Strategic Plan Sets Course, Focus‎ on Member Needs

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The ICF Chicago Strategic Plan, 2016 - 2018 (download here) is the result of hard work and many meetings and drafts by the Strategic Planning Committee, subcommittees and input from you through our 2015 member survey.  The process began in June 2015 when the committees were formed and the member survey launched to inform all the work to come.  October 2 and 3, 2015, a retreat was held to review the survey results and review and discuss the work of the Mission, Vision, Values Statement subcommittee (Elizabeth-Anne Stewart [chair], Mary McGuiness, Kam Gupta), establish goals, strategic objectives and tactics.

I would like to thank the dedicated members who were able to attend the retreat: Board members Murray Mann, Evie Burke and Elizabeth Terrell; our loyal members Ben Dooley, Mary McGuiness, Cheri Neal, Elizabeth-Anne Stewart, and Joyce Wietrecki for their role in this process.

If you are interested in contributing to the work yet to be done with the plan’s tactics, please reach out to me with your interest at presidentelect@icf-chicago.org. or call me at 847-454-7400.

Cheryl I. Procter-Rogers, ACC

2015 President-Elect

Regional Awards Task Force - Volunteers Needed

MRAC is launching a special task force which will focus on the Midwest Regional Awards program.  Cheryl Procter-Rogers, the President-elect of the ICF Chicago chapter will lead the effort.  Here are the Awards Task Force objectives:

1. Evaluate the relevance and benefit of an individual awards programs—identify any trends, internal and external factors that may impact the program.
2. Identify best practices to ensure the successful execution of a relaunch of the awards program.
3. Identify opportunities for enhancing or redesigning the awards program.
4. Develop a comprehensive program plan to the advisory council by April 29, 2016.

The work of the committee will begin early November 2015. Estimated monthly time commitment is 8 hours for each member.

Cheryl is currently recruiting members from ICF Midwest Region chapters, who, as part of their employment or volunteer service, have led or been a member of a regional or national awards program. Because research and benchmarking will guide the work of the task force, the chair is also looking to have members who have conducted a SWOT analysis for their organization. If you have any of the stated expertise and are interested in working with this team, please send a short email message to Cheryl at presidentelect@icf-chicago.org by 10/30/15.

A Call for Nominations

Dear Members of ICF Chicago,

We have begun the annual process of recruiting the very best candidates for positions on the 2016 Board of Directors, and we need your help.

We are looking for talented, dedicated leaders – like you and other members you may know – who are willing to give their time and talent to make a real difference in our chapter and our profession.

The positions open for nomination this year are:

• Chair-elect
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Director, Programs
• Director, Membership
• Director, Marketing
• Director-at-Large

Candidates for officer or director positions must be ICF members in good standing.

To learn more about board service and have your questions answered, we will hold two 30-minute informational calls:  Friday, October 9, 11 a.m. CST and Wednesday, October 14, 6 p.m. CST.  Included on the call will be the current president and president-elect.  Call-in information:

Bridgeline: 218-862-3486 Pin: 6969#

The application, position descriptions and timeline will be posted on the website October 1.  You may send questions to nomcomm@icf-chicago.org.  Candidate applications are due on October 30, 2015 by 5 p.m.

Here  is the nominations timeline:

• October 30 - Deadline for applications. 
• November 6 - Nominating Committee presents slate of candidates to the board for review.
• November 10 - Ballots sent to members.
• November 24 - Voting Deadline.
• November 25 - 2016 officers and board announced.
• December 2 - Board installed during holiday reception.

Thank you for all you do for ICF Chicago.  We’re counting on your help once again to take us to the next level.

Sincerely,

Nominating Committee

ICFC Board Position Descriptions
ICF Board Application

A Call to Service - ICF Chicago Chapter Request

Dear Members and Friends of the ICF Chicago Chapter,

Strategic planning is a powerful management tool that is used by many nonprofit organizations to drive sustainable growth and align an organization's vision, mission and goals. We understand the value of this tool and want to create a three-year plan for our chapter. I am writing because I need your help.

I am extending a special invitation to current and past members to join us for two days to help examine our organization and answer questions such as, “Who are we? Who do we want to be?” And, ultimately, you will help us shape the strategies that will guide our chapter over the next three years. We have reserved our monthly meeting location at DePaul University in Rosemont for a two-day planning session. The sessions will be held Friday, October 2, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, October 3, 9 a.m. to noon.

As part of my role as 2015 president-elect, I will facilitate the strategic planning process, including the two-day sessions. I bring more than 35-years of experience as a public relations and communications professional and more than 20 years as an executive coach. In addition, I have chaired, served on and facilitated more than 25 strategic planning committees for major corporations and nonprofits during the course of my career.

To make the best use of our face-to-face time, I am currently organizing several pre-work subcommittees that will prepare reports and recommendations in advance of the meeting. It is our plan to hold a one-hour conference call for all participants September 23rd, 12 noon to 1 p.m. and September 24th, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., to review the process, highlights from the member survey, SWOT analyses, Statements Team and to get your feedback. Please mark your calendar to participate in only one call as the information will be repeated. Details for the calls will be shared closer to the date.

Please consider volunteering for one or more of the following:

1. Attend the Strategy Planning Sessions - October 2 and 3, 2015
2. Serve on or chair one of the prework subcommittees (estimated time commitment of 10 hours or less now til September 18, a bit more for the chair)
1. Internal SWOT Analysis Team: This is an opportunity to take a look at ICF-Chicago’s internal organizational assets resources, members, committees and their responsibilities, culture, systems, partnerships, advertisers, suppliers, etc. One can usually find the information or data needed for an internal environmental scan on our website, financial documents such as budgets, and interviewing current or former leaders. The goal is to collect as much relevant information as possible. The report should be no more than five pages and can include charts, diagrams, etc.
2. External SWOT Analysis Team: This is an opportunity to take a look at ICF-Chicago’s external marketplace realities, competition, social trends, technology, regulatory environment, economy, etc. We want to learn what factors are impacting the growth and brand recognition for our chapter. The report should be no more than five pages and can include charts, diagrams, etc.
3. Mission, Vision and Values Statements Team: This is an opportunity to help the ICF Chicago Strategic Planning committee get a jumpstart on a very important component of the strategic plan, the mission, vision and values statements. You can imagine that there are as many opinions on what it should say as there are coaches on the planet. Your role is to provide a draft of each that can be reviewed by the committee before the in-person meeting for feedback. You might consider providing three versions of each to stir discussion. It is entirely up to the team.

Please RSVP by September 25 to presidentelect@icf-chicago.org
 
I look forward to your cooperation and support as we launch this important work. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. See you there October 2nd and 3rd!

Yours in Coaching, 

Cheryl I. Procter-Rogers 
2015 ICF Chicago President-Elect
presidentelect@icf-chicago.org
847-454-7400

PS. We'd love to have you participate in our strategic planning meeting October 2nd and 3rd! Please RSVP by September 25 to presidentelect@icf-chicago.org
 

August 2015 Presidents Letter

Stand up and be counted! ICF Surveys, Building a Coaching Culture, Key Meeting Date Changes

The ICF Global Community works together daily to advance the coaching industry . . . we all share a collective goal: Transforming individuals, organizations and the world through professional coaching. ~ Excerpt from A Strategic ICF

To achieve this goal, I ask you to participate in the ICF Chicago and the ICF Global coaching surveys and read the 2014 Building a Coaching Culture Final Report.

ICF Chicago Chapter Survey has been extended for a very short time. Your input is key. ICF Chicago is YOUR organization. The overall results will be used to inform a 2-day strategic planning retreat. Your responses are confidential. You can link to the survey HERE.

2015 Global Coaching Survey. The survey will offer a wide-ranging look at the state of the coaching industry worldwide. This is a followup on research from 2007 and 2012. You can link to the survey by clicking www.coachingsurveyy2015.com.

Please also share the above links with your colleagues (both ICF and non-ICF coaches), so that we can generate the most comprehensive results possible.

The 2014 Building a Coaching Culture Final Report is available for free to ICF Members.

Important Dates to Remember

August – No Chapter Meeting

August 5 – ICF Core Competency Call with Ben Dooley, “The 12^th Competency” - 1 CCEU available

Throughout August – Community Coach Cafés 

September 10 (Thursday) – Chapter Meeting; note change of day

Wishing you a wonderful summer!

With gratitude,

Murray

Murray A. Mann
President, ICF Chicago

president@icf-chicago.org

July 2015 Presidents Letter

Resilience Coaching and First Notes From the 2015 ICF Midwest Regional Conference

Dear ICF Community,

Resilience is all about being able to overcome the unexpected.
Sustainability is about survival. The goal of resilience is to thrive. –

Jamais Cascio

You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces - my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined. – Elizabeth Edwards

Our July 13 ICF Chicago meeting program (icfcjuly2015.eventbrite.com ) is
Building Resilience Within Self and Others with Daniel A. Johnson.

Research shows that our fast changing world is creating increasing challenges and stress for most of us. Coaches who develop their resilience coaching competencies become more available and are more equipped to help a client better understand their own strengths, gaps and evolve their resilience. We look forward to participating with you in this highly experiential program and deepen our coaching mastery.

First Notes From the 2015 ICF Midwest Regional Conference

ICF Chicago was well represented and the feedback was excellent. We are asking our members and session presenters Ben Dooley and Adela Peña to share their takeaways with the chapter in an upcoming blog post.

President Elect, Cheryl Procter-Rogers, participated in a full-day session dedicated to helping chapters develop their strategic plans and foster collaboration between chapters
in service of our ICF members. 

On a personal note: I am humbled and honored to have received the ICF Midwest Region Community Outreach Award. I accept the award on behalf of the hundreds of coaches who delivered more than 5,500 pro-bono coaching sessions over the past 5 years.
Our coaching community rocks!

Important Dates to Remember

July 1 – ICF Core Competency Call with Ben Dooley

July 13 – ICFC Chapter Meeting Building Resilience Within Self and Others
                                                                                             with Daniel A. Johnson

throughout July – Community Coach Cafés 

August – No Chapter Meeting

September 10 (Thursday) – Chapter Meeting; note change of day

With gratitude,

Murray

Murray A. Mann
President, ICF Chicago

president@icf-chicago.org

June ICFC President’s Letter

ICF Chicago 2016 - 2018: A Coach Approach to Strategic Planning and You

“With plans and goals, there can be deliberate, intentional dialogue. It can then be a purposeful coaching conversation.” -- Susan Whitcomb

June launches the development of ICF Chicago’s new three-year strategic plan. It coincides with this month’s ICF Core Competency: Planning and Goal Setting which will serve as a guiding principle for the comprehensive work that will take place. Cheryl Procter-Rogers, President Elect, is leading this initiative.

I ask that we all review the core competency in terms of your work with clients and in the context of evolving ICF Chicago. What coaching questions would you ask of the board, strategic planning committee or our members to move the process forward? You can post them on this blog or email the executive board.

Step 1: Member Survey

This month you will be receiving a link to an online survey seeking your input on your vision for an ICF Chicago that best serves you and your clients.

Completing the survey is key to advancing our organization as your partner and serving our community.

You will hear more about our strategic planning process during the next few months and other ways you may contribute.

Important Dates to Remember

June 1 – ICF Core Competency Call with Ben Dooley

June 5 – $100 Discount Ends Online Registration for ICF Midwest Regional Conference

June 8 – ICFC Chapter Meeting

June 18-20 – ICF Midwest Regional Conference

Through out June – Community Coach Cafés 

I thank the many coaches who are contributing to ICF Chicago’s deeper purpose and growth.

With gratitude,

Murray

Murray A. Mann
President, ICF Chicago