IAC VOICE, Volume 4, Issue 25, April 2008, Circulation: 12,256


Kerch

From the Editor

I’m Kerch
McConlogue, CPCC, PCC
and the new editor
of the VOICE for the IAC. I am also a member
of the ICF
and of ADHD
Coaches Organization
.

When I first leaned that the IAC was looking
to fill the editor’s position, I was
curious about those 12,000 readers and the
quality of the publication. I poked around
the website and asked a couple coaches I
know who are already part of the group.
I spent as much time on the letter I wrote
volunteering for the job as any cover letter
for any resume I ever sent
anywhere! The fact that I had to interview
for the position speaks volumes about the
expectations your leadership has for the
publication.

New editors always have new ideas. And
I’m hoping to make some changes to the
VOICE to make it easier for you to read
and get to the parts you’re most interested
in. My first priority is to make sure that
the publication is useful. I sure don’t
want to waste anyone’s time!

But for now, I invite you to check out
these articles in this issue:


  • Angela Spaxman moved from Editor of
    the VOICE to President of the IAC. See what
    she has to say here.

  • IAC Treasurer Jean Gran writes here about how the IAC
    manages its money and what can you learn from that that will be useful in your
    own business.

  • Lorraine Lee tells about how the Hong
    Kong coaches geared up for Part 2 of the
    certification process. Learn how you can
    do the same thing in your area. Read about
    it here.

  • Nina East writes here about preparing
    recordings to submit for certification
    Part 2.

  • Janice Hunter gets wisdom from wobbly
    grocery store carts. Read about it here.
  • Pay attention to the new mailing
    address for certification submissions.  Click here.

Please, do me a favor. Drop me a note if
you have a comment, a question or a suggestion
for something you’d like to know more
about—even if it’s an idea you wish
someone else would write about!
You can reach me at voice@certifiedcoach.org.

Kerch McConlogue, CPCC, PCC
Editor, IAC VOICE
Email: voice@certifiedcoach.org
Web: www.mapthefuture.com



Angela


From the President


by Angela
Spaxman


president@certifiedcoach.org


The team is changing. This month marks
my first as your President. I’m so
excited to be standing before you! It is
an honour and a challenge that I relish.


After almost 2 ½ years, our President,
Natalie Tucker Miller, and Vice President,
Diane Krause-Stetson, have stepped down to
take on less demanding roles in our organization.
It’s no exaggeration to say that the
IAC would not exist without them. That’s
how much we owe them, along with all the
other volunteers who have supported them.
During their term the IAC took some crucial
steps:


  • We instituted membership fees and became
    a financially viable organization.

  • We re-launched the website and the VOICE.

  • We completed writing and publishing
    the IAC Coaching Masteries™

  • We updated our entire certification
    system to be based on the IAC Coaching
    Masteries™


It’s hard to believe that all of
this, along with the day-to-day running
of the organization, was done almost entirely
through volunteers. Our fabulous Virtual
Assistant, Diana
McFarlane
, looks after much of the administration
and we use contractors for some technical
projects. But apart from that, it is volunteer
brains and brawn that gets things done at
the IAC.


So you can imagine that I may feel daunted
from time to time! I am certainly expecting
to face many challenges in my new role and
I intend to relish the personal growth that
will come as a result. My rewards will be
three-fold:


  1. To forward the vision of the IAC to
    create a worldwide, progressive, transparent
    system of coach certification that welcomes
    coaches from all backgrounds and encourages
    innovation;
     

  2. To be inspired by the amazing coaches
    who volunteer their time at the IAC, working
    with joy and a spirit of abundance;
     

  3. To grow as a leader who can enlist
    support and inspire action toward a shared
    vision.


What do you envision that
is worth pursuing? How will you reward yourself
for taking on a big challenge?


If you’d like to join our team, please
let
me know
. We are counting on your support.

Cheers,
Angela Spaxman
www.lovingworkandleading.com




Behind the Scenes with the IAC Treasurer


by Jean Gran

Have you ever wondered, “What happens
to the annual membership fee I pay to the
IAC?” If so, I think you’ve
asked a very important question and it’s
time you knew the answer. As the Treasurer
for the IAC, I’d like to take you
on a behind the scenes tour of the IAC’s
financial life. You’ll learn how the
organization manages and uses the money
you entrust to it. So, let’s get started.

First of all, the IAC is incorporated as
a non-profit business league. This means
our reason for being is to represent the
interests of our members. By pooling our
money and energy we can accomplish things
that none of us could do alone. The IAC
exists in order to serve you, its members
and the larger coaching community world
wide.

Next let’s take a peek at the Finance
Committee. The Finance Committee begins
each year by asking, “How can we best
serve the needs of our members with the
resources we have?” That’s a
familiar question, isn’t it? As both
individuals and businesses we all face the
task of determining how we can meet our
needs, accomplish our goals and fulfill
our mission using the resources we have.

That question kicks off the budget process.
Does the word budget immediately make you
cringe and think of old skinflints like
Scrooge? Budgets do have a reputation for
being restrictive and limiting. So let’s
drop the “b” word and talk about
a spending plan instead. Do you notice how
much more empowering that feels? Now we
are talking about personal responsibility,
authenticity and the freedom to make good
choices that serve our mission. After lots
of input, discussion and research the Finance
Committee presents the spending plan to
the Board of Governors for review and approval.

The process of creating a spending plan
is just as important as the end result.
Working out a spending plan on paper allows
the IAC to try on different ways of using
the available resources without spending
a dime. Sometimes ideas that sound great
just don’t work when you crunch the
numbers. Then because the plan is evaluated by
many eyes, we can catch potential problems
before they occur and make sure we are getting
the best return on the organization’s
resources.

Spending plans aren’t only about
spending, or only about money for that matter.
After all, you can’t spend what you
don’t have. That’s where support
from annual memberships comes in. Last year
the Finance Committee used the spending
plan to determine the IAC’s first
membership fee. We projected the costs to
keep the organization alive, thriving and
growing. We looked at the dues of similar
membership organizations. Only then could
we see that our first impulse to set a lower
fee just wouldn’t sustain the IAC.
It’s ironic but by charging too little
we would have been wasting your money. I’ll
bet many coaches out there can identify
with this dilemma.

In addition, spending plans are about lots
more than money. Spending plans help us
plan the best use of all of our resources
not only money but also time and energy.
At this point we are an all volunteer organization.
You could say that we are fueled by love.
If we don’t consider the time and
energy costs of our plans and goals we risk
burning out the most valuable asset we have,
our dedicated volunteers around this ever
shrinking globe. The process of creating
an annual spending plan allows us to show
our gratitude for our resources by conserving
them and using them purposefully.

The final stop on this tour will be a look
at the specific expenditures that the IAC
makes annually for the benefit of members
and the coaching community world wide. These
expenditures fall into four categories:


  1. First, we have basic operating expenses
    that keep our doors open. These include
    accounting costs, liability insurance
    and a small amount for administrative
    support.
     

  2. Second, we have costs to maintain ongoing
    services to members. These include:

     


    • Coaching certification based on
      demonstration of masterful coaching
      is our primary
      mission. Certification
      expenses include paying the IAC’s
      amazing team of certifiers and a virtual
      assistant for administration. Certification
      expenses are mostly covered by certification
      fees.  
       

    • The IAC’s website provides
      a searchable database of members,
      access to member benefits such as
      professional liability insurance and
      information promoting coaching to
      the public. As we have grown, the complexity
      of our website has grown. While much
      volunteer effort has gone into the
      website we now have a consulting firm
      doing much of the technical work.
       
       

    • The IAC’s monthly newsletter,
      the VOICE, has a circulation of over 12,000.
      The VOICE informs, connects and inspires
      paying members and a vast network
      of subscribers around the world. It
      has been our main avenue of outreach
      and promotion. Volunteers write and edit the VOICE with some support from
      a virtual assistant.
       
  3. Third, we have a category of expenditures
    which could be called the IAC’s
    growing edge. No one can do everything
    at once. In addition to keeping the doors
    open and maintaining ongoing commitments,
    we also dedicate time, energy and money
    to new projects for the benefit of the
    membership. This year these projects include
    the following:

     


    • Transitioning the certification
      process from the 15 Proficiencies
      to the IAC Coaching Masteries™ and
      training new certifiers.
       

    • Improving the functionality and
      user interface on the website and
      setting up a merchant account so we
      can take credit cards.
       

    • Legally protecting and licensing
      the IAC Coaching Masteries™.
       

    • Expanding the IAC’s outreach
      and promotion by sending representatives
      to important coaching conferences
      and advertising in coaching journals.
       

  4. And finally, the IAC is committed to
    creating a solid financial base to sustain
    the organization for the long haul by
    setting aside financial reserves to cover
    large projects or unforeseen contingencies
    in the future.

A financially healthy organization is pretty
much like a financially healthy household
or business. And financial health is about
a lot more than money. The IAC is fueled
not only by the money of the membership
but also by the energy, time and creativity
of its members, all working for a common
good. Thanks for joining me on this little
tour.

Remember, the IAC is your organization.
I invite you to get involved. Please feel
free to e-mail me at treasurer@certifiedcoach.org
if you have any questions or comments.


 
  
Jean Gran, IAC Treasurer, is a Financial
Wellness Coach and Educator who helps individuals and couples earn more,
spend less and create financially healthy
lives from the inside out. Learn more on
line at www.jeangran.com.

 

 




Opportunities to Contribute

What do you think of our website?
Do you think it could be improved? Would
you like to contribute your time and expertise
to making this happen, and thereby help
us promote the IAC's coach certification
system?

If you're keen to help, please send an
email to our website makeover leader, Kim
Nishida
, telling her how you would like
to help and what enthusiasms and qualifications
you have in website technology, graphic
design, online marketing or copywriting.




Hong Kong IAC Members’ Intensive Practicum Retreat


by Lorraine Lee

The highly anticipated time had come. Nine
coaches from the Hong Kong IAC Chapter spent
a weekend on an intensive practicum retreat
to pursue the certification challenge. We
hired Coach Bonnie Chan (IAC-CC and IAC
Hong Kong chapter leader) as our mentor
coach to support us on this journey. She
picked the venue: the Agile Changjiang Hotel
Resort & Golf Course in Zhong Shan,
located on the southern part of the Pearl
River Delta in Guangdong Province, China,
about a 90-minute ferry ride from Hong Kong.
The facility was lovely. We felt like were
on a holiday getaway. I think this helped
set the scene and mood for our group to
experience relaxation, fun and loads of
learning ahead!

We met once before the retreat so we could
get an idea of what would happen. And as
the discussions evolved over the weekend,
I sensed the positive energy of the group
filled with openness for sharing, interactions
and feedback.

Through this intensive mentor and group
coaching practicum we enjoyed the beauty
of the Masteries and the art of masterful
coaching. We were also learning more about
the IAC and the road to certification. We
practiced—and practiced more—with each
other as we took turns being coach, coachee
and observer. For many of us, it was the
first time making session recordings—quite mind-boggling for the technically-challenged.
It took courage to listen to those recordings
and to be critiqued openly in a group. But
the debriefings as well as the individual
consultation with Coach Bonnie made it all
worth while.  (Read more about planning your own coaching retreat
here.)

This group process helped each of us to
explore our coaching uniqueness. We shared
our favourite coaching questions. We identified
our intended target markets and specialized
areas of coaching like women executives,
leadership coaching, transitional coaching
and spiritual coaching. On a deeper level,
we shared learning experiences such as greater
self discovery, the powers of appreciation
and expansion of client’s potential—which are all keys to empowerment.

We all had a glimpse of what masterful
coaching is about. It seems light yet deep,
and shifts are achievable within a short
time. The most effective coaching at this
higher level seems effortless and powerful.

As the retreat drew to an end, we as a
group were more inspired, more confident
of our knowledge and what we are able to
achieve. The goal of IAC certification seems
closer and more reachable now. With support
from each other and our mentor coach, we
know that our coaching journey will continue
with greater enthusiasm, passion and success!

Lorraine Lee is passionate about
coaching and supporting people to be the best they can be in all areas of their
life. She is a personal and professional development coach who works with a
diverse range of managers and professionals. Lorraine is also a voluntary coach
to undergraduate students transitioning into the workplace. Lorraine can be
reached at
coachingmatters@hotmail.com
.  



How to plan your own coaches’ retreat
Tips from Coach Bonnie Chan, IAC-CC


Mentor Coach for the Hong Kong coaches’
gathering


Group coaching in few days' intensive retreat
workshop—out of town and away from normal
business—creates powerful energy and interactions
that can naturally enhance learning ability.
It seems to be a particularly accessible
way for groups of non-English speaking coaches.


  • Use the online data base of IAC coaches
    to find members in your area who might get
    together for this kind of extensive program.
     

  • Find a mentor coach to guide the process
    or use the Masteries themselves to plan
    the activities for self-development and
    to grow in the coaching profession.
     

  • Treat the certification as an advanced
    learning process; the IAC-CC will come as
    the side effect for your focus and effort.
     

  • Plan for weekly follow-up meetings to get
    ready for Part 2.


You can reach Coach Bonnie Chan on line
at bonnie@coachlite.com.



New Member Benefit


choice, the magazine of professional coaching,
congratulates IAC on celebrating five successful years.
IAC Members are invited to download a FREE issue of choice
Magazine in pdf format.

 

 


Visit IAC member services,
sign up for the choice mailing list and obtain a link to download this
issue of choice! You will also find an IAC member discount code for
$4.00 off the regular subscription price.

Here at choice we too will celebrate
our fifth anniversary this year. We take
pride in forwarding the global conversation
about professional coaching by providing:

  • diverse perspectives,
  • thought-provoking commentary,
  • insightful discussion,
  • and access to services, tools, resources
    and practical information.

Not an IAC Member? You can still
sign up for the FREE issue of choice, join the choice community mailing list
and receive benefits such as our Expert
Series emails written by leaders in the
coaching community.  Get invitations
to free multi-media Expert Series tele-calls
with our authors and publisher, and receive
our In-Between Newsletters. Sign up for
the choice mailing list
HERE
.


Liability
Insurance for Coaches

 


No matter how cautious your approach to
coaching, no matter how careful you perform
your job, the activities you are involved
in on a daily basis can put your career
and financial stability on the line. The
IAC-endorsed professional liability insurance
program, provided through Lockton Risk Services,
Inc., is specifically designed to protect
members from the ever increasing risks of
malpractice lawsuits. For more information
about this member benefit click
here
.




Set Yourself Up for Success with
Part 2 of Your IAC Certification

Coaches often ask, “What is the most
important thing I need to know for IAC Certification?”
Well, at the risk of sounding snide, the
most obvious answer is that you need to
know how to coach. More specifically, you
need to demonstrate in the coaching sessions
you submit the Coaching Masteries™
at a masterful level.


Not every coaching session is the same.
In some sessions, your client will experience
a huge shift, in others not so much. Some
sessions, by the nature of the issue presented,
will focus more on strategizing or problem
solving. You may even find yourself in the
role of consultant or teacher. All of these
situations are normal in the course of a
coaching relationship, but do not generally
lend themselves to a masterful demonstration
of the Masteries.


The distinction you want to be aware of
is that for IAC Certification, we are looking
for your masterful demonstration of the
Coaching Masteries™. Just because
your client makes a decision, or tells you
they feel great or commits to a new course
of action, it doesn’t automatically
mean that the Masteries were demonstrated.
Don’t manipulate the coaching session
by trying to squeeze in all the Masteries.
Instead, submit the session in which your
use of the Masteries is natural and effective.


Here are Two helpful tidbits to set yourself
up for success in Part 2 of IAC Certification.


Record all your coaching sessions.
Get in the habit of recording all your coaching
sessions—with your clients’ permission,
of course. It is one of the best ways to
reduce your performance anxiety which often
shows up as forcing Masteries into the session,
not listening fully to what the client is
saying and jumping to solutions too quickly.
Not only will this reduce your anxiety,
it will reduce your client’s nervousness
as well. Pretty soon the recording just
becomes part of what happens in coaching,
so isn’t an unusual, nerve-wracking
experience.


One strategy is to make this part of your
coaching service—clients get copies
recordings of their coaching sessions. Not
only will you have the chance to listen
again to improve your coaching, your clients
have the opportunity to deepen their awareness
of the shifts they’ve made and what
led to them. Plus, if your client ever wonders
if the coaching is really going anywhere,
they’ll have all those recordings
as evidence.


Listen to your recordings before
you submit them for certification!

This is a professional certification. Submit
your very best work for professional review.
If you were taking the bar exam for your
law degree, you wouldn’t just write
the answers and turn in the paper without
looking it over first, would you? No. If
you were skydiving you wouldn’t just put
your gear on, hope it’s all good and
jump. Right?


Treat your recorded coaching sessions the
same way. Listen to them and self-evaluate.
Use the Masteries
ebook
and the Note
Sheet
.  Check off the effective and ineffective
behaviors. Identify which measures were
met and which key elements occurred. Were
the effects reached?


Not only will listening to your recordings
before submitting help to ensure you are submitting
your best work, it will also improve your
coaching—nice little side effect.


And one quick bit about the quality of your
recordings. The Certifiers often receive
recordings of such poor sound quality that
we are literally holding our computer speakers
up to our ears. And, believe me, we have
good speakers. Please respect the process
and submit good sound quality recordings.
Help the Certifiers have an easy job listening.
This isn’t just to make it easier
on the Certifiers, it’s to make it
easier for them to hear all the things you
are doing well!

 

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. Find her on the
web at www.NinaEast.com.

 


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



Part 2
Certification Submissions


Attention all coaches mailing certification submissions for
Part 2.  There has been an address change.  Please
mail the
submissions to:

IAC
Certification
Box 341
Sorrento, BC V0E 2W0
Canada

 This
includes the Waivers of Confidentiality. 

Recordings may
also be emailed to

certification@certifiedcoach.org
.




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

transcendental trolleys
by Janice Hunter


Success leaves clues. ~ Anthony
Robbins


I’ve often said that coaching moments
creep up on me in the weirdest of places.
Last week I had a transcendental moment
with some supermarket trolleys…


I’d slept badly and lumbered the
two steps from our front door to the car
like a bear just out of hibernation. While
my husband drove us to his work, I daydreamed
and dozily chatted about news items on the
radio.


When we arrived, I got out of the passenger
side to swap over and drive to the supermarket.
Wham! The wind slammed me in the face! As
I stood there looking like Medusa and grabbing
onto my scarf, my husband, completely unfazed,
said “Wild, isn’t it.”
He kissed me, smiled and headed into the
building.


I scrambled to the driver’s side,
got in, slammed the door shut and took a
few deep breaths. He’d made driving
through a gale look so effortless!


The problem is, I’m not a confident
driver and don’t drive on very windy
days if I can avoid it. I’m not actually
a ‘bad’ driver – just a wimp
with a weather-related comfort zone. But
there I was, faced with a choice; get on
with the shopping and drive home, or sit
there all day outside my husband’s
place of work.


I made it safely to the supermarket, this
time noticing the swaying trees and the
cars being buffeted as they overtook lorries.


Later as I sat in the café, warming
my hands around a chunky white coffee cup,
I sat musing about mastery and unconscious
competence.


My husband can reverse park in a space
that looks too small to get through with
post-Christmas hips and two bags of shopping.
He can cook ten-item breakfasts without
breaking sweat or swearing at the kids.
He gets strikes every time we go bowling
and can pot six or seven balls one after
the other in a game of pool. All of it effortless,
but here’s the thing… it’s
probably never occurred to him that any
of those skills constitute mastery. He takes
them so much for granted!


When I was going for certification, I used
to be intimidated by graceful, elegant coaches
who made everything seem so effortless.
I fought off envy until I learned how to
analyse what I admired, what they did and
what I could adapt and absorb. I worked
very hard, learned how to learn, made a
load of silly mistakes and eventually passed
the IAC exam. The most important thing I
learned from my certification journey is
that success leaves clues.


As I was leaving the supermarket, muttering
under my breath at my talent for picking
trolleys with wayward wheels, I heard an
announcement. “Due to the weather
conditions, could customers please return
their empty trolleys to the trolley bays.”
I looked out onto the car park and surveyed
a surreal scene; unaccompanied trolleys
whizzing and clanging into cars, a tiny
bouquet of cellophane-wrapped tulips buffeting
and skidding along the road trying to take
off, newspapers flying around like kites,
and people batting off litter and flying
brochures with their flailing hands like
a scene from Hitchcock’s ‘The
Birds’.


I saw people struggling with overloaded
trolleys, trying to swing them around like
rollerblading partners, outstretched arms
in a spin. Others lurched for small light
items snatched by the wind and watched in
alarm as their liberated trolleys trundled
off to freedom.


As I walked alongside my wobbly trolley,
gently but firmly using my weight to keep
it on track as it tried to veer to the right,
I suddenly realised that this is what coaches
do when faced with clients’ ingrained
paradigms, self limiting beliefs and stormy
days. We walk alongside them, gently but
firmly keeping them on the road they’d
rather be on, helping them navigate obstacles
along the way and sometimes relieving them
of a burden so heavy it’s been paralysing
them into inactivity.


We know the difference between directionless
emptiness and a load that’s too overwhelming
to manoeuvre. We know when it’s time
to apply the brakes and when to keep on
going and take advantage of momentum. We
know how to focus to get through fear.


I may not be the world’s most confident
driver, but I’m good at getting the
shopping home. (And don’t worry…I
don’t actually talk to trolleys!)


What unconscious competence do you
take for granted, not just in your coaching
but in your whole life?

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




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IAC. Do have any questions, concerns, encouragement or ideas
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