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President's Message
As we move toward the end of this calendar year, I am reminded of the amount of energy and support it has taken to bring us where we are today. These past several years have been particularly busy with the transition, upgrades and expansion that has been going on and continues. There are so many of you that have contributed to our growth. We definitely would not be where we are today, without you, our members, volunteers and leaders, going the extra mile to build and deepen our emerging profession and professional association. This includes our amazing conference chairs, chapter leaders, committee chairs, SIG hosts, executive staff, staff, our Board of Directors, and even our new members and volunteers of the future.
From my heart, I want to say how deeply grateful I am to all of you. For your commitment to professionalism. To raising the bar. To setting the standards for what coaching can be, as it emerges more fully into the day to day workings of our world. Thank you.
In particular, I would like to thank one person who has gone the extra mile, over and over again, the past five years: Philip Cohen. Serving as our Treasurer on the global board, Philip has navigated through storms and moved us through our various transitions, with confidence, detailed oversight, professional vision and standards that kept us on track. Philip is one of the reasons we are where we are today. So, all of you, share with me in wishing Philip well as he moves off of the board, after this busy five years! His commitment has made a difference. Thank you, Philip.
Finally, a heartfelt "thank you" to all of you who have stepped forward to contribute in 2007. It will be an exciting year! And, for all of you that have yet to step up, think about how you'd like to play with us, as our profession evolves. Help us to "see around the curve," as Guy Kawasaki says, so we don't miss the opportunity to co-create our next steps and emerge more fully into the cutting edge of possibilities for our work.
Warmly,
Pamela Richarde, MCC
President
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Executive Director's Message
This has been such a busy year, particularly the last several months as we honed in on the ICF Annual Conference, finalized the strategic plan and planned for activities in 2007. I wanted to share a glimpse of these recent activities:
- ICF Annual Conference – More than 1,400 coaches attended ICF’s Annual Conference in St. Louis, earlier this month. The Conference Co-Chairs, Committee members and the many volunteers on site did an incredible job of creating a mix of education for various interest and experience levels and myriad networking opportunities. Preliminary results from the evaluation survey (currently at a 49% response – final due date is December 1) reflect a 4.3 rating on a 5 point scale.
- Strategic Plan – As you’re aware, the board has been working on the ICF strategic plan utilizing your input and information about coaching around the world to establish a solid strategic direction for several years into our future. The plan will be finalized by year end. The next step is to align ICF’s programs and strategies with the plan and establish priorities for 2007.
- Global Committee Structure – The 2007 committee structure is being finalized with appointments being made over the next couple of weeks. Next year’s committees will be aligned with the strategic plan goal areas and their work will be driven by the priorities identified in the plan.
- Ongoing Input from YOU – As we’ve said throughout this year, we need ongoing information from you to continue to evaluate our priorities and develop appropriate strategies. We will continue to seek your opinion on important matters, and I encourage you to let us know what you think.
It’s an exciting time as ICF matures professionally and evolves its programs and services to meet today’s member needs while looking ahead to tomorrow’s possibilities.
All the best,
Lisa Simon
Executive Director
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ICF Strategic Plan Announced
The ICF Board of Directors met prior to the ICF Annual Conference to finalize the primary goal areas of the association's new strategic plan. This plan was developed over several months from input provided by you through ICF surveys and other communication. The purpose of the plan is to ensure that ICF is focused and intentional about meeting your needs and furthering the coaching profession. The entire strategic plan will be published soon; here is the overview.
ICF's Core Purpose
To advance the art, science and practice of professional coaching.
ICF's Core Values
- Integrity: We uphold the highest standards both for the coaching profession and our organization.
- Excellence: We set and demonstrate standards of excellence for professional coach quality, qualification and competence.
- Collaboration: We value the social connection and community building that occurs through collaborative partnership and co-created achievement.
- Respect: We are inclusive and value the diversity and richness of our global stakeholders. We put people first, without compromising standards, policies and quality.
Goals
Goals are outcome-oriented statements that represent what will constitute the organization's future success. The achievement of each goal will move ICF towards the realization of its purpose. The goals are not in any order of priority. Every goal will need to be accomplished if the organization is to fully achieve its purpose.
Big Audacious Goal
Coaching is an integral part of society and ICF members represent the highest quality in professional coaching.
- Goal Area – Value and Benefit of ICF Membership
All members will derive value from joining and participating in the ICF.
- Goal Area – Professional Standards
ICF standards will be the benchmark for professional coaches in theory and practice.
- Goal Area – Research and Body of Knowledge
ICF will be increasingly considered the source of the most credible and trusted industry information for members, the profession and the public.
- Goal Area – Image and Awareness of Coaches and Coaching
The public will view ICF credentialed coaches as the coach of choice in the market.
- Goal Area – Image and Awareness of ICF Brand
ICF will be recognized for advancing the art, science and practice of professional coaching.
The board is currently finalizing the specific objectives under each goal area.
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Preliminary Global Coaching Survey Results Announced
Colin McIlheney, the lead researcher for the ICF Global Coaching Survey being conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, presented some preliminary results of the study during the ICF Annual Conference. This global study is for all coaches, not only ICF members. The survey is available in Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. As of November 1, survey responses had been received from coaches in 52 countries.
The very preliminary findings show:
- 70 percent of the respondents are female; 30 percent are male
- 50.9 percent of respondents are educated at the college level or above
- 46 percent of the respondents have been coaching five years or longer
- 58.1 percent of the respondents coach part-time
- 66.2 percent of respondents have received coach-specific training through an ICF accredited coach training program
- 79.6 percent of the respondents don’t hold an ICF credential
- The leading coaching specialties are: leadership (19.4 percent), executive (18.6 percent), and life vision and enhancement (11.8 percent)
- 70.1 percent of the respondents expect to stay in this profession for at least 10 years.
Surveys are being accepted through December 1. Please submit yours today! If you have any questions, please contact Lorna McLernon at lorna.mclernon@uk.pwc.com. The complete results of the study will be released during International Coaching Awareness Week, February 4-11, 2007.
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2006 Conference News
1,400 delegates from 33 countries attended the 11th Annual ICF Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, November 1-4. Delegates enjoyed amazing keynote speakers, networking events and learning experiences.
Conference Evaluations
The conference evaluation has been distributed to all attendees. Please take a few minutes to complete and submit your survey by December 1. Your input will help us plan even better conferences in the future.
Thanks to Sponsors
ICF thanks the following conference sponsors who helped make this event a success.
Pictures
Would you like to order some photos from the conference? ICF had an official photographer for the event and all the photos have been posted on the Web site. There are some great shots of the events, and lots of people photos. Order yours today!
Awards
Several awards were presented during the conference. These included:
Prism Award
ICF President Pamela Richarde, MCC, awarded two Prism Awards which recognize organizations that have enhanced excellence and business achievement through their commitment to professional coaching as a leadership strategy. The two 2006 Prism Award winners are the University of Texas at Dallas and Verizon Business. The global office of the International Coach Federation adopted the concept of the Prism Award developed by the Greater Toronto ICF Chapter.
University of Texas at Dallas (UTD)
The Executive MBA Program at UTD is an elite educational experience designed to help transform the careers and professional effectiveness of executives and senior professionals working full-time. “We started offering coaching in 2003. Each student is assigned his or her own executive coach whom they work with on a confidential basis. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first university in the world to provide each student with a professional, executive coach for the full duration of the program," said Dr. Jasper Arnold, director of the Executive MBA Program. Dr. Robert Hicks, director, Executive and Professional Coaching, manages the coaching of the Executive MBA students throughout their time at UTD. Many of the coaches are graduates of his Executive and Professional Coaching Program.
The UTD School of Management has given a huge vote of confidence to the coaching profession and is taking a prominent role in enhancing the positive impact coaching makes on the development of business and organizational leaders.
The students in the Executive MBA program are leaders or potential leaders in business, not-for-profit, and various professions. The positive experience they have with coaching in their 21-month program is already having an impact on their organizations, and UTD’s coaching program is perceived as a significant and unique benefit of their educational experience. In many cases, students are supported by their companies in their studies, and the coaching cements the partnership among the student, the company, and the university.
"There are 13 coaches who work with about 80 students. The idea of bringing coaching to the academic environment and to the Executive MBA students, and of introducing future business leaders to the benefits of coaching deserves notice and consideration," said Richarde. "It is an innovative and visionary way of making coaching truly a feature of everyday life."
"We believe that success in business requires much more than simply mastering such business subjects as marketing, finance and strategy," said Arnold. "Executives also need well developed interpersonal, leadership, and self-management skills and these are best learned in a personalized and tailored manner that's appropriate for the individual. That's what the executive coaches do. They work in those areas of development that the individual student needs to better assure his or her business success."
Verizon Business
The coaching program at Verizon Business delivers one-on-one coaching to two broad constituencies – executive coaching to accelerate senior leadership development, and leadership coaching in support of the development of emerging business leaders.
What began as a limited leadership coaching initiative within one segment of the former MCI's Commercial Market’s sales organization has now been developed into the Center for Innovative Leadership, a robust organization within the Human Resources function, with responsibility for leadership development, the succession management process, leadership training and Executive & Leadership Coaching for all leaders at Verizon Business.
"The coaching initiative is considered fundamental to the organization’s strategy for leadership development, and has been in increasing demand across broader segments of the organization over time," said Renee Robertson, director, Center for Innovative Leadership.
The program is now global in scope, with leaders being coached on three continents. In particular, the coaching program has played (and continues to play) a central role in facilitating the development of a new corporate culture in the wake of the creation of Verizon Business through the merger of its two predecessor companies.
The coaching initiative has delivered a consistently high return on investment a more than 900% Return on Investment, as measured by an annual impact study in the past two years. Clients cite the following as having been directly and positively impacted by participation in the coaching program: improved bottom line results, improved overall effectiveness, alignment of business priorities, employee engagement, management team awareness, improved goal setting and strategic thinking, and leader retention.
There are seven coaches who work with approximately 200 clients across six departments of the company. All of the coaches involved in the initiative are members of the International Coach Federation. This is the second year in a row that Verizon has been awarded the Prism award for their commitment to excellence in coaching and for the innovative use of coaching in the corporate setting.
President's Award
Each year the ICF President presents the very prestigious President's Award during the final GALA. This year the award was awarded to TopHuman.
Pamela Richarde awarded TopHuman because:
- of the amazing impact/return on investment for the business and corporate clients they support with coaching
- they have developed 14 coaching and training offices across China and the region (in a very short span of time)
- they have a defined Corporate Social Responsibility program and philosophy
- they have given coaching a true "face" in the region and they are dedicated to professionalism in coaching (supports ICF competencies and ethics)
- in coach training, they offer regular scholarships and Cultural Exchange Programs to professional coaches, worldwide, facilitating connection, community and the expansion of the standards of coaching
Eva Wong and Lawrence Leung from TopHuman accepted the award.
Chapter Awards
There are 147 local ICF Chapters in 42 countries, and 70% of ICF members report being affiliated with a local chapter. During the 2006 ICF Conference, six of these chapters were recognized for their involvement in their local communities.
The first award category was called the Local Spirit, Global Presence – Community Activism Award. This award recognizes chapters who have established a significant coaching presence in their communities. It recognizes local chapters that have successfully established volunteer or pro bono coaching programs that benefit an in-need segment of their communities. Local chapters may also have developed an alliance with a community organization that brings coaching to the community or to outreach organizations.
There were three winners in this category:
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Metro Washington, D.C., United States – Forty-four members of the Metro Washington, D.C. Chapter donated 700 hours of coaching to local community service organizations and victims of Katrina who relocated to the D.C. area.
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Mexico – Members of the ICF-Mexico Chapter participated in the community through pro bono seminars at organizations such as Ibero-American University International Congress, the TDA International Congress in Mexico City and the Junior League Organization.
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States – The Philadelphia Area Coaches Alliance awarded a coaching services grant to Family Support Services, Inc., that provided the nonprofit organization with 108 hours of intensive leadership coaching services, valued in excess of $20,000.
The second award category was called, Finding Our Voice. This award recognizes local chapters who created a successful marketing/PR campaign within their community. Local chapter activities might include: the launching of a successful advertising campaign in print, broadcast, or electronic media; creation of or participation in community-wide education forums or awareness events; or alliances with other community organizations or groups to increase awareness of coaching.
The winners in this category were:
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Chicago, Illinois, United States – ICF Chicago partnered with the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development’s annual conference and coached 136 members with a focus on career planning and strategizing, leadership and effectiveness assessment, and executive coaching. This resulted in an increased understanding of coaching, and new clients for several coaches.
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Nevada, United States – The Nevada Professional Coaches Association's Branding Committee devoted six months to developing a cogent message about the power of professional coaching that would resonate with Nevadans. The committee determined that the spirit of the coaching profession was captured best in the tagline, “Committed to Your Growth and Mastery.” Since January, chapter membership has increased by 66 percent and their mailing list has doubled!
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San Antonio, Texas, United States – In the past year, teams made up of nearly half of the coaches in the San Antonio Professional Coaches Association have partnered to accomplish a comprehensive branding and marketing effort that has led to an tremendous increase in public awareness of what they do as coaching professionals. These tasks began with the design and completion of a new chapter logo symbolizing their “reaching for brilliance” approach to coaching.
Canadian Coach of the Year
The Canadian Coach of the Year Award has been established to nurture and recognize coaching excellence in Canada by honoring a full-time coach who demonstrates a dedication to moving coaching forward in Canada, and around the world, by their professional conduct, personal qualities and high-level commitment to their clients and to the industry. This is a year-long planning process that involves comprehensive submissions from coaches all across Canada, exhaustive interviews of the finalists and rigorous scrutiny by the selection committee.
This year's winner, Steve Mitten, MCC, was announced during the ICF Conference at the choice Magazine booth.
2007 ICF Conference
Please save the date for the 2007 ICF Conference that will be held in Long Beach, California, United States, October 31-November 3.
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ICF Australasia Conference: Request for Session Proposals
ICF Australasia cordially invites you to submit a proposal for presentation at the 2007 conference to be held at the Sofitel Melbourne, Melbourne Australia, October 2-5 (concurrent sessions will be presented October 3-4).
The theme of the 2007 conference is "Creating the Future...Today" and the aim is to inspire the conference community to take action, to think BIG and to use our skills to address the BIG issues facing society. Please take this opportunity to be part of what will be an exciting and engaging program. Submissions will be accepted from December 1, 2006 to January 17, 2007, and we encourage you to forward this information on to others you'd like to see present at the conference.
For all the details about the theme, session tracks and the submission process, please visit the conference Web site.
In addition to downloading the Request for Proposals document, you'll also be able to meet the conference team, give us your ideas and suggestions and join our e-mail list to receive all the news about the conference.
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Learn How to Renew Your ICF Credential
Is it time to renew your credential? We invite you to join one of the following ICF Individual Credentialing Renewal Q&A Teleforums. You will learn all the details of the process and be encouraged to ask any questions you may have.
The dates and times for the teleforums are:
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Tuesday, December 5 at 1 p.m. (New York), 7 p.m. (Paris); Wednesday, December 6 at 2 a.m. (Hong Kong)
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Wednesday, December 6 at 7 p.m. (New York); Thursday, December 7 at 1 a.m. (Paris), 8 a.m. (Hong Kong)
Bridgeline: +1.620.635.9555, Pin: 197#
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December ICF Learning and Networking Opportunities
Virtual Community Calls
Bridge line: +1.620.635.9555, Pin: 197#
Call #1
Date/Time: Monday, December 11: 6:30-8 p.m. (New York); Tuesday, December 12: 12:30-2 a.m. (Paris), 7:30-9 a.m. (Hong Kong)
Program Title: Using Emotional Intelligence to Ask the Powerful Question
Presenter: Marcia Reynolds, MCC
In coaching, we often talk about “listening for” what is really going on and what is not being said. This is a difficult task for the coach as they try to analyze words and ideas. The problem is that “listening for source” is not a cognitive exercise. It is actually the skill of sensing emotional reactions and what these emotions reveal about the client’s real fears, desires, frustrations and dreams.
This session will teach the coach techniques for listening from their emotional brains and how to deepen their gift of intuition. It will then explore how to use powerful questioning to help clients shift their perspectives and reveal their truths based on the information gleaned used emotional intelligence. In the end, participants will have a list model for emotional listening and a list of powerful questions they might use with their clients.
Call #2
Date/Time: Thursday, December 21: 2:30-4 p.m. (New York), 8:30-10 p.m. (Paris); Friday, December 22: 3:30-5 a.m. (Hong Kong)
Program Title: How to Charge What You’re Worth and Get It! 10 Simple Steps to Confidently Increase Your Fees Starting Today!
Presenter: Kendall Summerhawk
Do you dread hearing, "So what do you charge?" Are you hungry to (finally) raise your fees but don't because you:
- Are anxious about the reaction you'll get from current clients (and don't want to risk offending them)
- Keep comparing your fees to everyone else's (worrying that if you charge more than they do no one will hire you)
- Charge far less than you KNOW you're worth (it's hard not to discount your fee when you really like someone and want to help them out)
- Feel embarrassed or uncomfortable talking about what you charge (truth is, you'd work for free if you could afford to!)
- Keep telling yourself you need to wait until you get more experience first (even though your clients rave about you!)
- Don't have boatloads of clients right now so you think maybe it's best to wait (letting that voice of self-doubt creep in and take control)
You’re not shy about what a great job you do for your clients. Nor are you hesitant to confidently coach a client in the right direction, give them your best, and see their lives or businesses change because of how much you help them. So why is it that when you hear, "So what do you charge?" your confidence seems to melt like butter left out in the hot, desert sun? You probably instantly start worrying whether your prospective client will hear you gulp (just trying to get the right words out is tough since they seem to be sticking in your throat), and pray they don't see that tell-tale bit of sweat that just popped out. Something is missing from how most business owners decide what to charge, and Kendall SummerHawk has figured out just what it is.
In a nutshell, most coaches want to charge more, they just don't know how and they're afraid to upset the apple cart by trying something new. So there you have it. The struggle between two competing desires, with you and your success caught in the middle.
ICF Member Calls
The monthly call with ICF members and Executive Committee members will not be held in December.
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Official ICF Resource Partners
ICF has begun to support products and services that will assist members in furthering their ability to coach clients and run their everyday business. Many ICF Resource Partners offer services at reduced rates available only to ICF members. Review all current ICF Resource Partners to see the benefits you can take advantage of!
Resource Partner Spotlight: AccessGenie
 ICF members can now take advantage of an automatic, offsite computer-file backup system at special reduced rates. Eventually, every computer system or hard disk crashes. AccessGenie automatically backs up your computer files every day, saving all your changes and updates. It's easy to use and takes only minutes to set up. You'll never need to worry about losing your files to a crash, casualty or sneaky Internet attack. The system is affordable--it costs only pennies a day--with no pricey devices or tape drives to buy. Download your 30-day free trial.
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It's Not Too Early!
Now's the time to consider exhibiting or sponsoring at the 2007 ICF Annual Conference in Long Beach, California, United States, October 31 - November 3. Here are just a few of the great testimonials from exhibitors and sponsors from the 2006 Annual Conference.
“The ICF Conference was an ideal environment for showcasing our build-it-yourself Web site tool for coaches to a very targeted and qualified group of prospects.” - Deborah Gallant, Coach Power Tools
“We used the ICF Registrant Insert Service to solicit new associates for our very busy coaching business. The quality of inquiries that I have already received is phenomenal. As our solicitation said, we were looking for a ‘...Few Great Coaches.’ The early responses indicate that we reached and peaked the interest of the right people. Thanks for the idea and the opportunity.” - Dan McNeill, CEO, The McNeill Group
Contact David Krause at david.Krause@coachfederation.org for details about next year's annual conference.
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Research Corner
By Dr Don Morrow
Chair, ICF Research and Development Committee
Using Coaching as a Health Intervention
The ICF has demonstrated, very clearly, its commitment to supporting research initiatives at a variety of levels inclusive of the recent commissioning of PriceWaterhouseCoopers to do a massive “state of the coaching industry” study. Research into various aspects of coaching is growing exponentially every year. Evidence-based coaching, evidence-based anything, has become a watchword in the scientific community, almost an acid test for the validity of any research.
From another perspective, it would seem that we need to be at least conscious of practice-based evidence as well. Thus, evidence-based coaching research can inform coaching and so can good coaching practices inform research. This article explains one particular research study where both aspects, the evidence from research and the actual practice of coaching, are held as symbiotic.
There is a rapidly growing body of evidence concerning the effectiveness of coaching as a behavioral intervention for health-related issues/trends such as aging, anxiety/stress, asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), cancer, diabetes, mental health, depression, and physical fitness, to name just some of the areas. Currently, we have two Graduate research studies underway in our Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Program at the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
One of the research studies examines the impact of coaching on increasing physical activity among physically inactive adolescents (12-15 years of age) in London, Canada. Space does not permit descriptions of this study and it is currently still in the coaching stage.
However, we will discuss the second study in which we assess the impact of one style of coaching (co-active coaching, from the Coaches Training Institute) on body composition, self-esteem, self-efficacy, physical activity, nutrition, and functional health status of adults with obesity (defined as Body Mass Index or BMI value greater than 30).
We used a one-group, pre-test, post-test study design that targeted a sample of 20 men and women, aged 35-55 who had a BMI equal to or greater than 30. Two coaches, both certified, professional co-active coaches, were each assigned to coach 10 participants for eight coaching sessions (approximately 45 minutes each session) using health and bodyweight as the over-arching coaching issue or agenda. A research assistant recorded height and weight to calculate BMI and did measurement to determine Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR is one of the most reliable indicators of health regarding overweight-ness and/or obesity and attendant risk factors); and the same assistant administered the short form version of the 36-item Functional Health Status Scale, the adopted Godin Leisure Time Activity questionnaire, the International Physical Activity questionnaire, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale – all of these scales and questionnaires are well accepted and tested instruments to assess and actually measure the impact of a behavioral change/initiative, in this case, coaching.
All of these measurements and questionnaires were administered before (the pre-test) any coaching took place so that researchers could establish a "baseline" of current physical characteristics and health attitudes/behaviors; then, the same measurements and questionnaires were administered at the end (post-test) of eight coaching sessions and once more two months later, the latter to assess the longer-term impact of coaching. In addition, two 24-hour dietary recalls (recollections and recordings of dietary behavior during a 24-hour period) were administered throughout the eight coaching session time-frame. The coaches were "blind" to the results of the pre- and post-coaching measurements.
For those researchers interested in how analysis is done, we used paired t-tests to analyze the data. We hypothesized that BMI and WHR values will decrease while functional health status, physical activity, self-efficacy, nutrition, and self-esteem values will increase by the end of the eight coaching sessions.
Preliminary results have shown that WHR decreased significantly for most of the participants, a very telling measure since WHR is one of the most accurate predictors of potential risk factors associated with being overweight and with obesity. The other results are being assessed at the time of this writing. We believe that the findings from this study will provide concrete and critical information regarding the effectiveness of life coaching as a health-related intervention.
It is vitally important that we continue to build solid, verifiable evidence about the effectiveness of coaching while, at the same time, using qualified coaches and sound coaching practices and techniques to enhance the chances of positive behavioral changes.
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