From the Editor Welcome to the December 2010 issue of the IAC VOICE! This marks the beginning of my third year as Editor, and I’m celebrating by featuring two of my favourite articles from the last two years. In “Track of Light,” former Coaching Moments columnist Janice Hunter writes about how it’s tempting to hide, but safer to shine brightly and stand out. And in “Why Aren’t You Marketing Your Business,” Suzi Pomerantz brilliantly distils the elements of marketing, networking, branding and selling. Below you will find IAC President Bob Tschannen-Moran’s latest President’s message, where he offers a tantalizing glimpse into the coaching scene in Asia (with more to come!). Stay tuned next month for a Board of Governors update and a new article from an IAC member benefit provider. In the meantime, members can visit the website to browse all of the available member benefits. Earlier this month, we posted a new Living the Masteries column, where Parisian coach Nad Philips explains how the IAC Coaching Masteries® are beautifully aligned with the strength-based method of Appreciative Inquiry. In this month’s Inside Scoop – Ask the Certifiers column, Natalie Tucker Miller explores the boundary of the 30-minute certification recording. I believe that 2011 holds great promise for the IAC, our website and the VOICE, and I look forward to my role in bringing that to you. Our 2010 submission guidelines for the VOICE are available on the website. Submissions are welcome anytime throughout the month. Please contact me with your article ideas and your feedback about this issue. Enjoy! Warm wishes, Linda Dessau, CPCC P.S. Are you on Twitter? You can follow our VOICE authors and columnists as well as some of the IAC BOG members. Simply visit http://twitter.com/lindadessau/iac-voice-contributors or subscribe to the list from your Twitter account. From the President The IAC: Coaching Global (Taiwan Coaching Conference) Recently, at the ICF Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, I was sharing with a friend and colleague just how much time it takes to serve as President of the International Association of Coaching: probably 20 hours a week. Knowing the IAC has a relatively small membership and knowing that serving on a nonprofit board is a volunteer commitment, my friend posed the obvious question, “Why do you do it?” I didn’t have to pause long to come up with an answer: I believe in the cause and I enjoy the connections. The cause is what the IAC stands for: high-quality coach certification that fosters continuous learning and growth around the IAC Coaching Masteries®. Without prescribing any particular educational or professional background, the IAC has developed a way–through written and oral examinations–to validate a person’s understanding of the coaching profession as well as his or her effectiveness in coaching conversations. That validation is important for both the professionalism and integrity of coaching. If no one ever listens to us coach, and if we never get any feedback on whether or not we are coaching well, then we risk marketing our ego, illusions, or both. Are we a truly masterful coach? Or do we just think of ourselves that way? Although it is true that prospective clients are often attracted by credentials other than coach certification, it is also true that clients are increasingly concerned about coach certification as well. The IAC offers one such certification of increasing value and visibility. I believe in what the IAC is doing for coaching, coaching clients, and the world as a whole. I believe in our cause. And I enjoy the connections that cause creates. Because of the non-prescriptive architecture of the IAC certification process when it comes to education and professional background, the IAC attracts a more diverse membership and leadership than perhaps any other global coaching association on the planet. We see that especially in Asia. There is probably not another part of the world where the IAC has a stronger physical presence. The IAC has chapters and licensees in Bangalore, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore and Taiwan. I hope I didn’t leave out any locations, because the numbers continue to grow! The IAC is enriched and honored to attract such attention and participation. The IAC Board of Governors has long included members from Asia, and I expect such representation will increase and strengthen over time. People everywhere appreciate the authentic respect and openness that the IAC brings to adult learning and professional practice. Everyone doesn’t come to coaching mastery via the same or even similar routes. Whatever your path, the IAC welcomes you into its growing and diverse community. That’s what I enjoy most about serving as President of the IAC. It puts me in a position to witness and participate fully in that community, which enriches my life as well as my practice as a professional coach. Because of the IAC, I now have relationships around the globe that I would never have had otherwise. For example, I recently notified my Asian colleagues in the IAC that my wife and I will be traveling to the area to deliver a series of workshops in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. This led to natural conversations about getting together in other locations to enjoy each other’s company and to learn together as coaches. Voilà! We’re pleased to announce the 2011 Taiwan Coaching Conference, organized by the Chinese Professional Coach Development Association and sponsored by the IAC! Click on the link to download the brochure and registration information. Eight senior coaches, including myself, will share our experiences and perspectives about individual, organizational and educational coaching. As well, an expert panel of coaches and other professionals will come together to discuss the theme of the conference, Bringing Coaching to Society. The conference is on March 19, 2011 in Kaohsiung City, on the southern edge of Taiwan. Whether or not you can attend, I hope my message today has adequately conveyed my enthusiasm for serving with the IAC. It generates marvelous opportunities not only for me personally, but for the coaching world. I believe in the cause and I enjoy the connections. That’s the juice that keeps me going. Would you like to drink of that juice yourself? I encourage you to join the IAC today. If you’re already a member, then please join me to further our cause. May you be filled with goodness, peace and joy,
Bob Tschannen-Moran, IAC-CC, is CEO & Co-Founder of the Center for School Transformation and President of LifeTrek Coaching International. Bob has co-authored a new book, titled Evocative Coaching, which incorporates the IAC Coaching Masteries® in a coaching model designed for leaders and coaches in K-12 schools. www.SchoolTransformation.com
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