– Article by Natalie Tucker Miller, MMC, BCC – Lifetime Member, IAC Lead Certifier, Past President
After 10 years of committed involvement with the IAC, it's interesting to recall my early attraction and what compelled me to consider lifetime membership.
I just knew.
I knew there was something unique, progressive, and visionary about the way Thomas Leonard viewed life and what was possible. The idea of coaches being honored for their coaching prowess, regardless of the path they chose to get there, was something that made tremendous sense to me.
For years as a teacher (early to adult education), I bucked a system that invested time determining weaknesses, in favor of focusing on strengths. My research in this area proved what I knew in my heart: when we value the unique gifts each person brings to bare, the rest will take care of itself.
It is that philosophical foundation that has informed much of my work at the IAC. In 2003, I personally offered what I could in terms of involvement. Joining early, supporting the people doing the heavy lifting, meeting like-minded people who had a desire to contribute in whatever way brought them fulfillment, and drinking in all the coaching knowledge I could. After successfully completing the certification requirements, I was invited to consider training as a certifier.
Shortly thereafter, the IAC was faced with the task of modifying the standards with which they evaluated coaching mastery. Ruth Ann Harnisch, then board member and significant contributor, shared with me the impending dilemma of developing new intellectual property. Dr. Lucia Murphy and I had been creating a model of our own as founders of the Triad Resource Center, and offered Ruth Ann to freely use whatever the IAC needed.
As it turned out, our model became a catalyst for inspiration. Sali Taylor, who had been working and campaigning behind the scenes to upgrade the process for several months, pulled together teams of over 36 coaches from 5 continents and worked for 24 months. Later with Nina East, Karen VanCleve, and myself testing it against the current model, we created what is now considered a gold standard in coaching evaluation: the IAC Coaching Masteries.
During this time, the IAC leadership was looking to the future and succession planning for the next administration. Then-president Barbara Mark and board member Diane Krause-Stetson approached me with their hope to nominate me for president for the upcoming term. This was another "I just knew" moment.
Perhaps it is because of my unflappable belief in coaching or my powerful vision of what masterful coaching can and does accomplish, and/or my attention to my "just knew it" moments – serving on the board only strengthened my commitment. I have served on other boards and when the term was up it was time to move on. Not so with the IAC. To this day, I continue believing in the magic; I get to play with some of the coolest people in the profession and feel a strong sense of personal and spiritual fulfillment as I contribute in my own unique way to the evolution of coaching. It's what everyone at the IAC does. I just know it.
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™.
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