President's Letter for April 2014: Time for Renewal

Time for Renewal

ICF Membership Renewal: In what ways do you intentionally renew your professional life and work? I remember the first time I attended an ICF Chicago chapter meeting. I was a new coach and desperate to meet other coaches and see people face-to-face after starting a coaching practice based mostly on virtual clients. My first ICFC meeting I put my name in the hat to volunteer to be on the ICFC board…I love being behind the scenes and part of what makes a great organization work.

It’s interesting that membership is an annual commitment. An annual opportunity to renew our commitment to our profession, our professional development, and an organization that provides resources to help me succeed as a professional coach.

Betty Terrell, ICFC Director of Membership, points out the following benefits of an ICF Membership:

• Professional development: Enhance your coaching abilities and grow your confidence and competence as a coach. 
• Collegiality: Know and become known among Chicagoland coaches. 
• Credentialing: Grow your credibility and professionalism with an ICF credential. 

The ICF has a wide spectrum of offerings for coaches at every level of growth. Individual coaches are free to customize their membership by selecting which membership benefits to enjoy.  Now it's finally April, after the most challenging winter in decades.  Our membership team invites you to our next Chapter Meeting on April 14th; we will celebrate spring's arrival and the start of the 2014 membership renewal period.

For more on Member Benefits, click here or email Betty at membership@icf-chicago.org.

*When you renew, don’t forget to click the “Chicago” box to indicate that Chicago is your local chapter.

Personal Renewal: An author and speaker who has inspired me to be more intentional about integrating renewal as a daily practice and way of life is Tony Schwartz. Hi article “Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time” speaks to distinct ways to integrate renewal as a regular practice to sustain energy, build capacity, and increase productivity.

How do you renew? Check out this 31 minute talk by Tony Schwartz and start building a lifestyle of renewal today.

April Core Competency: Creating Awareness!
What direct communication do you need to bring as a coach to your clients this month? This year?

Job Posting!
Check out our LinkedIn group “International Coach Federation Chicago Charter Chapter” for Chicago based job opportunities.

With Joy,
Wendy Balman, CPCC, ACC
ICFC President

An Introduction: Chair of Member Relations

Dear ICFC community,

I would like to use this opportunity to introduce myself as the new Chair of the Member Relations Committee, which is one part of the Membership Team. It’s an honor to be a part of such an amazing and enthusiastic coaching organization. I very much appreciate the opportunity to meet other coaches, become more grounded in my new profession and strengthen the professional identity and standards for coaching.

As I become more familiar with the work and tasks of the Member Relations Committee, I would like to share with other ICFC members the purpose of this Committee, the one that considered to be a “customer support center” of our chapter.  

The main goals of the over-arching Membership Team for the near future are:

• to grow the ICFC coaching family,
• to develop the competencies of the member coaches and increase their professionalism 
• to create a place for coaches in Chicago area to meet, brainstorm and share advice and encouragement, 
• to establish clear and transparent communication between ICFC and coach members.

As you can see, the Membership Team is dedicated to supporting you! We are here to listen to your ideas, suggestions and concerns, and provide the best support we can. 

Over the next few months, as the Chair of Member Relations, I will be highlighting the benefits that your ICFC membership provides.  I'll begin this month with the chapter meetings.  Here are my favorite takeaways from my own participation in  Chapter meetings:

• new insight and ideas from seasoned and successful speakers,
• a community of amazing and very diverse coaches,
• personal connections (It's great to be part of a virtual community, but it can never take the place of a warm smile, a handshake, the joy of a first encounter and a warm hug at the end of the day,)
• the comfort of being among peers, talking about similar problems and professional trends (that is why lawyers have their bar associations),
• CCEU’s.

If you have any questions, suggestions, and/or ideas about how to make our chapter meetings more attractive and beneficial for you, I would love to hear from you.

Looking forward to meeting many of you at the next chapter meeting on April 14th.

From the Chair of Member Relations,
Sofia Burau

NEED HELP WITH THE CREDENTIALING PROCESS?

Does the process of getting credentialed
as an ACC, PCC, or MCC seem overwhelming or confusing?
Do you have trouble navigating or interpreting the requirements for each level?

Well fret no more, because help is on the way for our ICF-Chicago members.
In recognition of the increasing importance of becoming a credentialed coach, we have recently formed a new Credentialing Committee to support ICF-Chicago members who
want to become credentialed. Although we are just getting started, our goal is to make
the credentialing process more accessible by providing a point of contact to whom
members can direct their inquiries, helpful links to the global ICF website containing credentialing requirements for each level, and a clear roadmap for how to become credentialed. We will also update you periodically with any changes or other important information regarding the credentialing process. Stay tuned for future updates, including
a summary of revisions to the credentialing process effective this April.

We welcome your questions, as well as your comments as to the type of support you
need or would find useful. Questions and comments can be directed to Nancy Bellis,
the Credentialing Chair, at credentialing@icf-chicago.org.

Help us make ICF-Chicago achieve its vision of being the premier coaching resource f
or its members!

Nancy Bellis is an executive coach who brings a unique perspective to her role by drawing
upon her extensive experience as a corporate lawyer. In addition to her JD, Nancy has a
Master’s degree in Counseling and Organizational Psychology to complement her business acumen, legal capabilities, and proven leadership with executive coaching and leadership development skills. Nancy provides one-on-one executive coaching and group coaching across
a variety of industries, and has a passion for helping professional women navigate the specific challenges and choices they encounter throughout their careers.