IAC VOICE, Volume 4, Issue 24, March 2008, Circulation: 12,238


Angela

From the Editor

It feels like spring! That’s because
of all the new seeds sprouting at the IAC.

One new growth that many of you
have been waiting for is the new online
Part One IAC
Coaching Masteries™ test
which you can now access through your member page
for $35.

Our President Natalie also reveals the
IAC leadership changes that we are very
excited about.

And on a reflective note, Natalie has written
about what she learned in the role of President.

We are introduced to
one of our new Board
Members, Kim Nishida
.

There’s a blast from the past, a
transcription of last year’s teleconference
with Lead Certifier Nina East. As a transcription,
this piece is a quick read and a good reminder
of some keys to getting certified by the
IAC
.

For any of you who are still getting your
website done, or creating a new one, you’ll
want to check our new Member Benefit from
Register.com
.

In the IAC Certification Tidbits this month,
Lead Certifier Nina East takes the mystery
out of the Part Two certification process
.

Coaching Moments explores the search for
balance amid contradictory tensions. If
you’re a Coaching Moments fan, you
won’t want to miss the wonderful gift
from writer Janice Hunter,
a compilation
of all Coaching Moments articles to date
.

As you read further, you’ll discover
that I’ll be writing to you from one
column down next month. So now my sights
are set on the future and there is much
to be done! My thanks to all of you who
have supported me in the role of Editor.

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

This month we welcome the completion of
the online Part One IAC Coaching Masteries™
test. The Masteries test officially replaces
the Proficiencies-based exam. The success
of this project can be summed up by Board
Member and test development team leader,
Lucia Murphy:

“The remarkable success of this project
can be, in great part, attributed to the
collaborative partnership of the entire team. Once the group was selected, we
were all charged with achieving the immediately desired outcomes, at the same
time giving
a compelling vision of how this project
fits into the organization's ongoing strategy.
We were given the freedom to accomplish
these in any way we believed best, both
for the long- and short-term. We were made
responsible for the immediate outcomes,
but were not necessarily limited to one
person's idea of the "best" way
to go about it.

“More importantly, the over-delivery
against the initial objective on this project
is a testament to the power of forward-thinking
and inspired leadership. The individuals
on the team were motivated to rise above
minimum expectations and reach for something
greater, something sustainable.”


Log into your member area to gain access
to the Part One test
.

Last month we mentioned the transition
of the leadership team and I’m honored
to announce those changes have indeed taken
place. Our elections this past month brought
these changes:

Angela Spaxman, President
Parker Anderson, Vice-President
Tara Robinson, new board member and Secretary

Jean Gran will remain as Treasurer. She
has done an outstanding job and we are so
pleased that she will remain on the executive
team. (As Immediate Past President, my term
on the executive team continues through
December, 2008, as well.)

There are no words to describe how exciting
it is to welcome this team of accomplished
leaders as they help shape the next phase
of the IAC. Thank, you, team, you have my
full support!

With the change of leadership comes the
change of the editorial team. Kerch McConlogue
joins us as editor of the IAC Voice. She
comes highly recommended with a plethora
of editorial experience. We look forward
to the energy and insights she will bring
to the position. Welcome, Kerch!

On another note, this month we also accepted
the resignation of Heidi Maye Holihan, who
has been a board member for three years.
Heidi devoted much of her time to the strategic
vision of the organization. Her ability
to see alternate sides of an issue helped
the IAC to consider the underlying possibilities.
Our heartfelt appreciation goes to a loyal
and devoted member for the service she provided.
Best to you, Heidi.

And best to you, dear readers. As I pass
the proverbial torch, I will indeed miss
these monthly chats! Look for Angela’s
new column as president next month! And
please, stay in touch. I cherish the interactions
I’ve had with members and hope you
continue to share your thoughts with me.



IAC Certified Coaches


Congratulations to
Sharron Phillips from
Chester, NY, USA who recently passed her Part 2 Exam and became
an IAC Certified Coach!






Special Announcement on Certification Changes

Calling
all coaches who have one more recording
to submit for Certification
:

If you passed one record coaching session
using the Proficiencies in Part 2 of IAC
Certification, you may still submit a third
recording for review to complete Part 2
and become an IAC Certified Coach!

If
you wish to have the additional recording
scored using the Proficiencies, please submit
your recording
by April 30, 2008. If
you would prefer your third recording be
reviewed using the Masteries, regardless
of when you submit the recording, you may
request this. Please note that if the Masteries
are used for this additional recording,
you will need to receive an overall score
of 80% or higher, and a score of 4 or higher
on each of the Masteries.

Any
recordings received after that April 30,
2008 will automatically be scored using
the IAC Coaching Masteries (TM).




Natalie’s Swan Song


As I contemplate being past president,
several reflective thoughts occur to me.
The situations that arise on a daily basis
in this position provided me the opportunity
to examine what is most important to members,
what seemed important but wasn’t in
the long run and what reactions I had and
why. This was a wonderful lesson in self-understanding,
and I go forward stronger, kinder and certainly
wiser. I humbly thank the Board of Governors,
the certifiers, the volunteers, the staff
and the IAC members for helping me to grow,
stretch and become more intimately acquainted
with my inner being.

It’s been an amazing 2 ½ years
and if you’ll indulge me, I’d
like to share a few of the things I’ve
learned, relearned or reframed:

There is no urgency, ever.

Great things happen when you feel safe
and are in an environment rich with possibility.

More than ever I understand that you can
learn a lot about how someone feels about
themselves by listening to what they are
saying about others.

If you spend too much time concerned about
a back up plan, the chance is great that
you will end up doing the back up plan.

Life will deliver to you what you expect.

Be willing to stand by your ideas while
allowing others to do the same, no matter
how opposing they may seem.

If you want quality, abandon deadlines.
Instead, target dates will keep you on track
with the built in flexibility that will
net more satisfying results.

Everything works out in the end. If it
hasn’t worked out, it’s not
the end.

The notion that nothing is personal has
more power than anything else I’ve
learned. However anyone feels about you
or what you are doing is from their unique
frame of reference. That’s all any
of us have until we decide to remove the
frame and allow an unlimited view. This
is when relationships can grow and strengthen
even under the most adverse of conditions.

There is always a choice.

Everybody is right.

Replacing self-criticism with self-reflection
has magic powers.

Inspire others by being inspired by them.

As we celebrate the IAC’s 5th anniversary
this month, we also celebrate and anticipate
the vision Angela Spaxman, our new President,
will bring to the position. She is truly
a remarkable being and I am personally thrilled
that she offers her leadership gifts to
the IAC. We are going to see some IAC dreams
come true!

Appreciatively,
Natalie




MEET: Kim Nishida
Newest Member of the IAC Board of Governors


by Susan Korb

What steps did you take to enter
coaching and become connected with the IAC?

With a background in fitness, I attended
a 2002 WellCoaches conference for personal
trainers and aerobics instructors where
the concept of coaching was introduced.
I left with my confidence fully loaded and
the intention that my next career would
include coaching.

Voraciously reading books while joining
the Schools of Coachville, I connected with
Julia Stewart in a study group designed
to pass the IAC exams. The study group,
which included such notable coaches as Natalie
Tucker Miller, Lucia “Dr. Murph”
Murphy and Sali Taylor, was instrumental
in my passing the Part 1 exam. I became
a founding member of the IAC.

How did you move into your own
practice and what would you suggest for
other coaches?

Then my life shifted into a bit of complication.
A company approached me with promises and
a dreamy coaching job description. I left
the comfort of a job at UC Berkeley to pursue
my coaching career intention; however it
did not develop. With the disappointment
and stress that year I consulted with a
doctor who recommended removing the stress
or to continue living with a real health
risk.

I took that information reconnecting with
my past confidence, and opened my own coaching
practice without regret. Taking the “dream
job” position provided a stepping
stone and the courage to move into my intended
coaching career.

In one sense, I had the very costly stress
of living out of alignment with my values
by working in a job that compromised my
integrity. Although the prospect of setting
up my own shop was scary, thrilling and
yes, stressful at the same time, intuitively
knowing that I was now creating the life
I was meant to lead gave me courage and
almost boundless energy to see it through

Did I have fears and doubts about whether
or not I would succeed? Yes, daily. If I
had to do it over again, I would seek out
help sooner in the form of technical support,
targeted networking groups, and joint venture
partners.

How did you become a member of
the IAC Board of Governors?

While creating my own practice, I began
to monitor the careers of my former study
group buddies and continued to be a loyal
subscriber to the VOICE newsletter. Recently
while conducting a teleseminar entitled
“How a Membership Site Can Save Your
Coaching Business,” Jean Gran, a member
of the IAC Board of Governors attended.
We communicated, and I offered to help with
the IAC membership website. Reconnecting
through the offer to volunteer, reconnected
me to my study group buddies, and fortuitously
to all IAC members as a member of the Board
of Governors.

How do you see your role on the
Board of Governors?

Since I recently joined the Board in January,
2008, my focus has been on learning and
listening with a sense of discovery. The
IAC is member oriented and focused, and
as the IAC community grows, offering members
greater value, benefits and updating the
website are the areas where my focus is
moving, and where my experience will be
currently of most benefit. I look forward
to having a role in website updates to helps
members and continue to provide more benefits
while reaching out to a greater audience.

How would you describe your practice?

Kim’s practice consists of two main
aspects: one is helping coaches grow their
business. She currently is preparing a March
2008 launch of “Membership Site Support
Club,” a membership site for coaches
who want to build and maintain profitable
sites of their own. Anyone interested can
get free resources at
http://www.membershipsitesupport.com/
The second includes working with entrepreneurs,
individually and in groups, who want to
transition into being their own boss. The
group format is called “The Results
Mastery Club.”

Kim’s writing includes an e-book,
entitled “Conception to Completion:
The FIT Mind Method to Getting It Done,”
and she is a published writer of short fiction.
She is also raising two dogs, and is engaged
to be married to Mark this year. You can
contact Kim at http://www.readytoevolve.com.



Susan Korb is a Life Coach, living in upstate
New York. Her most recent clients say –
“I’ve done it, what’s
next?” She writes and blogs at
http://atidbit.blogspot.com.




From Proficiencies to IAC Coaching Masteries™



An Interview
with IAC Lead Certifier Nina East


Last summer as we were starting our transition
from using the Proficiencies for our standards
for certification, to the Masteries, we
held a couple of tele-conference calls to
help explain the changes. For convenience,
we now have a transcription of the second
call (for members only). Here are some excerpts
of President Natalie Tucker Miller interviewing
Lead Certifying Examiner Nina East.


Nina: “My personal bias also is that
when you learn coaching with the Masteries,
with something this simple, straightforward,
and easy to understand, you will have a
stronger chance to become a masterful coach.
Because it’s so clearly laid out what
masterful coaching is when you use the Masteries.”


Nina: “Whereas in the previous scoring
system Navigating Via Curiosity carried
the same weight that let’s say “Honing
In” might have carried, identifying
what the real issue is. In the Masteries
the use of curiosity is actually less powerful
as a scoring item, which is as it should
be.”


Nina: “I suppose if I were to make
some recommendations to coaches who are
considering certification or are in the
process of recording some sessions, or trying
to overcome their fear about asking clients
if they can record their sessions, I would
say consider recording coaching sessions
as a part of what you offer to your clients.”


Please
click here
to read the whole
interview (for
members only).




New Member Benefit


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can register a new website domain name for
one year FREE with Register.com. There are
no strings attached. It is simply our way
of introducing you to the award-winning
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To redeem, call toll-free 866-507-1950
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In addition to domain name registration,
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you need to create an impactful web presence
for your business for a lot less than you’d
think, including:


  • Custom website design

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  • Business email and web hosting

  • Search engine optimization

All of Register.com's and services are backed
by live person, 24/7 customer support.

Other IAC special offers include:


  • 20% off your entire shopping cart

  • $250 off the design fee for a custom
    website

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Log into your IAC member page to redeem
all of these great offers from Register.com.




Opportunity to Contribute

Are you good at spotting tpyos? Do you
enjoy examining writing in detail and correcting
errors? Would you like to have a sneak preview
of the Voice every month while interacting
with the Editorial Team?

If so, we want YOU to be our proof-reader.
This is a volunteer position that requires
approximately one-hour per month.

If you’re interested, please email
the Editor
a short description of why
you should be our next proof-reader.



How does Part 2 of certification work?

We occasionally receive this question from
coaches who are considering certification,
but would like to understand the process
more fully before proceeding. In an effort
to take the mystery out of the professional
certification process, and hopefully put
your minds at ease, here is the general
sequence of events and how they work.

As you already know, Part 2 is a demonstration
of the IAC Coaching Masteries™ via
live coaching. For detailed instructions
for Part 2, as well as support in how to
know if the recordings are strong enough,
please visit
http://www.certifiedcoach.org/certify/certification.html

Once you submit your recorded coaching
sessions, two certifiers are assigned to
review both recordings.
In the evaluation process, the certifiers
listen to each coaching session at least
twice, completing their initial notes and
scoring using the Note Sheet. Please note
that the sessions are limited to 30 minutes.
If the recording extends beyond that time,
only the first 30 minutes are considered
in the review.

The Note Sheet is nothing dramatic or secret.
It is simply the details and criteria for
each Mastery, condensed on one page per
Mastery. This makes it easier to include
all aspects of each Mastery in the evaluation,
plus helps the environment by saving paper.
  You can find the Note Sheet here
on the IAC website. We encourage you to
use it as you self-score your own recordings,
or with buddy coaching groups.

The two co-certifiers then meet to review
the sessions, reaching consensus on the
numerical scores for each Mastery. These
review sessions can be lengthy – the
goal of the certifiers is not to finish
quickly, but to accurately assess the demonstration
of the Masteries, giving the coach every
chance of passing Part 2.

Following the review, the coach is sent
a scorecard/summary indicating their scores
for each session and each Mastery, as well
as some specific information regarding how
the coach did or did not demonstrate some
of the Masteries. By legal definition, the
IAC is not a training organization, and
as such is not permitted to give the same
level of detailed feedback you might expect
from a training or supervision program.

As you can see, Part 2 of the certification
process is quite involved, taking two certifiers
several hours to score each recording. The
process is not simple, quick, or cavalier,
but rather it is a rigorous review of professional
standards.

Lest that make you nervous, let me tell
you a couple of things about the approach,
or “come from”, the certifiers
use.

First, IAC Certification is conducted with
an appreciative approach. In many cultures,
people are taught or socialized to notice
what is wrong, missing, or not working –
even coaches. This is, of course, to help
you identify what changes need to be made.
The intentions were good. The unfortunate
side effect is that much of what is working
or going well goes unnoticed.

In IAC Certification, the appreciative
approach means the certifiers first look
for what is working, what the coach is doing
well. The certifiers deliberately seek to
identify specific situations in which the
coach demonstrates the Masteries. You can
think of the certifiers as detectives, looking
for indications of the coach using effective
behaviors, accomplishing the measures, understanding
distinctions, demonstrating the key elements,
and achieving the overall effect for that
Mastery. We want coaches to do well!

Second, the certifiers look for different
ways the coach may demonstrate an effective
behavior. Your personal style of coaching
is not what is up for review.

For example, in Mastery #2 (Perceiving,
affirming and expanding the client’s
potential), one of the effective behaviors
is “The coach offers sincere encouragement.”
At first read, this might sound like the
coach has to say something specific about
encouragement.

Not necessarily. This effective behavior
does not mean the coach has to use the words
“sincere” or “encouragement”,
or be overt about their encouragement, or
attempt to pump the client up with compliments
or lots of “Wow” comments. It
also does not mean that the coach cannot
do any of this.

A coach might also demonstrate sincere
encouragement by the questions asked, or
the tone used in asking. Another example
might be via a challenging conversation
in which the client is invited to see themselves
succeeding, achieving a goal, or acknowledging
past successes and using them as a springboard
for expanded potential.

These are only a couple of examples of
how a coach might “offer sincere encouragement”.
There are many other ways and many other
styles, but hopefully you get the point.
The wording of the listed behaviors should
not be construed as limiting, nor should
it be considered part of the language or
wording to use during your coaching session.
Your style of coaching is not what is up
for review, but rather, was the effective
behavior evident within the coach’s
style.

As with everything in the IAC, the certification
process will continue to be evaluated on
an ongoing basis. We will also continue
to seek additional tools which will help
coaches understand and utilize the Masteries™.


 
 

Nina East is the IAC’s Lead Certifier
and the author of PersonalGrowthEnthusiasts.com.
As a coach she works with personal growth
professionals, helps coaches master the
art of coaching, and coaches students and
their families through the complex and emotional
transition into college. www.NinaEast.com

 

Please send your questions on the IAC Coaching
Masteries and the certification process
to certification@certifiedcoach.org.




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

ebb and flow
by Janice Hunter

We
must be open to all points of the compass;
husband, children, friends, home, community;
stretched out, exposed, sensitive like a
spider's web to each breeze that blows,
to each call that comes. How difficult for
us, then, to achieve a balance in the midst
of these contradictory tensions, and yet
how necessary for the proper functioning
of our lives. ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh, (A
Gift from the Sea – 1955)

It’s well past midnight. I've just
looked at my watch and realised I've been
working at my laptop – harvesting inspiration,
quotes and ideas – for hours. Deep in the
flow, I haven't moved, spoken or eaten.

My
first thought? I’m lucky that I love
what I do when my kids are asleep or at
school – my writing and my homelife coaching.
I love the thought of a life spent helping
people create that ‘holiday house’
simplicity and clarity in their lives and
their homes, ridding their rooms, their
bodies and their relationships of clutter.
I love co-creating design solutions for
folk who feel they’re suffocating
under piles of stuff and paper that leave
no room for a breath of fresh air or spirit.

Ah, but then, with the almost audible thud
of an email landing in the inbox, my heart
sinks. I feel my gut clenching and my spirit
shrivelling. I think how much easier it
would be to have the funds to pay a professional
website designer to sit by me, instantly
transforming my ideas into a site that’s
a joy to navigate and an inspiring haven
for weary surfers.

Then I think of the affiliate links I’ve
still to negotiate, the materials and new
client contract forms I haven't created
yet, the files of resources to be sorted
or written and the website video technology
I feel I ought to be mastering. The flow
dries to a trickle. A sigh followed by the
sound of a laptop lid clicking shut.

One of my favourite questions is 'Does it
expand you or contract you?' Deceptively
simple, but hugely powerful. It works with
everything from diet decisions to decluttering,
from discovering passions to deciphering
feelings. It reminds me of a bush that used
to grow in the dusty soil at the foot of
a tree in the pavement outside my first
apartment block in Greece. It had deep pink
and yellow trumpet-like flowers that opened
and closed depending on how much light and
heat it felt.

I'm back where I was a year ago; writing
expands me but feeling I ought to be doing
more to make money contracts me.

Surfing through inspiring websites expands
me. Always feeling technologically retarded
contracts me.

Loving my husband and children expands
me; the tiredness that often comes with
consistent, conscious parenting contracts
me.

Creating an authentic, spirit-filled homelife
expands me; trying to explain that 'stay-at
home-mum' doesn't mean I'm a constantly
available stand-in for every 'working' mum
when the school needs volunteers doesn’t
just contract me, it often twists me up
into a squirming, screwed up ball of resentment.
And so it goes until I feel like I'm cancelling
myself out.

In our society, craving ‘less’,
writing to touch people's hearts, staying
at home to nurture kids and coaching people
for free or for bartered services or affordable
fees all have fluctuating value, depending
on the financial circumstances and paradigms
of the observer.

On the one hand, many people say they wish
they could be doing what I’m doing
– nurturing my family and others in a small
but deeply authentic and satisfying way,
yet, when they’re tired after working
long hours outside the home, 'working' mums
often ask me how my husband feels about
'funding my hobbies' and ‘paying for
me to stay at home all day’.

Many supportive coaches write and tell me
they value my Coaching Moments pieces; others
write articles about how it's damaging for
coaches to undervalue themselves and their
products and to give too much away for free.

I suspect a bit of balance and some shadow
work would expand me right now. So would
a week alone in a small house by the sea,
writing at a rickety wooden table overlooking
a brooding ocean, listening at night to
the sound of the waves, the ocean’s
sleep breathing.

So, no touching moments of heart captured
awareness this month. Just questions, wave
upon wave of questions pounding a restless
shore.

Janice
Hunter is a writer and IAC certified coach who lives in
Scotland with her husband and two children. She specialises
in homelife coaching (helping people create authentic,
spirit-filled homes and lives) and also enjoys supporting
other coaches through her writing and collaboration.

www.sharingthecertificationjourney.com

Janice has
compiled all of her Coaching Moments pieces from the last
two years into a free 46 page ebook, 'Coaching Moments: a
Collection of Articles about Coaching in Everyday Life'

which can be downloaded

here
or from her

site
.

Contact
Janice at
lovingthedetails@aol.com
.

 




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IAC. Do have any questions, concerns, encouragement or ideas
for improvement regarding anything we do including
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of the organization, or anything else at all? Please send an
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. Please help us improve.





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