by Linda Dessau
"…The more voices that shared, the
deeper my heart opened, and I was moved to tears when one woman spoke of
coaching being freely available for anyone who asked. The process and the
sharing opened hearts and brought visions into time. Overall an excellent,
dynamic experience…" – Dr. Caron Goode
Taking time out of our day-to-day
activities to look to the distant future is a rare and powerful experience. It
is possible for each of us to step back and ask, “What do I want for the future
of coaching and for the IAC?” This is the process that Dave Ellis is
facilitating on a series of conference calls and webinars. He is capturing our
ideas as we speak them and encouraging us to look far out in terms of time,
creativity, and comprehensiveness.
Dave is using a process that he developed
over 20 years ago and has brought to hundreds of organizations throughout the
world. This is a process of looking to the future and creating a clear vision of
what we want. This is not attempting to predict the future, but rather invent a
vision of the future that pulls us forward.
As IAC embarks on four more strategic
visioning sessions in September and October, we want to encourage your
participation by sharing more reflections from our first two calls:
"…The process, led by Dave's calm,
grounded self and easy to follow structure, freed up my thinking – a feeling of
inspiration and possibility came over me. The effect of others responding in
similar ways created an energy of ideas that built upon each other and sprung
forth others. I left the call with my view of the horizon broadened for our
association, for the field of coaching, and for my own place in that field…" –
Catherine M. Miller
"…There was a lot of goodwill on the
call with some big picture visioners. I feel that this is aligned with the big
picture visioning of Thomas Leonard and Dave Buck…" – Linda
Watts
"…I was impressed at how much people
were thinking about the future of coaching and how we would like it to be versus
only thinking about what's happening now. It was very strategic and forward
thinking…There were lots of great ideas thrown out that I hadn't even thought
of. There are many different directions the industry can go. If we're all
forward thinking we can shape it into a very dynamic industry…" – Dan
Roberts
"[After the call, I] felt there must be
more thinking to do, and more ideas to come, and more difference to
make…looking forward to the next call…The really exciting thing for the IAC
would be to be able to take the whole profession beyond what it currently thinks
it can be…I'm interested to see what Dave does differently on the upcoming
calls to take us into that new thinking space. If IAC could succeed in getting
us thinking this way, IAC would be doing something for the future of coaching
and its role in the world that other bodies would not be doing…" –
Aileen Gibb
"[After the call] I was very inspired to
be a coach. I'm comparatively young in the coaching field, mid-30's, so for me
the discussion of 5 years, 20 years, 100 years, really made me feel inspired to
be part of such a growing, exciting, dynamic field…[Since the call] I've
brought myself to each session with a larger sense of purpose…I felt more
connected to a larger community and a larger overall purpose, and that made the
presence with which I was sitting at the table a little higher level and in some
ways more genuine." – Andrew Frank
"What is important to me is that coaching
is viewed as a learning intervention and that coaches are well trained to
consistently seek out ways to improve and develop their skills. I also believe
that it is critical that the IAC support and initiate research around the
masteries and the theories and models that might frame them. [After the call] I
felt like I had been heard. I am glad I was there and have been given the
opportunity to contribute. I'm looking forward to the next calls, to see how
things progress and to hear more about the diverse points of view around what
coaching is and where the IAC should go…" – Gina Blakeslee
As members of IAC, we are looking at what
we want for the profession, for our organization, and for our own practice in
the next five years, ten years, twenty years, and beyond. Dave has even led us
in exercises that stretch our vision out 100 years. This is consistent with the
American Indians belief that a great leader considers his or her impact on seven
generations into the future.
The focus of this visioning is on what we
want, when we want it, with whom we want it, and where we want
it. For now, the how is being postponed. Dave claims that all great projects are
conceived of and committed to long before the how is determined. Once
we have clear and compelling visions for IAC, we well then focus on not just one
how, but on many how’s. We will then create multiple action
plans, multiple ways to achieve our dreams.
There are four more strategy calls
scheduled in September and October, open to IAC members only. Click here to find out more and to join us in creating the
future of coaching and the future of IAC.
You may also click this link to listen to a recording of one of our
strategy calls. As you listen and participate in the process in your own time,
please make note of your ideas and reflections and email them to Dave
Ellis.
"…When Dave Ellis acknowledged my email
after the call I felt cherished and that I belonged in the process, and that's
what members like to feel – that they're consulted and belong." – Susie
Briscoe
