From the Editor
As a new teacher at my university, I have been in orientation all week long preparing for the start of classes next week. There has been a strong emphasis on our mission as composition teachers to encourage our Freshman to truly consider and examine culture around them. What is being said beyond the text? How can we view the world in a new way? This is a quality I have always loved about the coaching community: coaches are always seeking deeper truths in their own lives as well as their client’s. Allow our articles this month to aid you in viewing everyday life in a deeper way. By reviewing the opinions and ideas of other coaches, I hope it helps to refine your own techniques and skills in your own unique way! Is there something you’d like to see in the VOICE? A particular subject you’d like us to address? Please don’t hesitate to contact us at voice@certifiedcoach.org with comments, questions, event notices, or article contributions. We are always looking for new perspectives and look forward to hearing from you. Best,
Contents From the President – Vicki Zanini Intended vs. Actual Outcomes – Natalie Tucker Miller Meet the Coach – Caterina Arends From the Archives: A New Name Reflects a Broader Mission – Diane Krause-Stetson Member Survey Update – Nina East From the President Greetings, “September days are here, with summer’s best of weather, and autumn’s best of cheer.” – Helen Hunt Jackson
It’s been a busy summer at the IAC. The website project continues to move forward with the support of Natalie Tucker Miller and Nina East, the executive and strategic review committees and countless others. The response to the recent website survey exceeded our expectations and was truly inspirational. Thank you to all who participated. There are additional projects going on as well, which you’ll be reading about in upcoming editions of the VOICE. The board of governors, chapter leaders, staff and volunteers all continue to amaze and inspire me with their endless energy and commitment to serving the coaching community. And now we turn towards a new season and prepare for autumn, which for many means that the kids have returned to school and the refrigerator door is crowded with announcements and schedules. Every September I still get the urge to sharpen a pack of number 2 pencils even though I can’t remember the last time I actually held one. And I still get the urge to crack open a book or take a new class. If you are so inclined, it might be a good time to take a look at the IAC path to certification, if you haven’t already. Start with the Step 1 exam or complete your learning agreement. If you are new to coaching you might start with the IAC Masteries e-book, join an IAC chapter, or listen to the webinar and audio recordings available when you login to our website. IAC certification is a journey and you really do get to go at your own pace. Volunteering is another way to immerse yourself in the IAC community and you will be warmly welcomed. If that interest you, email Ed Britton (Ed.Britton@certifiedcoach.org), Director of Development, and he will answer your questions and get you started. If you are still unsure, send me an email (president@certifiedcoach.org) and I’ll get you connected to all the support and help you’ll need to expand your path to coaching mastery. With gratitude,
Q. I am getting ready to submit my third annual Learning Agreement Proposal, and I’m running out of ideas. Do you have any suggestions? A. When I was a little girl, an incident arose with my mother and sisters whereby something I had done elicited laughter. For me, since it wasn’t intentional, I felt embarrassed and teased. My mother tried to assure me, “Honey, we’re not laughing at you, we’re laughing with you”. The four-year-old Natalie did not agree, and responded truthfully, “But I’m not laughing.” The story has become legendary in my family. As a professional coach, I now look at that situation with the language of the Masteries and, believe it or not, it has guided me when coaching. Little remembrances such as this help me to become a more effective coach, as I can see the distance between the intended outcome and the actual outcome. How can I be aware of these gaps or disconnections in a coaching session? One example is found in “Processing in the present” (M4) with the client, and how it is essential to the whole of the Masteries. Being present allows you to elicit from, rather than lead the client (M3). Or perhaps realizing that regardless of how you see a situation, it’s up to you to be respectful of how your client is interpreting it in that moment (M2). There are correlations of the power of “presence” with all the other Masteries, as well. Think of an interaction in your life where something was misconstrued, cloudy, or confusing. Observe what was happening and contemplate, using the guidance of the Masteries, how various approaches may have provided alternate outcomes. A picture of how the Masteries are present or absent will begin to emerge. Although I’ve chosen Mastery #4 as the centerpiece for this scenario, we could just as easily see connections from the vantage point of any other Mastery. This can be a fun way to create a Learning Agreement Proposal: recognizing how masterful coaching is more than the sum of its parts. Each Mastery can be examined individually, but a masterful coaching process seamlessly weaves all of them together in almost any situation. This type of reflection can easily be incorporated into your Learning Agreement. Anything that encourages you to see more deeply through the lens of the Masteries will naturally support your growth as an IAC coach. Where are opportunities in your life as a way to expand your awareness and understanding of the Masteries? Do you have a question that you’d like to ask the certifiers? Submit your questions here: http://certifiedcoachblog.typepad.com/blog/ask-the-certifiers.html.
Natalie Tucker Miller, MMC, is the Lead Certifier and a certifying examiner at the IAC, as well as Past-President. Natalie is founder of Ageless-Sages.com Publishing (www.ageless-sages.com), and creator of the literary genre, Picture Books for Elders™.
Please send your questions on the IAC Coaching Masteries® and the certification process to certification@certifiedcoach.org.
Meet the Coach: Caterina Arends, MMC, CVCC My father was 44 when, through a series of medical events, he lost his eyesight, becoming totally blind. I was 12 years old at the time, the eldest of 3 children. This experience laid the groundwork for my later understanding. Pierre Teilhard deChardin quotes: “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” My work is my calling. I feel honored and blessed to serve and impact others’ lives for the better. I work along the entire continuum of human growth and development: healing and fostering growth, while teaching life skills and life balance, and inspiring empowerment and service. I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and was shaped by the Native American energy, beauty and wisdom of the lakes, woods and Indian Mounds. In the late 1970’s, I was teaching Human Potential classes at Brevard County, Florida Community College, based on Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and self-actualization. This was the beginning of the Positive Psychology movement, leading the way to Life Coaching. In addition to my Coaching Certification, I am also a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, running a private practice since 1981. Philosophically, I have always come from a coaching perspective, focusing on and building upon a person’s strengths. I am extremely intuitive and empathic. This has led to mystical experiences that contribute to my belief in developing a balance of “feet on the ground and head in the heavens.” I work with people to develop a balance in the 4 areas of their lives: physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual. I also encourage everyone to learn to balance the 3 qualities in the triangle of love, wisdom, and power. This can lead to great joy, meaning and gratitude. My coaching practice Higher Vision Coaching has the tagline of “Inner peace to world peace.” I strive to live my own life as an example of what I teach and guide others to do. In 1994, I was guided to start a global peace project called, “Let There Be Light!”. The focus of the project was to create a web of people, 1 for every 10,000, globally, working with the power of thought and intention to create peace. This is when I truly experienced miracles all around me. I love and believe in Albert Einstein’s quote: “There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle or you can live as if everything is a miracle”. I choose to live and coach as if everything is a miracle.
From the Archives: A New Name Reflects a Broader Mission Editor’s Note: It's been 7 years since the IAC changed the "C" from "Coaches" to "Coaching". In 2014, it's more pertinent than ever, with coaching happening in all areas of life! With a recent headline stating that coaching is becoming one of the fasted growing professions, it's more important than ever to the emphasis on the "verb" rather than the "noun". Read on to see what that means, or visit the article here. A New Name Reflects a Broader Mission
What's in a name? Is there a difference? What is a coach? What is coaching? Instead of limiting the IAC's focus to individuals who have decided to enter into the profession of coaching, the organization will serve all professionals who recognize the value of coaching and apply the coaching approach to their particular profession. The coaching approach has caught on. The techniques, skills and art of coaching are used in a number of professions, including business management, teaching, nursing, and counseling. By expanding the mission and focus of the IAC and welcoming this broader group of professionals, our organization can have a greater influence on advancing the highest standards of universal excellence in coaching, regardless of the context in which the coaching is offered or the title of the person serving as the coach. This discussion is not new. From the beginning, Thomas J. Leonard opined that "Everyone is a coach". Then, as the proficiencies were developed, taught and implemented, it became clear that while anyone can call himself a coach, not everyone can coach proficiently. For the benefit of the profession of coaching, standards were developed and continue to evolve (most recently in the IAC Masteries). A certification process was designed, with a panel of masterful coaches ensuring someone with an IAC certification can demonstrate coaching ability at the highest level. Profession vs. professionalism At the outset of the development of the IAC Masteries, the team focused on the behaviors and abilities that appear during a masterful coaching conversation. These masterful coaching behaviors and abilities could easily be present between a coach and a client, a teacher and a student, or a manager and a direct report. It became clear that it is the way in which the interaction and dialogue is demonstrated, and not the title of the person who is engaged in the act of coaching, that is critical to the professionalism of coaching. Again, this is a subtle shift in wording: "professionalism" versus "profession". Coaches vs. coaching Last year, I read an essay called "Project Coaching: Nouns and Verbs" by Lable Braun. Lable's essay argues that coaches should return to (or not leave) the corporate world to become a coach but to remain within the business world and embrace the many opportunities to coach. (Editor's note: Lable Braun's essay will be printed in the next issue of the VOICE.) And voila! A new name for the IAC I thought Lable's essay was an elegant and compelling illustration of the importance of expanding the conversation in the coaching field, and indeed within the IAC as an organization. After much heartfelt discussion, the IAC decided to use the term "coaching" instead of "coaches" in its name. It's a subtle but powerful reminder to us all about the larger arena in which we can be of service.
Member Survey Update BIG, big thanks to everyone who participated in the recent member survey. 130 of us participated and shared ideas, experiences and "wishes" that will help the IAC continue to improve, meet our needs even more, and fine tune the implementation of the strategic plan. We also have a plethora of new information about the website that will be incorporated into the updates currently in the works. We are still digesting the information – and there was a lot of it! So stayed tuned to the next issue of the VOICE where we'll share a summary of what we, the members, had to say about our organization. IAC Survey Gift Card Winners Thank you to all who completed the IAC survey last month, and congratulations to our gift card winners, listed here: Gina From Mexico Marco from Canada Wouter from the Phillipines Vicky from the US Andree from Canada
Congratulations to Jorge L. España from Querétaro, Mexico who recently earned the Masteries Practitioner Designation!
New IAC Coaching Masteries® licensed schools and mentors
Your Feedback We'd love to get your feedback on any issue related to the IAC. Do you have any questions, concerns, encouragement or ideas for improvement regarding membership benefits, certification, the VOICE, the direction of the organization or anything else at all? Please send an email to voice@certifiedcoach.org. Please help us improve. |
Greetings, 
As summer winds down our family managed a recent camping trip to the Blue Mesa Reservoir, which is the biggest body of water in Colorado, and our visit coincided with what’s called a “super moon”. According to Wikipedia “the super moon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth.” The sky was lit up like dawn at 2:00 AM so I never even used my flashlight, and if there were any bears around they didn’t stand a chance because we could see them coming from miles away. A super moon event isn’t unusual and there is another one occurring on September 9th. I highly recommend watching it from the beach, as the moon’s image reflected in the water is mesmerizing.
Vicki Zanini is founder of Vicki Zanini Coaching & Training. As a certified holistic life coach, she works with individuals and groups who are ready to create new possibilities, boost personal effectiveness, and experience a deeper sense of meaning and inner peace. She has been leading coaching groups and workshops for over 15 years in personal development, self-care, creativity, and intuition. Visit her website at 
At its September meeting, the IAC Board of Governors reinforced its commitment to an expanded mission of evolving the highest standards of universal excellence in coaching. In practical terms, what this means is the Board unanimously voted to change the IAC’s name to the "International Association of Coaching" effective January 2007.