Today's Coaching News
Here you will find the most current news items on the topic of coaching including everything from the serious to the sublime.
These nuggets are collected and updated daily to keep you in the coaching loop around the clock. That's a lot of coaching-related news. All in one place. So you can read it at your leisure.
Want it delivered to you? Sign up for our free RSS feed or follow us on Twitter @CoachingCommons and never miss a story!
Coffee not included, sorry.
Disclaimer: Today's Coaching News posts are not our original reporting and we do not assume responsibility for the content of these stories. We aggregate coverage of coaching as a service to our readers, with stories reproduced exactly as we found them on the web, with the original source clearly included at the top of each story.
The Oklahoman: Celebrity Life Coach Rhonda Britten Bringing Tour to City
March 18, 2010 – The Oklahoman – Oklahoma City, OK, US
Are you unemployed or feeling fearful about the future? TV life coach and author Rhonda Britten wants to help.
Britten will present her “Fearless America Tour: Inside & Out,” a motivational workshop, from 7 to 9 p.m. today at Unity Church of Oklahoma City, 5603 NW 41 in Warr Acres.
Britten’s 40-city tour is geared to help Americans overcome the emotional “doom and gloom” of today’s troubling economic times, using motivational techniques that have helped many Hollywood personalities overcome emotional hurdles on VH1’s “Celebrity Fit Club.”
19Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedBradenton Herald: Meditation Brings Happiness, Not Just Stress Relief
March 18, 2010 – Bradenton Herald – Bradenton, FL, US
I’m excited to be teaching meditation with the Chopra Center this weekend. They’re hosting their signature six-day meditation program, Seduction of Spirit, on Marco Island, near Naples.
So why am I excited to teach this ancient practice? I want others to experience the physical, emotional and spiritual health I discovered. Rather than give you a textbook rationale or the latest research on how meditation alleviates anxiety, let me share with you my experience.
Initially, I was a skeptic. I could hardly see the benefit to my stress level of sitting in a chair with my eyes closed and having a zillion thoughts race through my mind. I’d tried meditation before with little success. However, as some of you may know, I had a heart attack — a fluke, the doctors called it — and I wanted to prevent future attacks. I had none of the heart disease risk factors — had low cholesterol, low blood pressure, low heart rate, no family history indicators, exercised, was trim, didn’t smoke — so the doctors had no lifestyle advise or medications for me. I seemed the epitome of health.
19Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedMTV: What’s Up with Simon and Ryan’s Tension on “American Idol?”
March 18, 2010 – MTV – New York, NY, US
Aside from the whole singing-for-a-shot-at-stardom part of the show, “American Idol” has long featured a parallel story line chronicling the sometimes awkward, schoolyard-bully relationship between top-dog judge Simon Cowell and host Ryan Seacrest.
Over the years, that battle for supremacy between arguably the most important person on the show, established TV/music mogul Cowell, and Seacrest, who has his own ever-expanding media empire, has featured insults, vaguely sexual jibes and a whiff of condescension from Cowell amid a general sense of friendly rivalry.
But this week, that tension boiled over not once but twice during the live programs in two incidents at the top of the shows that human-behavior expert Patrick Wanis said revealed a lot about the uneasy dynamic between the men.
19Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedModern Mom: Nurturing Creativity in Your Children
March 18, 2010 – Modern Mom – Pacific Palisades, CA, US
In this age of video games, Internet , and TV, do you ever wonder how to encourage your child to be more creative? All children are creative and creativity can be expressed in many ways. Your child doesn’t need to show signs of being the next Picasso, Beethoven, or Frank Lloyd Wright in order to be creative. How they build with blocks, solve jigsaw puzzles, or even how they dress their dolls are unique ways they express themselves. Here are 5 ways to nurture your child’s creativity.
Creativity exists within all of us. Enjoy and celebrate all the ways your child demonstrates their curiosity and creativity. This helps build a close and caring relationship with your children while teaching them to be strong and independent thinkers.
Margalit Ward, an ICF-Certified Life and Executive Coach, co-founded Get Up Girl Coaching, which specializes in women’s empowerment programs. She had four years of formal training in Counseling Psychology from the University of Santa Monica. Margalit is a contributor to HuffingtonPost.com, FindBliss.com, and a coach for life by me.
19Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedGlobe and Mail: Frankly Speaking
March 19, 2010 – Globe and Mail – Toronto, Canada
Nancy MacCready-Williams was a newly minted executive with the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia when she chaired a meeting on a new initiative the organization was evaluating.
Moments after the meeting started, Ms. MacCready-Williams quickly weighed in with her opinion. It didn’t go over the way she thought it would.
There are compelling reasons for employees to make feedback a two-way street, says Alan Kearns, founder of career-coaching firm Career Joy.
“Giving feedback says you’re confident in your strengths and in your value,” he says.
Not only does providing it signal to your boss that you’re an empowered employee, he says, but it can also underscore your value to yourself. “It can give you a sense of control over your environment.”
19Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedArizona Republic: Horseback Therapy Promotes Healing
March 17, 2010 – Arizona Republic – Phoenix, AZ, US
A 1990 incident on the edge of a New Zealand cliff changed Scottsdale resident Dyane Golding’s life.
Golding fell of the cliff accidentally and broke her back. Doctors diagnosed her as a paraplegic, but Golding wouldn’t accept that.
Golding, a certified life coach, has four rescued horses at her hacienda-style ranch in the Rio Verde foothills.
Clients interact with the animals as individuals, couples or groups. Activities generally include problem-solving and “trust” exercises, obstacle courses and one-on-one sessions with the animals. Corporate coaching and team exercises also are popular to hone leadership skills in business settings, Golding said.
18Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedKansas City Star: UMKC’s MBA Coach Finds Success in Classroom, Not On the Court
March 17, 2010 – Kansas City Star – Kansas City, MO, US
Coaches Bill Self, Frank Martin and Mike Anderson are household names in the Kansas City area. But there’s another successful college coach who has nothing to do with dribbling, passing or shooting a basketball.
Sandra Kruse-Smith has been coaching students in UMKC’s Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration’s executive MBA program since 2005.
“I work with students to help them apply what they learn in the classroom to specific problems they may be facing at work,” she said.
Or as Joan Gallos, academic director for the program, put it: “We want to have a program that is relevant to our students’ career success, so what they learn on Saturday they can apply on Monday.”
18Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedOK! Magazine: Charlie Sheen Heads Back to Work (with a Sober Coach)
March 16th, 2010 – OK! Magazine – USA
Charlie Sheen headed back to work on the set of Two and a Half Men today, TMZ reports, after pleading guilty yesterday to three counts related to an alleged domestic violence incident involving his wife Brooke Mueller.
In a pic posted on TMZ, Charlie was driven to the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif. to begin shooting his final four episodes of the sitcom. He’ll go back to rehab at night and have a sober life coach on the set during the days. Read more.
17Mar2010 | coachingcommonsadmin | 0 comments | ContinuedTelegraph: Teenage Mothers to Get Life Coaching Under Government Plans
March 16, 2010 – Telegraph – London, UK
The support from new “nurse practitioners” follows a series of pilot schemes in 60 areas around the country which found that young women who received intensive advice were far less likely to smoke, have a second child and split up with the father of their baby.
Breast-feeding rates were also improved, and nurses were able to negotiate child care and other support from family members.
“This intensive, one-on-one life coaching by a specialist, dedicated nurse who they know and trust can make all the difference to a woman’s life, and ensure that her child does not become dependent on welfare in the future.”
17Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedBC Local News: Business Boot Camp for Youth
March 15, 2010 – BC Local News – British Columbia, Canada
ome with an idea and leave with a business plan – that’s the objective of a free business boot camp for young entrepreneurs in Abbotsford this weekend.
The three-day course is a chance for young adults aged 18 to 34 to get the information and confidence they need to start a business and keep it going.
After speaking with friends about her idea, a number of local business owners jumped on board, including Chad Gibson, a private consultant and business coach; Simon Levin, a partner in Motus Design and Development, which creates sportswear; Mark Holland, a chartered accountant; and Tana Plewes, the CEO and founder of the Discovery Centre for Entrepreneurship, a community partner to the Canadian Youth Business Foundation.
16Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedEntertainment Weekly: Check Out the WNBA Star Who Can Fix Your House–And Your Life
March 15, 2010 – Entertainment Weekly – New York, NY, US
When I first heard of HGTV’s new series Home Rules, which combines life coaching and home décor, I thought: Genius! Sign Me Up! What could be better than a calm mind and a beautiful house? Therapists would be so much better if they also helped you organize your closets.
I’m surprised this show hasn’t happened sooner – I mean, how many times have you watched Supernanny and thought the kids would be better behaved if they lived in a cleaner house? And don’t get me started on some of those Wife Swap freaks who look like they belong on Hoarders instead.
Enter life coach/former WNBA star Fran Harris who helps families tackle their homes and their problems. I like Fran’s approach – she’s tough love but not too mean, and certainly seems knowledgeable about how to help folks with their lives (and their curtains).
16Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedThe National: Career Balancing Acts
March 14, 2010 – The National – Dubai, UAE
While many of us grew up being encouraged to pursue just one career, increasing numbers of people are taking on second jobs in the well-being sector to help them to flourish as individuals. Their roles are often far less lucrative than their other jobs, but these coaches, teachers and therapists say their well-being work has given them a chance to achieve a work-life balance and personal growth where their often more isolating or money-focused first jobs have not.
By learning to coach, give someone a massage or teach meditation, the practitioners can not only help other people to be healthier and happier, but also encourage themselves to eat better, sleep better and find a more worthwhile direction in their lives.
These roles have also helped them perform their other jobs better, they claim. Janice Barnett’s work as a life coach helped her find balance in her life while she worked as a diplomat at the British High Commission in Dubai. Before that, she worked in law enforcement.
15Mar2010 | admin | 1 comment | ContinuedNewsOK: Your Business Coach – A Healthy Attitude Toward Risk Is Important
March 14, 2010 – NewsOK.com – USA
“Oh, you’re just being negative.”
Imagine this. You’re working in information technology in the year 2000, the midst of the telecommunications boom. While reviewing project risk items — uncertain events with a potential impact — your chief operating officer utters this statement.
But you’re not “just being negative.” You’re talking about risk, and sometimes it’s one of the hardest messages to deliver. Regardless of a project’s scope or size, risk must be addressed. Oftentimes, business stakeholders, like the COO, do not want to hear about what “might” go wrong.
It’s now easy to see how symbolic that statement was of the time and market conditions. Business was “booming” and the expectation was clear: get moving on everything at once. You were not rewarded for playing safe. You were rewarded for being a thought leader, making bold moves and taking risks.
The result: a knockout punch to the face. If only the COO and other company leaders had guarded the corporate chin a little, the particular company in this real-life scenario might still be here today. But because they lacked a healthy attitude towards risk, the stage was set for failure.
Clearly, business cycles are results of the economic philosophy of the age. Businesses become more or less risk averse depending on how they are doing at the moment. When bad things are happening to initiatives, the risk attitude is often out of sync with the cycle in which we are living and working.
It begs the question: Will the result of this current economic downturn be a more balanced and realistic risk attitude, giving the best chance for success going forward? Read more.
14Mar2010 | coachingcommonsadmin | 0 comments | ContinuedBoston Globe: Communication Breakthrough – Family feuding? Some Say It’s Time To Call In The Coach
March 13, 2010 – Boston Globe – USA
It wasn’t a crisis, or a conflict, or even a quandary that spurred Ilene Sharpe to seek help for her and her child last spring. “It was more of a dull ache,’’ says Sharpe, a middle-school health teacher from Natick. Without an acute issue or troubled history to address, Sharpe felt that she and her 26-year-old daughter didn’t need to see a psychotherapist. Instead they made an appointment with a professional coach.
“I look at it like going to the dentist,’’ Sharpe says. “It’s almost like a checkup for your relationship.’’
For two decades, life coaches have been helping individuals to identify goals and maximize potential, but more and more families are turning to coaches for help navigating the thorny terrain of parent-child relationships and group dynamics to achieve a greater sense of well-being as a unit.
“I’m a firm believer in therapy,’’ says Sharpe, “but coaching is very different. Instead of talking and thinking and trying to understand the past, you start from where you are and move forward. It’s very active and hands-on, and for us it created a deeper trust.’’ Read story.
13Mar2010 | coachingcommonsadmin | 0 comments | ContinuedThe Drum: Mason Zimbler Creative Boss to Present Business Planning Outlook at SXSW
A creative director from Bristol based Mason Zimbler, part of the Harte-Hanks group is to present a new outlook on business planning at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival.
On Saturday, David Sloy, creative director at Mason Zimbler and Ian Sanders, an author, business coach and marketer will launch their concept in a “Big Conversation” panel session at the festival.
The theory, called “Unplan your Business,” acknowledges the unpredictable nature of business today, and advocates agility and action over unnecessary research and planning.
Sloly explained, “We aren’t repositioning Harte-Hanks strategy here. This idea reflects the strategic thinking of all smart businesses from start-ups to established companies such as Google and Red Hat. These businesses are adaptable and flexible, with people making decisions without hesitation.”
12Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedThe Globe and Mail: Who Would Turn Down a Promotion?
March 12, 2010 – The Globe and Mail – Toronto, Canada
Ken Werker vividly recalls two years ago, when an accomplished vice-president of finance at a mid-sized professional-services client firm turned down a lucrative opportunity to move into the corner office.
“This person really just enjoyed finance, where he had a comfort level. He had no aspirations to be the CEO. In fact, he had an aversion to being the public face of the company, ” recalls Mr. Werker, the managing partner of Vancouver-based executive-search firm Odgers Berndtson.
Many people also don’t want to get involved in the corporate “minutiae, politics and that kind of stuff” that comes with a more senior job, says Michael Stern, president of executive coaching and leadership-development firm Michael Stern Associates in Toronto.
12Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedDublin People: Patricia’s TV Show is the Right Job
March 11, 2010 – Dublin People – Dublin, Ireland
A POLISH woman living on the Southside who was made redundant last year will be one of six unemployed people to take part in a new RTE television series that attempts to steer them onto the right career path.
The fly on the wall programme ‘Rising after Redundancy’ will follow the attempts by career specialists to help motivate and advise the six recently unemployed participants to choose a new career that suits their interests and abilities.
The series followed participants as they were filmed in the six month project from August 2009 to February 2010.
Successful career coach John Fitzgerald, who owns his own company Harmonics Career Coaching Ltd, will tell viewers how he believes many unemployed people are looking for an instant quick fix.
However, Mr Fitzgerald believes this approach inevitably leads people right back to where they started on their career paths.
12Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedCity Wire: Critchleys Signs Deal with Professional Life Coach
March 10, 2010 – City Wire – London, UK
Oxford-based Critchleys Financial Planning has joined forces with a professional life coach to enhance its proposition to clients.
Critchleys’ partner Jason McGuigan said the firm had formed close relationships with its clients, and at times some of the conversations it has with them get beyond the realms of finance.
As a result, McGuigan and his company have struck up a relationship with a London-based life coach who will work with Critchleys’ clients on more personal aspects of their lives.
11Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedHuffington Post: Personal Branding from the Inside Out
March 10, 2010 – The Huffington Post – New York, NY, US
I’ve been a Personal Branding coach for a large part of my working life – I’ve had the privilege of working with a group of men and women who in many ways have been my teachers. When I began my retail fashion business in the late 70s, the branding aspect of my business focused on what I now describe as Outer Branding. Outer Branding includes attire, grooming, our physicality and the way we communicate verbally.
I’ve been fascinated by the different ways people communicate with each other for as long as I can remember. And over my many years in the worlds of fashion and retail, my attention shifted from Outer Branding to what I now describe as Inner Branding. Your Inner Brand includes your attitude, values, your behaviours, self esteem and your level of confidence. It also represents the different ways you communicate without words.
11Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedBND: Your Office Coach–Emergencies Sometimes Intrude on Vacation
March 9, 2010 – BND.com – St. Louis, MO, US
QUESTION: Whenever my daughter “Alicia” tries to take time off, her manager interferes. Alicia has a responsible position in which she coordinates a variety of projects. She earns several weeks of vacation every year, but has difficulty using them.
If Alicia tries to plan a trip, her manager often asks her to cancel, sometimes at a moment’s notice. When she does get away, she still gets phone calls about problems with various projects. None of these matters are truly urgent.
I believe that management should try to work around Alicia’s vacation plans, but her boss clearly doesn’t feel this way. How can my daughter take some needed time off without fear of a last-minute cancellation or repeated interruptions?
10Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedWoking People: What Kind of Motivation Inspires You?
March 9, 2010 – Woking People – London, UK
After studying the basics of life coaching and NLP I would like to share an interesting theory with you all. Why? Because it’s interesting and also because you can put it to use in everyday scenarios straight away.
There are two types of people when it comes to motivation – ‘away froms’ and ‘towards’. These two types of people are inspired and motivated by different things – and understanding this can help you communicate and work effectively with both types.
First let’s figure out what type you are…. Would you feel motivated if someone said to you ‘when you meet this target you will get a bonus’? Or are would you be more motivated if someone said ‘if you don’t meet this target you won’t get a bonus’? If you answered yes to the first question you are a ‘towards’ person, answering yes to the second question means you are an ‘away from’ person.
10Mar2010 | admin | 2 comments | ContinuedGuelph Mercury: Cancer Survivor Becomes Wellness Coach
March 9, 2010 – Guelph Mercury – Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Lynn Roodbol was 41 when she learned she had breast cancer. Six months later she was also diagnosed with colon cancer and then skin cancer. All this a year after her husband had lost his job.
It was a devastating period and Roodbol said she felt helpless and hopeless as she became a pincushion for chemotherapy, at the beck and call of her doctors, and faced with the very real spectre of her death.
“I had myself in a pine box,” Roodbol said quietly. “I really thought I was going to die. But my husband coached me through it and I had a huge support system. And somewhere along the way something changed.
“The light went on for me and I stopped that downward spiral. I wanted to do anything I could to live again.”
10Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
