President's Letter for March 2014

IN or ON? THAT is the question!  As coaches, we are consistently challenged with the creative tension of putting time and energy both into the work we do and how we do the work? For example, on the business side of what we do, how much time do we spend doing the work of the business ourselves versus hiring others to utilize their talents on our behalf. Ann Gusiff, in her article “Working ON vs. IN Your Business”
(http://ducttapemarketingconsultant.com/working-on-vs-in-your-business/) distinguishes the difference between working IN and ON your business in the following ways:

 

You’re working IN your business if you’re:
Doing the work yourself                         Selling
Serving clients                                          Paying the bills
Collecting outstanding invoices            Writing sales or marketing materials
Managing employees

You’re working ON the business if you’re:
Doing strategic planning                        Building strategic relationships
Developing and installing systems       Hiring key employees
Identifying new areas for growth        Monitoring key measures
Leading the organization

Do you tend to do one more than the other? Is one needed more than the other this year?
How do we balance between these two approaches to business development and growth in our coaching practices and/or other work we do?

The balance of working IN and ON the work of ICF Chicago is a priority for our Board of Directors in 2014, and I wanted to invite you to notice where these questions might support you in your business this year.

March Core Competency: Direct Communication!
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 a
Chicago-based job opportunity for health coaches.

March Chapter Meeting Cancelled
The March chapter meeting has been cancelled. We have rescheduled Sandy Mitsch’s presentation on “Daring Communication” to our May 12 chapter meeting.

With Joy,
Wendy Balman, CPCC, ACC
ICFC President

ICF MARCH 10, 2014 Meeting Presentation “Daring Communication”

Sandy Mitsch, MCC, CPCC, will guide us through an interactive presentation based on the research done by Dr. Brené Brown.  As a Certified Daring Way ™ Facilitator, Sandy will help us explore where, in our relationships with our clients, we hold back and/or get stuck or just need to show up, be seen and live brave.  She will also share tools and metaphors for helping us do the same with our clients.

Sandy will take each of the components of the ICF core competency “Direct Communication” and unveil another layer of “Daring Communication” with our clients.

 

·         Ability to communicate effectively during coaching sessions and to use language that has the greatest positive impact on the client – practice courage and vulnerability so that we can give ourselves permission or our clients permission to say what is underneath the presenting conversation.

·         Is clear, articulate and direct in sharing and providing feedback – explore ways we can use the Daring Greatly™ Engaged Feedback checklist.

·         Reframes and articulates to help the client understand from another perspective what he/she wants or is uncertain about – learn what it takes to truly be in empathy with our clients and what gets in the way—the barriers to empathy.

·         Clearly states coaching objectives, meeting agenda, and purpose of techniques or exercises – shine the light on trust and what happens with the betrayal of disengagement.

·         Uses metaphor and analogy to help illustrate a point or paint a picture – step into “The Arena”, that place where we feel vulnerable and where the expectations both support our efforts to show up and be seen and those that generate knee-shaking fear.

 

 

 

 

 

Sandy is president of Sandy Mitsch LLC, a coaching and development firm in the Chicago area.  She has more than twenty-five years of direct experience as a leader in executive coaching, organization development, and human resources with experience in various industries and diverse corporate settings. She has been a coach and a member of senior management teams for companies driving executive and leadership development, organizational change, and team optimization programs. Sandy’s fiercely compassionate coaching approach gets to the root cause, creating higher levels of resiliency and success. She helps her clients brave new challenges, and discover and overcome the obstacles that can prevent them from performing at their full potential.

Sandy is a master certified coach through the International Coach Federation (ICF) and is formally trained and certified through the Coaches Training Institute (CTI).  She is a certified facilitator of Brené Brown's The Daring Way™ program, the Team Diagnostic™ suite of tools through Team Coaching International (TCI), and is qualified to administer and interpret several other assessment instruments.

Sandy was a founding officer on the Board of Directors of the International Coach Federation-Chicago and served as President in 2002. She was instrumental in chartering the chapter, writing the first job descriptions for the board, launching the first website and building chapter membership.  Sandy was on the Executive Coaching committee for the ICF from 2005-2007 leading the special interest group for executive coaches around the world.  Sandy is a regular speaker on key leadership topics in the area of human development.

 

SANDY MITSCH, MCC, CPCC, CDWF