IAC VOICE, Volume 4, Issue 26, May 2008, Circulation: 12,372
May 28, 2008
Kerch
From the Editor
Taking over for someone else is always a task fraught with stumbling blocks. Not only are there somebody else’s shoes to fill, but also there are systems and structures that you just haven’t figured out yet. Couple that with a new organization where you don’t know anyone in particular and you've got the makings of a real duck soup.
It’s not unlike the problems that might come up when you get a new client from another coach. Do you even try to match what the previous coach did? What if it were working great? What if that style is different from your own?
It’s fitting that this month Nina East talks about Mastery #9, "Using Support Systems and Structures." I work mostly with adults who have ADHD. Systems and structures are key to success with my clients. So how come I’m not doing any better for myself?
I know Angela had systems in place to get VOICE out on time. And man, I am struggling to find a structure that works for me. So here’s my request: I know there are more than 12,000 readers out there. And if even a small fraction of you with ideas for articles or questions that could be articles… if even a couple of you drop me a note each month, I bet I can say thank you and keep this train rolling a little closer to on schedule.
Here’s the list of information we have for you this month:
President Angela Spaxman talks about the leading edge of IAC growth here.
Are you getting the most from your IAC directory listing? Read more here.
We've got a new Voluntary Life and Health Benefits Program. Read more here.
Nina East, IAC Lead Certifier, writes about Masteries 4 and 9 and how to use them in your practice here.
Welcome to Dr. Ariel Orama López who leads the new IAC Spanish Translation Team. See what’s going on as the IAC works to expand its reach in the world here.
What is going on at the IAC? What are the growing edges?
Since I took up the role of President last month I’ve been focusing mostly on the big picture of our organization. So I thought it would be useful to share with you some of the growing edges, so you can clarify your expectations of us and find the sweet spots that are of most benefit to you.
The growing edges are the most important parts of the IAC, because those are the places where coaches enthusiastically contribute their energy. They include:
local chapters and triad/buddy groups,
the certification process itself,
the communications happening through the VOICE and the website,
the continuing translation and development of the IAC Coaching Masteries™ and
the leadership opportunities on the Board and in the Chapters.
The Board is actively working to develop stronger foundations in all of these areas over the coming year.
I want to highlight the first growing edge, our local chapters and triad/buddy groups. For most people, the experiences that make IAC membership really special happen in these small groups. That’s when you have a chance to connect with other coaches who are also keen to develop themselves. These experiences often result in tremendous learning. The certification challenge encourages us (forces us?) to delve really deeply into our own coaching skills and abilities.
For myself, I meet regularly with a small group of wonderful coaches in my local community, and we’ve devised a way to practice our coaching with each other. We listen to each other coaching and we use the IAC Coaching Masteries™ to evaluate the results with both compassion and honesty. Even though we are all busy people, the experiences we have are so valuable that we continue to find time to be together.
Right now, we have seven official Chapters world-wide. In addition, I know there are also many other pockets of coaches who meet regularly by telephone or in-person to support each other in improving their coaching skills. These valuable experiences push the benefits of coaching further and further into the world.
If you’d like to get more involved in this growing edge of the IAC, you can start by connecting with other coaches who have indicated on their IAC directory listings that they are available as triad or buddy coaches. Start your search here. You can also check to see if there is an IAC Chapter in your area. And if you’d like to start one, contact Kerri Laryea.
Is there another way I can help you get into the growing edge that’s most important to you? Please let me know.
Congratulations to Gigi Blair from Alexandria, VA, United States who recently passed her Step 2 Exam and became an IAC Certified Coach!
Are you getting the most out of your IAC member listing?
One of the benefits of membership in the IAC is a listing in our on line data base. Hey, a listing is great, but without contact information it has limited value. Take a minute, log in here and scroll to the bottom of the page. Then update your profile. You can make public a web address and a short bio. Take advantage of a great opportunity.
And as you scroll down the page to find your information, notice the great deals available to IAC members. (If you’re reading this, you must be a member? Right? Oh, no? Join here! Join now!)
Here’s one IAC member deal: Get a free domain and discounts on web design and hosting through Register.com, also on the member benefits page.
New Voluntary Life & Health Benefit Plans Available
The IAC is pleased to announce Voluntary Life and Health Benefit plans for its membership through Annuity Managers Agency, LLC. As a member of the IAC, you and your entire family, as well as your employees, are eligible to participate in all of these exciting and premier programs! All plans are voluntary and available in most states! Just go to www.AnnuityManagers.com. Click on the blue “Association Plans” button at the top of the left navigation pane. You’ll need to fill in “IAC” (without the quotes) on the next page in order to review information on the following programs:
National health plan PPO
Guaranteed issue short-term & long-term accident income with AD&D
Guaranteed issue whole life insurance
Guaranteed issue critical illness plan
Guaranteed issue hospital cash indemnity plans
National defined benefit health plans (mini-meds)
Guaranteed issue, fully insured delta dental & discount vision plan in one
National discounted long-term care insurance
National discounted simplified issue long-term disability, business overhead & disability buy-out insurance
National guaranteed issue accidental death and dismemberment
International medical & travel accident insurance
Rx gold prescription drug plan
Call Annuity Managers directly at (877) 676-9900 or check the website at www.AnnuityManagers.com.
by Nina East
As the buzz about the IAC Coaching Masteries™ continues to grow, coaches are noticing differences between the Masteries and the ways other organizations describe coaching skills. This is exciting because it means coaches are studying and integrating this next generation of coaching mastery carefully! Coaches are telling us the Masteries are helping them become even more clear and precise in their coaching. This is leading to greater confidence overall!
At the same time, there are a couple of the Masteries which are either new or just different enough that coaches are having a hard time fully integrating them into their ways of coaching.
Two significant differences between the Coaching Masteries™ and what came before are Mastery #4 (Processing in the Present) and Mastery #9 (Helping the Client Create and Use Support Systems and Structures). Not surprisingly, these are the two Masteries coaches are having the most difficulty with in Part 2 of IAC Certification.
To help jumpstart your coaching and use of these two Masteries, here are some pointers:
Processing in the Present
From the Coaching Masteries Ebook, (requires a password) Mastery #4, Processing in the Present is demonstrated when the coach is “attentive to the client, processing information at the level of the mind, body, heart and/or spirit, as appropriate. The coach expands the client’s awareness of how to experience thoughts and issues on these various levels, when and as appropriate.”
Think of it as addressing or “surfacing up” what’s going on for the client right here, right now, in the midst of the coaching. In addition to what the client says, how he thinks, feels and behaves during the coaching session is a rich resource for coaching. Often what the coach senses the client is not saying is what is most important.
Masterful coaches process in the present—using what’s happening for the client in the moment, appropriately sharing what they notice in the client’s voice or body language and identifying themes or inconsistencies in what the client is saying. This can provide meaningful insights and initiate significant shifts for the client.
Novice coaches tend to get caught up in the words or details of the issue or story, missing the deeper thoughts or feelings that are the root of the issue.
For example, suppose a coach makes a suggestion or asks a question and the client hesitates before saying yes or does so tentatively. The masterful coach will back up and ask the client about their hesitation. Is that yes accurate; is the client really ready to move forward?
The novice coach tends to accept the yes without questioning the hesitation or verifying that the client really does agree. In doing this, the novice coach forges ahead based on what may not be the client’s true feelings.
Systems and Structures
Mastery #9, Helping The Client Create and Use Support Systems and Structures, is demonstrated when the coach helps “the client identify and build the relationships, tools, systems and structures he or she needs to advance and sustain progress.”
The two keys in this Mastery are systems and sustain. Thinking—and coaching—in terms of systems is fundamental to effective and lasting change. When this Mastery is used effectively, the client is more confident and secure in moving forward, knowing that resources are available or can be created. They may not have everything figured out yet, but neither are they worried about whether they’ll be able to figure it out, or get themselves to take action. The confidence is built from approaching the problem holistically, rather than generating an isolated list of action items or homework. The most effective systems are the ones that will support the client’s goals without requiring significant willpower from the client.
For example, when faced with a client who is behind in paying bills (and wants to do something about it), a novice coach might suggest the client commit to paying their bills by the end of the day. As an action item, this may help the client accomplish the goal for a day. But it doesn’t help the client to address this continuing challenge. In other words, it neither sustains the client’s goal nor prevents the issue from coming up again the following month.
The masterful coach helps the client find a way to address this kind of recurring issue. One system the client might use would be automated bill paying through his bank. Then the payments are automatically made on time. This structure doesn’t rely quite as heavily on the client’s memory or attentiveness every month. It supports the client in taking action, even when the client’s pattern may be to avoid.
These are just a few examples to illustrate the meaning and intent of Masteries 4 and 9. They are certainly not the only ways to demonstrate them nor are they the only systems to address these types of issues. Coaches using these masteries effectively are limited only by the creativity of the client and coach collaborating together.
Stay tuned
In upcoming “Certification Tidbits” each of the masteries will be explained in greater detail!
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 from high school into college. Find her on the web at www.MyMentorCoach.com.
En la IAC SE HABLA ESPAÑOL by Dr. Ariel Orama López, CCC, CE, FA
¡Saludos colegas y miembros de la IAC!
My name is Dr. Ariel Orama López and I have the pleasure to lead the new IAC Spanish Translation Team. As part of the new projects and challenges of the IAC, we are enlisting members to translate and edit the Spanish Version of The IAC Coaching Masteries.
Si puedes leer lo que aparece a continuación, esta oportunidad es para ti. Sabemos que nuestra respetada organización cuenta con miembros destacados del mundo hispanohablante. Por tal razón, comenzaremos el proceso de edición y estandarización de varios documentos de la IAC para el beneficio de nuestra comunidad hispana. Iniciaremos nuestras funciones con la elaboración del documento El arte y la destreza del Coaching según la IAC™.
Queremos agradecer al reconocido y respetado Coach Roberto García de la Mora por su entrega y dedicación en la traducción de The IAC Coaching Masteries ™. A partir de su narrativa, estableceremos un diálogo y análisis sobre la versión del documento en español; esto, con el fin de crear un documento estándar que beneficie a todos los miembros de los distintos países hispanohablantes. Contamos con aquellos colegas que quieran formar parte de esta nueva encomienda.
Éste será sólo el comienzo de una serie de esfuerzos para continuar la dirección de nuestra organización hacia el público internacional. A través de las sugerencias, la diligencia y el consenso de nuestro equipo desarrollaremos más y mejores recursos para los miembros cuyo idioma principal es el español.
Si quieres formar parte de nuestro Comité de Traducción al Español (CTEsp) y eres miembro activo de la IAC, no dudes en comunicarte al siguiente correo electrónico: droramalopez@gmail.com.
¡Sé parte del gran futuro de la IAC! Recibe un caluroso abrazo,
Dr. Ariel Orama López, Coordinator IAC Spanish Translation Team (CTEsp)
(El Dr. Ariel Orama López es Psicólogo Clínico, Coach Creativo Certificado (CCC), Coach Ejecutivo/Corporativo (CE) y Facilitador Autorizado (FA) de CoachVille Spain/The Internacional School of Coaching. Es Coach Asociado y Editor de TISOC.)
Members in the news
President, Angela Spaxman and Lead Certifier, Nina East, were interviewed for the Coachville Caffeine online radio show. They talked a little about the history of the IAC and what makes our certification system special. Angela talked more about the growing edge of the IAC.
The show aired on May 20. Here’s a link to the recording. Check it out.
PS: If you’re in the news, please let me know. Send a link to the online article or to a recording of the event. And tell me what other coaches might learn from your experience.
The 3 Step Process for Getting Coaching Clients by Christian Mickelsen
Are you making it easy for clients to hire you, or are you making it hard? Many coaches find it hard to get clients because they make it hard for potential clients to hire them. What ends up happening could be something like this:
You put a lot of hours into your coaching business, learning and improving your coaching skills as well as implementing new marketing ideas, creating new programs that you hope people will be hot for and you keep at it. Until, eventually you might start to feel a little—or a lot—burned out.
This thing you love and have been so excited about becomes something you might be thinking about giving up! But, it may not be entirely your fault. You see, most coaches haven’t been told the right things to do to get clients. Let me shed some light on this for you with a three step process for getting clients.
Clients Who Hire You Follow These Steps:
They somehow hear about you and what you do.
They have a sample coaching session with you.
They give you their credit card info. Or write you a check.
That seems simple! But, let me elaborate a little further.
People can “hear about you and what you do” from networking events, from articles you write that appear in newsletters or online, from presentations you give in person or via tele-classes. People can be introduced to you by a strategic alliance partner—someone who works with the same clients you do, but helps them with something other than coaching. For example, if you coach small business owners, an accountant might be a great strategic alliance partner for you. These relationships can be a valuable source of referrals.
All of these initial pieces of the marketing puzzle are designed to move the prospective client to the next step: the sample session.
The sample coaching session is the place to make the real connection. Use this session to find out about your potential clients—about what they want, why they want it, what's not working, why it's not working and the impact these challenges are having on them. This is the key to moving them to the next step; these are the reasons a client will hire you. If you don’t surface this stuff, they’ll have very little reason to start paying you hundreds of dollars every month for your coaching. Good clients want help achieving their goals and overcoming their challenges. A painful or frustrating situation is what leads people to hire you, not some fantastical dream life that many coaches are trying to sell.
Getting payment is the third step to getting hired. If a client doesn’t pay you on the spot, it’s rare that they’ll come back and hire you later. So at the end of the sample session, ask if a client wants to work with you. Say thank you and then, “Let me get you entered into the system.” Be sure to get all of their information—including their credit card payment information.
With credit cards, people will sometimes pay for the full contracted amount—like six months worth of coaching—right up front. It's always fun to get a few thousand dollars all at once. And if you give them incentives for doing so clients, will love it, too! At the very least get the client’s permission to charge their card on the appointed day each month with no fuss. Accepting credit cards is essential. If you haven’t already, get set up with a way to accept credit cards. I use the system associated with my online shopping cart, www.CartsForCoaches.com.
Here’s the bottom line: Let your coaching business follow this basic three-step process. Make it easy for clients to figure out what to do. Remember, more sample sessions, more clients!
Resource Box: Get your Free Report: "How to Get a Rush of Potential Clients Lining Up to Have a Free Session With You." Go to http://www.CoachesWithClients.com and you'll also get access to more great articles on how to get coaching clients.
Christian Mickelsen has been seen in Forbes, Yahoo Finance, MSN and the Boston Globe. He served two years on the Board of Governors for the IAC. He is the author of the book How To Quickly Get Started In Professional Coaching, available at www.CoachingQuickStartKit.com and has developed several programs to help coaches be more successful. Christian can be contacted through his website: www.CoachesWithClients.com.
"Coaching Moments" takes a thoughtful look at how coaching can be interwoven into our daily lives.
‘R’ words… by Janice Hunter
I’ve recently read a surprising number of newsletters and blogs which have used the phrase “the ‘R’ word” to refer to economic recession. Now these aren’t coy writers I’m talking about; they’re highly respected, powerful coaches who inspire and lead many others. I don’t know why they use the phrase, but it got me thinking about what recession means to the coaching world and also set me off on a journey exploring ‘R’ words.
Real estate, reaction, response, re-positioning and relief…
I live in a tourist area where many local newly-weds can’t afford to buy homes because of inflated house prices. In other parts of the country, families are faced with the prospect of downsizing or negative equity because of the post-boom drop in property prices. I’ve seen how distressing this can be, so it’s not a topic I’m being dismissive of or disrespectful about. I’d like to share a story with you about one of the best coaches I’ve ever known.
He started to feel the waves of worry over the US sub-prime mortgage situation last year; his wife works in real estate and they have a young family. His initial reaction was to increase his networking and marketing until the pace became almost hysterical and frenetic. Then, after an aha phase, he responded from his heart by putting the theory of ‘letting go’ into practice. He focused on the abundance he already had—his family, friends, training, experience, wisdom and qualifications—and acknowledged that they weren’t going to evaporate if he didn’t fill his coaching practice immediately. Instead, he started applying for other jobs to supplement his coaching income, even though he already had more clients than most coaches I know. The job offers came flowing in. He accepted one that allowed him to work from home and the relief was almost tangible, like a breeze of fresh air blowing through his life, bringing with it financial security and a continuation of the family dynamics and routine he’d worked so hard to build. And then—no surprise to those of us who believe in the law of attraction—the clients came pouring in too. Eleven new clients in two weeks.
Redundancy, re-evaluation, readiness, relocation and resourcefulness…
My husband works in the Scottish branch of an international company and we’ve been affected by the global crisis too. Every October for the last three years, his bosses have announced that hundreds of people in the company are to be made redundant. The list of those about to lose their jobs isn’t released until December. It’s become harder for me every year to celebrate Christmas in the carefree way we used to. It’s become increasingly painful for my husband to lose colleagues at a time when workmates all over the world are celebrating the holiday season with office parties and frivolity. But as we’ve narrowly ‘escaped’ for three years in a row, we’ve been given a great gift—the chance to re-evaluate what’s most important to us in a deeply authentic way.
We have to ask ourselves what we’d really like to do with our skills and talents and which risks we’re ready and willing to take, seeing as our children are thriving at school. If we were to move anywhere in the world for work, where would we go? What would we do? Why would we choose to stay here in Scotland? My dad is 84 but has another daughter and grandsons here. Heart-searching talks, provocative conversations. Despite my heart-wrenching wanderlust, we always end up feeling that we’re here in Scotland because we want to be. We’re always left knowing what we’re willing to fight to keep.
Not moving house also makes us more resourceful with what we have. Downsizing our consumption, expenditure and stuff is a pleasure for us, a solution, not a form of imposed deprivation. It makes us feel prepared for anything, like we’d be ready to move if we had to. It makes us feel ‘clean and clear’ while we choose to stay. Most of what we own is useful, beautiful or treasured.
Relishing, ritual and religion …
I’ve also coped with looming redundancy and the threat of ‘forced’ relocation by strengthening my love of ritual. It can be a powerful glue in every relationship, religion and society. My daughter laughingly told her Religious and Moral Education teacher at school that her mum steals the best bits of every religion she comes across!
We love creating our own rituals too. On Mother’s Day, I never expect presents, flowers or chocolates. My kids volunteer to be ‘servants’ for a day and keep the home running while I stay in my bedroom and read a book from cover to cover—a rare and cherished treat. They make me cards and create ‘cheques’ promising to pay me in love, respect, tidied rooms and fewer tweenage tantrums! I laminate those and use them as bookmarks.
We also make homemade cards, sweets, presents and crackers at Christmas and have created fun-filled, friend and family rituals throughout December. It gives us all so much more to look forward to than shop-bought gifts.
It was my mum who instilled in me a love of details and ritual, and although we didn’t have much money when I was growing up, we grew up rich because of her.
I’m sharing this with you now because if you’re anxious about your future or your finances, this is the time to start being open to creative ideas to reduce your consumption and expenditure. You’ve time to design cards, make personalised bookmarks, write books of gratitude and ‘love memories’ for your loved ones, compile photo albums of treasured memories, and create works of art from digital photos. You’ve time to plan home baked gifts and to research unusual charities to donate to instead of sending gifts…You can give away heirlooms now and register the recipient’s pleasure rather than wait to die to do it. You can have clothes swap evenings with friends, bake and take to the homeless, give away the contents of your attic or garage to folk who need it.
I’m having a meltdown at the moment, trying to decide how to redesign my kitchen to get a bigger table in. As I hear of the tragedy unfolding in Burma, it puts my dilemma into proportion. By not buying meat, wine or treats for a just a week, I can send a Burma emergency relief fund enough for mosquito nets, water purification tablets or plastic sheeting for shelter. Doing without pizza or a bottle of Chilean red isn’t going to kill me.
Remembering, regret and reaching out…
My mum died a few weeks before Mother’s Day, while I was expecting my son. She’d gone into hospital to have an aneurism removed and never spoke again. Complications meant she had to be ventilated through her windpipe, even though she was fully conscious. She spent her last weeks on a gurney in intensive care, awake but hooked up to dialysis and a ventilator, defying all the odds. The day before she died, she was restless, hardly lucid and spent the whole day trying to point to her left wrist with her wrinkled, right hand. Everyone speculated; was she experiencing pain down her arms? Was she wondering where her watch had gone? She mouthed the words “I love you son” to my husband before she drifted off and we were asked to leave. That night, she developed an infection and didn’t regain consciousness. My dad was asked for permission to switch off the machines. The next day, I watched her slowly slip away. When the LED displays finally all reached zero, I looked up to the ceiling and said “I’m sorry.” So much I hadn’t said when she was alive. So many memories I’ve relished since.
I reckon she was pointing to where her watch had been, telling us it was time, telling us not to waste it.
Don’t let regret be one of your ‘R’ words. As folk who are involved in the coaching world, the recession is a chance for us to reach out, to inspire, to share our skills and our wisdom and to make a difference. It’s not all about marketing and money.
A few of my favourite ‘R’ words… why don’t you make one of your own or get your clients to make one as an attitudinal antidote to ‘R’ word anxiety!
reading,
rose scented laundry,
relishing truth,
rugs on real wood floors,
reaching out and really enjoying people,
rainbows (my mum sends them),
rock pools,
rusty-red painted wood,
rose flavoured Turkish delight sweets,
retsina and red wine,
rustling olive groves,
rustic tables (laid with blue and checked tablecloths, bread, olives and salads)
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.
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