Learning Agreements—An Original IAC Vision Finally Comes to Light
by Natalie Tucker Miller, IAC-CC
Question: Are these new Learning Agreements aligned with the early vision of the IAC?
The buzz and the questions regarding the newly instituted Learning Agreements for Certified Coaches and IAC Practitioners continue! We’ve covered much of the “how” and some of the “why” from the standpoint of the recent member-driven strategic planning project.
Today we'll look back to the early years of the IAC to understand how this process (of creating the learning agreements?) is part of the picture that began with the earliest visionaries of the (then named) "IACC."
The IAC officially launched on March 11th, 2003, one month after the death of its founder, Thomas J. Leonard.
On June 5th of the same year, Step One (the online exam) of the certification process became available! Since then, slowly but surely, the remainder of the initial intentions have come to fruition, culminating with the recent launch of the IAC Learning Agreements.
When the IAC launched in 2003, the following was included in the requirements for maintaining IAC certification:
Continuing Education Accreditation
Certified Coach Professionals must renew their certification by satisfactorily completing continuing education courses every year. We will begin reviewing Continuing Education programs for IAC accreditation in May 2003. Please check back for more information.
Alas, as with many a start-up organization, some initiatives took priority over others; unforeseen opportunities appeared that required the organization to refocus resources instead of putting that review process in place.
Speaking as a Past-President, I can tell you that this didn’t mean the vision had disappeared, rather some of the steps needed to get there had. And speaking as a coach who recognizes perfection, what has emerged in the time and space between idea and implementation has served IAC coaches in a much more personal and individualized manner!
What do you remember about the early days of the IAC? Or if your membership does not date quite that far back, what are some of the things that have impressed you about the organization? Please add your comments below or email me. I’d love to be able to share more of these thoughts in the future – and maybe even hear from some long-lost friends!
I was fortunate to catch up with Michael “Coop” Cooper, the IAC’s founding president, and members can click through to read what he had to say about the launch of the Learning Agreements:
Members, continue reading here.
To join the IAC, click here.
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, IAC-CC, 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™.
