IAC VOICE, Volume 4, Issue 9, December 2006, Circulation: 10,049
December 11, 2006
Barbra
From the Editor
In keeping with the season, our theme for this month's VOICE is gratitude. This is especially poignant for me, and I'll tell you why in a moment.
But first, I'd like to draw your attention to the article by Jean Gran, IAC-CC on why you should consider becoming a paid member of the IAC. As our Treasurer, Jean is perhaps more aware than anyone of the need for the IAC to generate revenue to cover financial costs. And it's more than that. As Jean wisely points out:
As a prosperity coach working with individuals, I have noticed that people's relationship with money is often a reflection of their relationship with themselves. Have you noticed how hard it can be to ask others to pay us for the benefits we offer if we don't value ourselves? The same can be said for the IAC as an organization. The time has come for the IAC to recognize the value it provides and to ask members for dues in return.
What value does being an IAC member bring to you? Are you taking advantage of all your membership benefits? Are you clear on why we will be charging dues starting in 2007? Please let us know what you’re thinking.
On another note, Janice Hunter's Coaching Moments column is back this month. You won't want to miss her reflections on the holiday season, especially her coach's version of "The 12 Days of Christmas". Janice invites you to "sing along with a smile before you tackle the rest of your email inbox!"
I mentioned above that this month's VOICE is a poignant one for me. That's because this is my last issue as Editor.
When I accepted the Editorship nine months ago, my goal was to re-establish the VOICE as a reliable and respected means of communication with IAC members. With the help of a wonderful team – most particularly Natalie Tucker Miller, IAC-CC and Angela Spaxman – I feel I have accomplished that goal.
Now it's time to pass the torch so that I have time for some new projects that are calling me. And of course, I'll be staying involved with the IAC as an active member and Certifier.
Angela
The good news is that Angela Spaxman will be the new Editor starting in January. Angela is the Board of Directors liaison for communications, and as an organized, hard-working and well-informed Board member she is perfectly suited to be VOICE Editor.
It has been an honor to be your Editor, and I am grateful. Thank you.
Greetings of the season and the approaching new year! 2007 takes the International Association of Coaching to new heights as we implement important changes. Over the years the IAC has heard your suggestions and feedback and the upcoming enhancements are in response to member's indications of what would make the IAC a powerful, sustainable, professional organization.
The Masteries were created by international teams of coaches, consisting of three separate phases of creation and review. We're extremely proud of the work this task force completed, and are excited to move on to the next function for completion: the written exam and the online learning guides.
As our services increase, you'll find resources which support your coaching endeavors while providing a central meeting place for all who wish to dissertate with other coaching professionals. Next month we'll introduce our first Community Outreach Group (COG), lead by coach Tara Robinson.
Our new searchable directory is also in the works, with added fields for members. There will be several criteria by which someone seeking coaching will be able to search, including location, expertise and certification status.
We're excited to be able to offer continued upgrades , and look forward to your additional input. Please direct all suggestions and comments to Comments@coachingcredentials.com.
And now, I'd like to introduce you to Jean Gran who has served as our incredibly efficient and talented treasurer since January 2006. The work she has completed this year has been nothing short of visionary, and her wisdom and warm disposition have been outstanding assets to the IAC.
A Thanksgiving Reflection
by Jean Gran, IAC-CC
This Thanksgiving I had much to be grateful for including my involvement with the IAC. As a retired CPA, newly certified coach, and treasurer of the IAC since January 2006 it has been inspiring to serve an organization filled with amazingly talented volunteers dedicated to advancing coaching worldwide. This is a vibrant and exciting time in the life of the IAC.
Just like individuals, organizations need sustenance, creativity, vision, and energy to grow and mature. Officially the IAC is organized as a 501 (c) (6) non-profit business league but without the nourishing energy from its many members, volunteers, board members, committee chairs, and collaborators it would be just a dry legal shell. On Thanksgiving I found myself especially grateful to the many dedicated people who give of their time and talent to sustain this organization that has provided me the opportunity for a rich community and meaningful professional growth.
While the IAC has grown and accomplished amazing things since its formation in February of 2003, it is now clear that without a steady and reliable stream of income it won't be able to sustain itself for the long haul and provide expanded services and benefits to its members around the world. Just like our coaching businesses, the IAC needs a source of income to fuel its day to day activities, implement new initiatives, and fulfill its vision. As a result, as announced in the November Voice, the IAC will begin charging annual membership dues of $129 starting January 1, 2007.
How did we arrive at an annual membership fee of $129? The Finance Committee, Board of Governors, and committee chairpersons spent several months working on a budget that takes into consideration the needs of IAC members for tangible benefits, the needs of the organization for fuel to run on, and the need to keep the fee affordable and consistent with similar organizations. As you can see creating a financially healthy organization that can serve its membership both now and in the future is a balancing act. Like planning a road trip you must look at your starting point, your destination, your vehicle requirements, and your purpose in order to figure out how much gas you'll need. After all, you don't want to get half way there and run out of gas money.
The implementation of dues is an opportunity for all of us as members, whether we have the time to volunteer or not, to pool our resources in order to nourish and sustain the IAC. We serve the IAC and it serves us. Check out the October Voice for a reminder of the expanding services provided to coaches by the IAC. While volunteers will remain the heart, head, and soul of the IAC, it needs a healthy and steady flow of energy in order to thrive, mature, and grow.
As a prosperity coach working with individuals, I have noticed that people's relationship with money is often a reflection of their relationship with themselves. Have you noticed how hard it can be to ask others to pay us for the benefits we offer if we don't value ourselves? The same can be said for the IAC as an organization. The time has come for the IAC to recognize the value it provides and to ask members for dues in return. I hope you will join me in expressing gratitude for the present and future benefits offered by the IAC and become a paying member in this outstanding international organization.
Jean Gran, IAC-CC Treasurer, International Association of Coaching Prosperity Coach jgran@crocker.com
Members Speak Out
IAC certification is one of the most rigorous and thorough testing in the coaching industry. As a founding member I am honored to be one of the first coaches to be certified by the International Association of Coaching. I highly recommend membership and certification through the IAC. I have received many benefits including liability insurance at a reasonable rate.
As an active coach since 1998, long associated with the International Coach Federation, I recognize the great diversity in coaching styles, methods, and perspectives. The perspective of the IAC, which focuses on coaching proficiency and excellence regardless of coach-specific training, makes a valuable contribution to our profession. The important question is not, "Were you trained?" The important question is, "Can you coach?" The IAC credential answers that important question. Proficiency-based, the credential evokes greatness in coaching.
Coaching Moments "Coaching Moments" takes a thoughtful, and sometimes lighthearted, look at how coaching can be interwoven into our daily lives.
'tis the season to be coaching…
by Janice Hunter
There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. Edith Wharton
Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa – rituals of love, faith and gratitude that bring light and warmth, celebration and festive fun into the weariest corners of our winter hearts. But for me, if ever there was a coaching season, a time for coaches to really shine and co-create miracles, this would be it.
Winter can be cold and dreary here in Scotland. We're sometimes lucky enough to get a crisp, white Christmas, but most of the time we trudge our way through damp, dreich days, biting winds and a cold that cuts through to the bones. But wherever you live, whether you're in the north, surrounded by people snowed under by stress or in the south where families are frazzled by the heat and preparations for family feasts and festivities, this is when we as coaches can truly thrive and come into our own.
Our common aim is to help people remember what their hearts already know.
By being authentic and generous, we can fan each spark of human kindness into a flame that warms whole communities; we can help our families and friends to pause and take a breath; we can share a smile with the strangers we meet every day. In the brightly lit streets, crowded shopping centres and bustling department stores filled with the sound of carols and holiday favourites, we can still cherish the spirit and wonder of childhood and use it to fuel our fight against the soul destroying consumerism that threatens to wipe out our world.
If we can share the precious gift of our time, gladden the heart of a single child, make a homeless person warmer, a vulnerable person feel a little safer, a hungry person nourished, an older person feel like a cherished treasure trove of wisdom, experience and memories – then it adds a new perspective to our anxieties about how our internet marketing is doing, how many e-books we've sold today, how many email addresses we've garnered, how many teleclasses and phone clients are on our books and whether or not we've been certified by strangers.
What better time to listen carefully to the voice inside us that first led us into coaching and other caring professions.
What better time to share our gifts.
We've been lucky enough to learn the skills of knowing how to love without judgement, how to bring out the greatness in everyone we touch, how to get to the heart of what's important. We know how to help people focus, to get centred in the present, to build glorious futures on the foundations of past achievements. We know how to help people discover their authenticity and contribute their unique gifts to the world. We know the power of serene moments of silence, of gratitude for the single breath that means our soul still has a human home. If we only have time to say one prayer for the joys that have been revealed to as coaches, let it be "Thank you!"
I thought I'd be tempted to write this December column about homely rituals that make my simple life seem rich and abundant, like my special winter mulled fruit juice for kids and drivers – apple, blueberry and orange juice spiced with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
I thought maybe I'd wax lyrical about creativity, making our own crackers and Christmas cards or that I'd describe in detail every glittery gold, green and red treasured bauble in my home.
I half wrote an article about my favourite heartwarming holiday films, tales of childhood faith, second chances and integrity like It's a Wonderful Life, Groundhog Day, Prancer, Scrooged and If You Believe.
I thought of sharing the story of how my nine year old son finally asked for the truth about Santa last month; there was no consolation for him in my explanation of Santa being the holy spirit of love in our hearts that makes every day feel like Christmas.
I thought I'd share my musings on the innkeeper's wife (did she bring snacks and blankets?) and my curiosity about what was going on in the minds of the mystical Magi as they travelled with trust towards strange lands and the promise of a new life filled with hope.
Instead, I found myself remembering a serious wee Scottish girl wearing the cowgirl outfit Santa had brought her, chewing on a brand new pen and dreaming of being a writer some day. She would like to say thank you to every single one of you for reading this far. Every word you read creates a miracle and breathes life into her childhood dream of touching people with her words.
My thanks go to all of you who've sent emails and overwhelmed a forty-seven year old mother of two with your kindness and appreciation. Thank you to those who've volunteered to be recorded clients for me and given me the chance to serve you until some day I stay silent long enough to stumble across those two frustratingly elusive passing sessions I need to become a certified coach.
I mentioned two passing sessions to a friend in an email the other day and found myself humming it to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas – you know the one, five gOlden RINGS! (….and a partridge in a pear tree!) So here's my gift to all of you coaches going for two passing sessions, hoping to make this the year your certification dreams come true. Sing along with a smile before you tackle the rest of your email inbox!
In my last days of taping, I'll give the IAC… curious exploring honing in and sharing relishing the silence questions bold and daring fun and provocation love, support and caring feeling what is perfect 5's for most things! team work design perfect time not a single '3' and a pass that's agenda free!!
Wishing you what you'd wish for yourself this coaching season – Janice
Janice Hunter lives with her family in Scotland and is currently working towards IAC certification. She particularly enjoys supporting other coaches through her writing and can be contacted at ezinenewsletters@aol.com.
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This Thanksgiving I had much to be grateful for including my involvement with the IAC. As a retired CPA,
IAC certification is one of the most rigorous and thorough
As
