From the Editor Welcome to the February 2012 issue of the IAC VOICE! In her February President's Message, Susan R. Meyer announces some exciting new changes to the IAC certification designations, as well as an opportunity for coaches in training. There is a reminder below about your ReciproCoach benefit—coaching, mentoring and supervision that is all included in the cost of your IAC membership. It's an incredible opportunity and one that reinforces the IAC's commitment to professional development. There really are so many benefits to IAC membership. Have you ever wondered about how you could give back? Tatiana Abend has some surprising ideas for you. In the Inside Scoop, you can listen in on what the IAC Certifiers are listening for when they evaluate applicants for IAC certification. We bid a farewell to the Living the Masteries column, and thank Alison Davis wholeheartedly for all of the gems she has provided. She closes out the series with her own look at Mastery #9 and how she is using it to bring her 2012 vision to life. Our business-building article this month is about how to optimize your LinkedIn profile to attract new coaching clients. First-time contributor Louisa Chan is a certified coach and social media specialist from Synergy Marketing Pro in Malaysia. Our coaching feature article is an interview with IAC Board of Governors member Uta Guse, who shares about her experience with the Learning Agreement proposal process. Submission guidelines for the VOICE are available on the website. Submissions are welcome anytime through 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 the IAC at http://twitter.com/IACCoachMastery. There is also a list of VOICE authors, columnists and IAC BOG members at http://twitter.com/lindadessau/iac-voice-contributors. From the President Broadening the Path to Coaching Mastery Redefining, expanding and enriching opportunities for learning and growth on the path to coaching mastery have always been the central focus of the IAC. Our single-minded focus on the professional development of coaches has spanned across many initiatives, including:
One exciting new development in our quest to provide learning opportunities and to expand knowledge of the IAC Coaching Masteries® is the creation of IAC Student Chapters. These chapters will be open to anyone enrolled in coach training, whether through a university-based program or through one of our licensees. Certification has been an important component of the path to coaching mastery, and since its inception, the IAC has engaged in a continuous process of monitoring and reviewing our certification process. This month, I am delighted to share with you a change in certification designations that is the result of many discussions and extensive reviews of certification tapes. As of February 1, 2012, all current Certified Coaches will be designated as Master Certified Coaches. A number of coaches who scored slightly lower on their recordings will be awarded the Certified Coach designation. We are tremendously excited, and, at the same time, do not take this change lightly. This change is the result of a thorough review of all tapes where candidates scored 3 (out of 5) on each of the nine Masteries. One of the many wonderful results of adopting the Masteries and refining our coaching measures is that we are now able to more clearly define and distinguish levels of skill. The review showed that coaches who scored 3 and above all demonstrated a high level of understanding and expertise, with those scoring 4 and above showing the highest level of mastery. This new two-tiered system acknowledges that highest level of mastery. Other professional associations and coaching schools use the designation MCC to indicate the highest level of achievement and we are proud to join them in an effort to make MCC internationally recognized as a designation of coaching excellence. As some of our coaches already hold this designation from the ICF or other bodies, we are suggesting that MCC (IAC) is the most appropriate format when adding this to your credentials. We are all constantly moving and changing on the path to coaching mastery, and the IAC is committed to continuing to blaze new trails, clear the path and light the way in support of the journey of each member. With warm wishes for your success, Susan R. Meyer, MCC (IAC) is President of Susan R. Meyer, Coaching and Consulting and of Life-Work Coach. She provides personal and executive coaching and facilitates seminars on topics including life planning, emotional intelligence, leadership development, communication, and coaching skills for managers. www.susanrmeyer.com. Claim your IAC coaching, mentoring or supervision benefit As part of your IAC membership, you’re entitled to receive coaching, mentoring or supervision. We’ve pre-purchased your entry into a reciprocal peer coaching, mentoring and supervision round by partnering with ReciproCoach. Click here to redeem your IAC-ReciproCoach voucher today. Be quick! The next round is starting soon! Surprise Yourself and Advance Your Career by Volunteering If we stop and take a look at how the IAC got where we are today, we see much to do with volunteers. The IAC's current capacity is largely based on the efforts of volunteers working around the world who add value to the profession and pave pathways for coaches' personal and business development. To paraphrase the IAC Immediate Past President, the IAC is a volunteer organization of coaches, run by coaches. The 18-member volunteer Board of Governors includes representatives from around the globe, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. We depend upon our members and volunteers to move this organization forward and we have many new and exciting plans in the works for 2012 and beyond. As the Volunteer Committee Head, I must admit I've been avid about volunteer work all my life, starting in New York in the 1970s by volunteering at Friends of Animals, writing letter after letter to my Congressmen to provide local animal protection, all at the tender age of 12 years old. Continuing in volunteer work all my life has fed a notion that I often find myself associating with coaching: what you put into something is what you get out! So, what are the key benefits of being a volunteer? Volunteer work, first and foremost, connects you to people and resources outside of your current circles. Volunteer work has been proven to be fulfilling, fun, good for your health, excellent training for your mind, and helpful to the advancement of your career. Volunteer work at the IAC has put me out of my own comfort zone and, in hindsight, I am pleased to have taken initiative to raise my hand. As a team we have made good progress in a relatively short period of time. Most coaches not only want to get certified, increase their skills and enjoy a successful business, but also want to foster a greater awareness of coaching and make a meaningful contribution to coaching. One of the most satisfying activities can be to lend a few hours per month to the professional association that represents your field of specialty. The IAC Volunteer Committee serves as a contact point for board members and volunteers, and makes the best match of people to projects according to talents, tasks and time. For those of you who are volunteering your time and effort, the IAC and its members owe many a thanks. For those of you who signed up on the IAC Volunteer Groupsite, let us know you are still there! For those of you who think you may have a bit of time and a bit of talent to spare, feel free to visit the IAC website and glace at the volunteer page to see if anything there might appeal to you in an intuitive way. "You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and to impoverish yourself if you forget the errand." – Woodrow Wilson
Tatiana is the creator of The 3-Step Mind, Body and Self-Care Transformational System for Women who want to Feel Confident, Look Great and Be Empowered. She uses her IAC training and 8 years of certified health coaching experience to create program specifically for college women and young professionals. New IAC Coaching Masteries® licensed schools and mentors
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