Tuesday, February 26, 2013

President's Letter - Time for a Check-In

What is happening now? When a lot is going on it’s always good to pause for a moment and check-in with what is happening now. As a board, we wanted to let you know about what we are up to and also give you a heads up on some changes to our upcoming chapter meeting/workshop schedule.
March Chapter Meeting – Changes!The March chapter meeting with the Hawks has been rescheduled for later in the year. The Hawks will now lead the chapter meeting on Monday, June 10 (this will be a virtual meeting!) and then provide an
in-person half day workshop on Saturday, September 14.  We can’t wait! Stay tuned for more details for both of these events!
The revised March program details are coming together and should be confirmed this week. We will send an email with details asap!
World Café UpdateLast December, ICF Chicago hosted a World Café event that drew 50+ people. It garnered valuable input from the Chicagoland coaching community on what it would look like for ICF Chicago to partner with them to Learn, Earn and Connect (Engage) in 2013. We collected that input and are taking action as a board. Here are a few things we are up to:
·         We are honing our ICF Chicago membership program to provide more competitive pricing options and more opportunities for ICF credentialed members to get CCEUs (Continuing Coach Education Units). Our formal launch is targeted for June with some pre-launch opportunities in the works.  We are upping the experiential component of our programs, as well as providing alternate meeting options like Chicago-based meetings and virtual meetings (both coming soon!).
·         We started a new Community Coach Café in Geneva, IL – we now have four. http://meetup.com/community-coach-cafe

·         We are committed to the Midwest Regional Conference in MN! If you would like to be a part of the magic, here are ways you can get involved: http://icf-midwest.com/volunteers/

This is just a taste of all the good stuff going on. If you are interested in where your unique gifts, expertise and talents might fit in this community, let me know!
With Appreciation,
Wendy Balman, MA, CPCC, ACC

 







Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Louder in Love?

I read the following article in a local newsletter celebrating Valentine’s Day. It touched my heart and made me reflect on my own attitudes. I am presenting it here ‘as-is’ for all the coaches out there.

A theology professor was teaching about proverbs. He asked his students, “Why do we shout in anger?” “Why do people shout at each other when they are angry?”

The students thought for a while. One of them said, “Because we lose our calm, we shout.” “Why shout when the other person is just next to you?” asked the professor. “Isn’t it possible to speak to the person with a soft voice? Why do you shout at a person when you are angry?”

The students gave some other answers; and none satisfied the professor.  Finally he explained, “When two people are angry at each other, their hearts psychologically distance themselves. To cover the distance, they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will shout to hear each other through the great distance.”

Then the professor further explained, “What happens when two people really love each other?” “They don’t shout at each other; they talk softly. Because their hearts are psychologically very close; the distance between them is very small. When they love each other even more, they do not have to speak, only whisper. The closer they love, the less they speak and more they understand each other.” He concluded.

So, next time you shout at a loved one, know that you are creating a distance between your heart and that person’s heart. 

Hope you all felt loved during this Valentine’s Day celebration. Whisper!
Kam Gupta, Past President, ICF-C. E-mail: Citkam@gmail.com

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Web Watch #6


Nurturing is not just for motherhood – it is also a critical quality for a successful coaching business! Written by Teresia LaRocque, MCC--a Canadian coach.  http://icfheadquarters.blogspot.com/

Nurturing my coaching business…what a different way to think about marketing…and maybe because I am female and also a mother, it speaks to me. I get nurturing whereas marketing carries more fear, at least for me. How will I market my business? Just saying it gives me anxiety.  If I flip that thought process to, how will I nurture my business? That feels different, doable. Something I can wrap my mind around and think about putting into action steps on a regular basis, like making sure that the kids have clean clothes and snacks after school, brush their teeth or get some exercise.  The simplicity of her approach also speaks to me. There are 3 central nurturing points: determine your audience’s biggest issue, educate them and discuss solution(s).  Really clear and concise.  Just to get my feet wet and keep my business in front of my audience, I started sending a “Thought” to my database 5 days a week…it is a 30 second thing that has gotten a very positive response. It is one way I am beginning to nurture my coaching business. 

Respectfully,

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Web Watch #5


As Valentine’s Day approaches and our thoughts turn to relationships, I thought it fitting to look at Doug Silsbee’s latest blog entry “The Marriage of Intuition and Rigor”. http://www.dougsilsbee.com/blog/rigor

This is a relationship that every coach could benefit from examining. Doug is the “presence-based coach” and being absolutely present in the coaching relationship requires a discipline and practice all its own…then to be able to determine when your intuition is truly appropriate and useful to the coaching conversation is a skill on another level completely.  And, one worth developing, I believe.  So many of us in the coaching profession have good intuition skills, but by itself, intuition is not enough.
Your Marriage Life

Here is a great nugget from Doug Silsbee on the partnership of intuition and rigor, “Intuition imbues the coaching process with grace, with art, with connectedness that opens new territory. Rigor is the process of recognizing and owning the inevitable pieces of unfinished business, on holding ourselves accountable to skillful means, and grounding our intuition to ensure that it is truly of service, at least most of the time.”

He phrases this beautifully, almost romantically. If each one of us brought this “marriage” to our practices, to our client relationships it would benefit both parties.  This is definitely worth a read and be sure to check out the comments from his readers which are really insightful.

Respectfully,
Marggie Paris, LSW, BCC