, but even while I was in mid-rant,
our consistent language patterns kept standing
out in sharp relief, as if I was watching
a soap opera. I drive him wild by constantly
analysing, mid-argument, the words and intonation
he’s been using. He sees it as an
annoying diversionary tactic and proof that
I’m not really interested in what
he’s saying. I naively think it might
help us see how we’re snowballing
into hell. We cover lots of unpleasant ground
in our arguments, from raising our voices
and talking over each other to intensifying
the language we use.

My
husband’s most hurtful argumentative
language pattern is to exaggerate his adverbs
of frequency and the intensity of the words
he uses. “You’re always
attacking me for…” “You
find fault with everything I …”
“Everyone hates it when you…”

Most
of us crank up our adverbs of frequency
to some extent but I’ve started to
notice my daughter doing the same thing,
and that really worries me. I’ve started
gently asking her if she knows it to be
true when she begins a complaint with “She
never….” or “You’re
always…..”. I’ve
also tried to discourage her from answering
everything with “OK.” So many
words available to her in her rich vocabulary,
to describe her days, her experiences, her
feelings yet how much teenage indifference
and misery can be expressed in those two
syllables! I’ve also tried drawing
her attention to how often she peppers her
speech with sarcastic ‘actually’s.

And what kind of messages do we send our
brains when we dress the relatively undramatic
events of our daily lives in the most colourful,
intense language we can, convincing ourselves
that we’re doing it simply to be more
expressive? Did he do something without
telling you that mildly disappointed you
or did he ‘stab you in the back’?
Did she say something that peeved you a
bit and made you vaguely sad or did you
‘take great offence’ at the
way she ‘attacked’ you? Are
you ‘shattered’, ‘terrified’
and ‘heartbroken’ or simply
very tired, a bit worried and feeling hurt
and sad?

How often do we torture ourselves with
‘should’s when a ‘could’,
or an honest, authentic ’want’
could turn our lives around?

How often does a sloppily worded email
cause unintentional offence?

Another
area of language that can truly change lives
is first to notice, then change how often
we cancel out the best of intentions with
a ‘but’. “I love you but
…” “I’m sorry but
….” “I’m good at
_ing, but I’m useless at….”
Try, just for a week, to listen out for
the phrases we tag on after a ‘but’
– then leave out part two! Let’s try
loving and apologising unconditionally,
or revelling in our strengths for a micro
second before we cancel them out with a
‘but’!

I created this piece in my head as I stood
at the kitchen window, watching the falling
snow bend our trees in the eerie orange
glow of a street light in the middle of
the night. I’d gone to bed mid-argument,
couldn’t sleep, my husband came to
bed, I got up, so I’d decided to go
and make some camomile tea. I stood at the
window, mesmerised by the swirling orange
snowflakes and wondering how something as
delicate as a snowflake had the power to
bend and break the branches of trees. As
I stood watching, I saw one supple branch
rebel under the weight of the thousands
of snowflakes heaped upon it, catapulting
its burden with surprising defensive venom.
I went outside in my bare feet and dressing
gown and gently swept the snow off the remaining
trees with a broom, knowing it was too late
to take back the thousands of tiny thoughtless
comments I heap on my husband over the days,
weeks and months until he feels he has to
lash back at me about my lack of appreciation
and my seeming obsession with perfecting
details. I hoped I could at least save some
of our branches.

The morning after our argument –
we never usually go to sleep angry – my
husband apologised graciously and we narrowly
avoided having a fight about who was most
sorry! I’d like to leave you with
a great tip for apologising. We’ve
taught the kids to do it, and although it’s
really hard, it can cancel out huffs and
resentments with the positive power of language
and empathy. We call it the three part apology.

First,
we say sorry for what it is we think we’ve
done. Then we try to empathise with how
the other person might be feeling; if we
get these first two parts wrong, it’s
still useful because the other person has
the perfect chance to explain kindly and
simply what was going on from their
point of view! The third part is to ask
if there’s anything we can do to fix
things. So, an example might be: “I’m
sorry I criticised you for buying things
at the supermarket that I didn’t want.
It must be really frustrating for you that
I didn’t empathise with how tired
you were and that I mentioned the things
you got wrong without praising you for everything
you got right. How can I fix it?

And by the way, bare feet in the snow?
PAINFUL!!!

Janice
Hunter is a writer, teacher and IAC certified coach who
currently specialises in homelife coaching – helping people
create authentic, spirit filled lives and homes they love –
and in supporting coaches on their certification journeys.
She lives in Scotland with her husband and two children.

contact
lovingthedetails@aol.com

Your
Feedback

We'd love to get your feedback on any issue related to the
IAC. Do have any questions, concerns, encouragement or ideas
for improvement regarding anything we do including
membership benefits, certification, the VOICE, the direction
of the organization, or anything else at all? Please send an
email to
feedback@certifiedcoach.org. Please help us improve.

© 2008. All
rights reserved. International Association of Coaching