Burning Up the House
By Lable Braun
Mark Tuesday, April 8, 2008 on your calendars. It will turn out to have been a very significant day in the history of the Coaching vocation. On that day at CAM (The Conversation Among Masters) in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina a most amazing discussion took place over lunch. CAM had brought together Master Certified Coaches, and others who play a significant role in the world of Coaching, to have a meaning-full conversation. And what a conversation we had over that lunch!
Gathered around the table were some of the most experienced practitioners of the coaching art, several of whom had been present at the creation. They had built this profession, and now they came together to set it on fire.
Looking out the windows of the meeting room at the Grove Park Inn, we could see the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains stretching out before us. As the conversation unfolded about the future of Coaching, we were put in mind of how, on those mountains, both Nature and Humans will sometimes set fire to sections of the forest to create the opportunity for new growth. We wondered whether, before we could contemplate the future growth of Coaching, we would first have to courageously examine what it is time for Coaching to let go of. We wanted to set the profession on fire with all its glorious possibilities. We knew, at a gut level, that the new fire would have to be fueled by burning up the house.
Imagine, if you will, the courage it took for those who had built the structure of this profession to now examine what they had to say good-bye to in order to insure its future. But there was no hesitation, no regret. The task was approached with a sense of joy and a feeling of liberation. It was a moment for smashing taboos. Anything was on the table. We would refuse to be bound by tradition or convention. The foundation for the future would be preserved. That which had once served us, but now limited our growth would be released with honor and piled on a hero’s pyre.
Brain sparks flew around the table, igniting conversation and illuminating the path. These are just some of areas the group was courageous enough to put the torch to (Warning: Coaching traditionalists may find some of the following to be shocking and inappropriate for children):
- Being ‚Äúagenda-less‚Äù is a myth. It’s not all about the client. The client is part of a society, as is the coach. The coach has a duty to promote social responsibility in the client.
- Certification is a barrier to many who could greatly benefit the future of coaching. We must welcome those who can help us build that future.
- Coaching has become isolated as a profession unto itself. We must burn down the walls and play in other professions’ sandbox, and welcome them into ours. Even if it means foregoing the safety of the title of ‚Äúcoach.”
- If there is to truly be a Coaching “profession”, we must stop fragmenting and must open up the borders within the profession. Any profession, to be worthy of that title, must be based on a solid academic foundation which validates it to society and prepares future professionals. And academia means openness, the free exchange of ideas and methods. Which Coaching school one graduated from must no longer matter. Which certification one holds, if any, must no longer matter. We must not hold on to our ideas as if they were property. Rather, we must plant them as seeds for the new growth in our Coaching forest. The ideas that unite us and promote our growth must be nurtured. The ideas that divide us and lead to stagnation must be tossed in the fire.
- To become a ‚Äúprofession,” Coaching has come to take itself much too seriously. It has lost the whimsy, humor, and perspective that, in the beginning made it such a powerful tool for personal development. We must be willing to let go of the ‚Äúseriousness‚Äù and return the sense of ‚Äújoy‚Äù to Coaching.
- Most importantly, we cannot hold on to the way things are done today simply because we have become masterly at it. If finding new approaches to Coaching means that we must return to a Novice state, we must be willing to place our Mastery on the fire. If integrating with other professions and sources of wisdom means that we become children again, then we are ready to play.
The question, of course, was faced: What next? We realized that the path to that answer might be different for each of us. We decided to pursue a Quest for Fire. We were put in mind of the legendary Grail Quest. No one on that Quest had a clear idea of what the Grail would turn out to be. They just knew they had to search. They each had an individual path to the common goal of the Grail.
We, too, would pledge ourselves to such a Quest. We would individually search for the future of Coaching. And we would form a sort of Round Table here at the Coaching Commons to share what we had learned on the Quest, and to mutually support each other as we faced the Monsters that any Quest inevitably encounters.
We had lit the fire, and it warmed us and lighted the path. But we know there are two types of fire. The ancient Greeks created the word “pyros” for the ordinary, consuming sort of fire that pyromaniacs use so destructively. They also had another word, “tekein” for the melting, shaping, creative sort of fires that tek-nologists use so creatively.
Will the fire that was lit that day be a “pyros” or a “tekein”? Only we – and you – can determine that.
NOTE: Thanks to all who sat around that table and sparked the fire! Lable Braun, Linda Conklin, Joan Cook, Lynne Gilliland, Ruth Ann Harnisch, Susan Klein, Andrea Lee, Maggie Lichtenberg, Rich Maxwell, DJ Mitsch, Isabel Parlett, Jay Perry, Bobette Reeder, Jim Richmond, Drazia Rubenstein, Laurie Sheppard, Diane Krause-Stetson, Scott Wintrip, Karen Wright, Kathy Baske Young.
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Comment by Coach Lynn Kindler on 11 April 2008:
WOW!! Lable, this is fantastic!!
I first found out about “coaching” from Steve Straus in 1998. I was skeptical at first, but some of the things that Steve talked about (28 Principles of Attraction) got me curious. I think I held the record as one of his longest continuing group coaching call-ees ever!
Then in 2001 I met Scott Wintrip (Staff U) through an article about him in the Purple Squirrel Magazine. Scott inspired me to become a Coach too so I enrolled at Coach U, hired Helene Van Manen as my Coach and the rest, as they say, is history.
I’ve met some incredible Coaches along my journey and got to be one of those many who were part of Thomas Leonard’s brainstorming R&D groups of which he was so infamous.
Out of Coach U, I met three very special Coaches who have been part of a MasterMind/Book club group we call “The Explorers” since 2001.
What I miss most about the early days of Coaching was the very energy, spark and courage your group dared voice in your brainstorming session. Fantastic. Get it all in the middle of the room and really look at it. Bring back the magic. And I gotta tell you that “stuff” I didn’t know I had is coming up about it too. I’m glad I’m a COACH U Graduate and an ACC and as much as I’ve been dragging my feet to get all my info together for my PCC, I’m glad there is a distinction. I’m glad I’m a SUN Certified Coach.
Me the woman/girl who used to challenge authority at every bend.
Love this, wanna be part of it!!
lk
Comment by Lable on 11 April 2008:
Hi Lynn,
Glad to know you, and welcome to the conversation!
Yes the energy you refer to was clearly present at the table while this conversation was being born. We need to return to the excitement of innocence, the sense that something new can burst into the Universe at any moment through our Coaching, not the feeling of doing it all once again, just as it’s always been done. I think we all want to bring the spirit of adventure and discovery back to Coaching.
I think you have every right to be proud of your certifications and your lineage. Looking at your website, you seem to have a very spiritual approach, and I would certainly resonate with that. But I think we also need to acknowledge that Coaching cannot fit comfortably into any box. Some coaches dance in the spirit, others play in the pragmatic possibilities. It is all Coaching. Every client is different as well. They, hopefully, find the coach that is right for where they are. We need to see the different schools, I believe, as different colors of the same tapestry. It’s all Coaching, and it’s all powerful.
I hope you’ll bring your inner-subversive to the conversation as we burn up the house and make a space for what wants to be re-born, re-discovered, and re-experienced.
Lable
Comment by Beth Barany on 16 April 2008:
I love the spirit of adventure and quest emanating from this conversation. I’ve recently started asking, “What if we are the heroes of our own adventure?” And more applicable to my work, because I need a powerful focus, “What if you are the hero of your own creative book writing adventure?”
I love what you all are cooking up, and too want to be a part of the fire. May it be a tekein fire, and let the pyros have its place.
Thanks for showing us a powerful way into this intense shift.
Comment by Lable on 16 April 2008:
Hi Beth,
I really like how you honored both the pyros and the tekein. That is my philosphy: both have its place in the balance of the Universe. Like you, though, I hope that this one is a tekein fire in that I believe shaping, crafting, creating is what’s needed in this case. We must melt and be re-formed.
I also like the idea of asking what if we are the heroes of our own adventures. You know, it has always struck me that Science has shown that there is not a single atom that my curent physical structure has in common with the “me” of 10 years ago, and that “me” didn’t share a single atom with the “me” of 10 years before that. So then, what makes all those physical instances “me”? There is only one answer, as far as I am concerned. “Me” is the narrative thread of the Story of my life. There is only Story and the Vacuum.
Wlecome to the Quest, Beth. “Well met!”
Lable
Comment by Susan Fuller on 16 April 2008:
Thanks for sharing and for inspiring coaches to expand their horizons.
About a year ago, I realized I needed to expand my community beyond the confines of the coaching community. I have found that journey to be immensely stimulating and has made me a better coach. I have also changed how I describe myself–not so often calling myself a coach but more frequently describing what I do for people…and not just because it’s good marketing but because it much better describes my identity.
And thank you for acknowledging uncertified coaches. I am not certified nor do I have any aspirations to be. Honestly I lost interest in the whole process when I strongly disagreed with the “right” answers on the IAC exam, and ICF has never done anything to inspire me.
All in all, I think you’re on the right track. It’s great to see.
Susan
Comment by Lable on 16 April 2008:
Hi Susan,
Thanks for your encouragement. I think the insularity of Coaching was required at first as the new vocation searched for its identity. Now, like a butterfly emerging from its protective chrysalis, the mature vocation needs, as you say, to expand its horizons. The world beyond Coaching has so much to offer us, just as we have so much to offer the world.
Like you, I have not used the title “Coach”. I’m reminded of what the mystic Jakob Boehme used to say, “One has to go beyond God FOR god.” Some concepts are too big to be kept in any box. Like you, I have chosen to focus on what I call the “verb-ness” of Coaching, rather than the noun of Coach.
You seem like a kindred spirit. Welcome to the conversation.
Thanks.
Lable
Comment by Harriette Lowenstein on 16 April 2008:
An inspirational article to be sure. As a licensed psychotherapist who relies heavily on a coaching paradigm, I am happy to see that the notion of certification is no longer important in the eyes of the “elitists.” Even though my training and degree are in clinical psychology, my sensibility and values are more closely aligned with the self-improvement and actualization that coaching encourages. I am interested in becoming more involved in the brainstorming and masterminding the Coaching Commons is generating. How can I help?
Looking forward to the possibilities,
Harriette
Comment by Deni on 16 April 2008:
I love all of this conversation and freedom of expression. I have to say that I’ve “coached” people for the last 26 years in the fitness industry….running along beside them as they learn (about their bodies) how to ride the bike.
Over the years I’ve acquired 3 personal training certifications, 2 advanced certifications and a multitude of special workshops, programming tools and CEU’s under my belt. Lots of bucks.
My husband has always said, “You could have paid for a PhD by now!
Almost 9 years ago, I took a Phone Coaching certification to get the tools and skills (I didn’t think I had) to work with people over the phone….Coaching them through the process I’d done in person for over a decade.
A year ago I decided to get my (life) coaching certification from CCU, added the People Model Practitioner license to that. Now a year later, I’m looking at being another coaching certification so I can do what? Where does it stop?
I’ve been told by many that my coaching skills are excellent. I believe this is natural….it’s from my gut, my soul. I truly don’t think it’s anything that I’ve paid THOUSANDS of dollars for!
And if I get that next certification?…….try adding on over $3T more!
What are we doing here?
Coaches coaching coaches, everybody has an angle, everybody has a system that makes you a better coach.
Trust me. It ain’t so.
We should be in the business of moving people, changing lives….not making each other broke in the process.
As a fitness professional, I’ve been doing that for almost 26 years. Why did I think I needed to “have more” or “be more” to coach people as a “life coach.” Wasn’t I doing that already? You betcha!
And now, almost $10,000 poorer from thinking I had to do or be more, I’ve gained nothing but some friends on the way and a few people I feel ripped me off….not just me, but others. And to get help, well, let’s just have you pay more money or upgrade your “membership.” What is that about?
If I had to do it all again, I’d have 1 personal training certification, 1 specialty certification, no coaching certification or licenses.
Do I think coach training is important? I do. Allow me to go further.
In the fitness profession, you can get extensive, and I mean extensive training on to do very detailed (and some clinical) fitness assessments, postural analysis, movement observation screening, health risk appraisals, consultations, program design, program supervision….add to that special population concerns and programming…..the list goes on and on and on.
This knowledge, these tools, skills and education/hands-on experience can cost you anywhere from $500 to $3-$5,000. And yes, you need to keep your certification current every two years. Why? Because things change, lives changes, health changes, people change. They need to know that you’re always on top of your game.
With coaching….it just doesn’t compare. And yet, coaching certifications are priced out of reach for so many, that the coaching industry is missing out on some amazing coaching talents.
When individuals ask me about a good certification organization in the fitness industry, I have my thoughts and opinions. I offer them when asked. I’ve lead my share of inspired gift givers to become amazing fitness professionals.
When the day comes for someone to ask me about a good certification organization in the coaching industry…..I’ll be speechless. I’m just not convinced that the certifications, as they are now, are necessary.
The training can be good, the tools can be good, but I cannot say that all the money you’re expected to dish out and end up coaching coaches…..
Oh yes, then you have to pay somebody else to show you how to actually, and I mean REALLY get your business going.
Think I’ll stop there. I love what I do. I love what I’ve done. I love what I’m about to do. I am blessed!
Whew! I’ve been wanting so say some of that for a year now. Thanks for listening.
Deni
Comment by Beth Barany on 17 April 2008:
Regarding coaching certifications, I backed into mine, one as a Creativity Coach, almost kicking and screaming. Creativity means no rules, right? Or some such rebelliousness. Honestly, I was attracted to the concept of coaching through the medium of the creativity lens. It fit so well with what I had done (teach English to foreigners, and teach other topics of my design, tarot being one!) and am (a writer).
The training was decent: through email and over the phone; we’re a fledging profession within coaching. We learned mostly through doing; theory had nothing to do it, for me. And I liked it that way.
What I help people with comes mostly through my own life experience. In the end, isn’t that what we’re offering? I mean, how can I be compassionate and gently nudge a client toward their said goals, if I haven’t worked through the same?
I’ve learned the most about coaching from being coached, and that’s a fact.
Comment by Terri Z on 17 April 2008:
Deni — right on!
I was attracted to coaching first because some of my fellow ex-Nortel employees were doing it and I was intrigued. Took my first coaching “training” from Doug Silsbee (whom few probably have ever heard of); on the first or maybe second day I was doing a partner exercise and my partner said “you’re a natural at this”. And so I attempted to set up a practice, get clients paying me monthly, etc.
At the same time I joined CoachVille. In retrospect I think I was attracted to CV because of Thomas’ genius (and the genius of those around him) and because the business model intrigued me. A couple of years later Thomas was gone, I’d stopped actively building my practice to work on this other project (solo-e) and about a year after that just stopped calling myself a coach.
But at the same time I’ve read all of Andrea’s books and have been a msoci/mscc member for a couple of years — not for the coaching training but for the business model, the breakthrough thinking, and the genius that is Andrea.
I’ve never pursued certification (after 2 master’s degrees and three other industry certifications, I was done with that!) because I believe that client wants results, which have nothing to do with a piece of paper.
And so I’m watching this next phase of coaching evolution with curiosity — but nothing more. I don’t feel part of it. I want to mentor/consult/advise at some future point (this year?) — but I’ll never call it coaching. What I do take away from coaching is really what I learned from consulting — if you can get the client to go the right direction and think it was their idea…you will be successful. A crude definition of coaching, definitely. Accurate? You decide.
Thanks Deni for opening that conversation angle!
Peace,
Terri Z
Comment by Lable on 17 April 2008:
Welcome to the conversation Harriette, Deni, and Terri!
I am really enjoying this conversation about certification. I think it is a central issue for the future of Coaching, and is causing many people who can receive benefit from, or provide benefit to, the Body-of-Knowledge of Coaching to just get frustrated, give up, and walk away. I think you all speak for the experience many have had with Coaching. I know you speak for my experience with it.
But I’m not ready to say that certification is totally useless. I think it’s not an either-or. It has its place, but only under certain, narrow conditions. I see three possibilities (and in only one is certification helpful):
1) The practitioner wants to hang out a shingle as “a coach” and it is important to the client to know that the person is certified to do so. I don’t want to judge a brain surgeon, if I needed one, on their results with me. By then, it is too late. I don’t want to judge a cab driver by their results. I don’t even want to judge the person who cuts my hair by their results. If it is important to the client, going in, to know that the coach is certified, then those of us not interested in certification will have to forego that client relationship.
2) The practitioner wants to hang out a shingle as “a coach” and it is not at all important to the client whether they are certified or not. This could be the case when an instant connection is made, or the client has come to the coach based on reputation. In that case, I don’t think certification is necessary.
3) The third scenario is the one that I have chosen, and it sounds like many of you are choosing it as well. This is where the practitioner does not hang out a shingle as “a coach”, but incorporates elements of the Coaching Body of Knowledge into their practice of some other profession. In this case training and networking are helpful, but certification is not necessary. Rather, the preactitioner might want to pursue certification in another discipline.
I think it is the third scenario that will become more and more prevalent, and the challenge for the Coaching profession is to welcome us into their training and networking opportunities without demanding certification in Coaching. On the other side, we who practice other disciplines that can benefit Coaching, must welcome coaches into our training and networking without demanding they become certified in our areas of practice.
I think that would lead to a very fertile interchange of ideas and practice.
Thank you all for the great conversation!
Lable
Comment by Izabella on 18 April 2008:
Hello All,
I have just stumbled onto this amazing website thanks to a tip from Andrea Lee, who reprinted “Burning Up the House” in her newsletter, and I can’t believe that I didn’t know of its existence before. The conversation here is exactly what I’ve been longing for, ever since I got my certification and entered the great world of full-time coaching about a year ago.
The topic that particularly spoke to me here was the one about coaching profession becoming isolated unto itself. And especially this: “If there is to truly be a Coaching ‚Äúprofession‚Äù, we must stop fragmenting and must open up the borders within the profession. Any profession, to be worthy of that title, must be based on a solid academic foundation which validates it to society and prepares future professionals. And academia means openness, the free exchange of ideas and methods.”
It is probably a mark of my over-extensive academic background, but I’ve gone through a period when I felt increasingly uneasy about the fact that, despite all the schooling, the intellectual roots of coaching still remained unclear to me. Nobody dealt with the subject at the school I went to, so I set out on my own exploration. I uncovered humanistic and trascendental psychology, pieced that together with the elements of Eastern spirituality and New Age thought, and the whole picture sort of started to make sense to me. But it’s still a jumble.
In the meantime, there is a whole new and exciting Positive Psychology movement happening in the academe, which is all about shifting the emphasis of pscyhology away from pathologies toward positive emotions - specifically, to the question of what makes us happy and how we can live a happy life.
And this is where it gets interesting. If you read the 6 tips for happiness by one of the leading stars of Positive Psychology, Tal Ben-Shahar — http://talbenshahar.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=56 –
it sounds exactly like coaching. So my question is - Why aren’t we talking? Well, I actually tried to talk and did a brief interview with Tal for my blog, but what I mean, of course, is - why isn’t Coaching, as a discipline, talking to Positive Psychology as a discipline? Why aren’t we coming up with joint fields of research, uncovering new and better ways of helping people get to the next level, etc.?
Or maybe it’s happening, and I’m just not aware of it, in which case please forgive me for this post. What I’d love to see happening is that coaching gets together with positive psychology and whatever other fields that are uncovering the same truths about joyful and empowered living that coaching brings to the table. There is power in joint efforts. If we are to reach people who are in desperate need of coaching but don’t quite know what to make of it, we have to enter the mainstream in a way that makes sense to it. I think it would do wonders for the credibility and maturation of the profession.
Thank you all for the great discussion!
-Izabella
Comment by Russ on 19 April 2008:
I’ve been looking at the coaching field for some time, unable to figure out a way in. For some reason the direct approach does not necessarily appear to be the way to go. Hanging out a shingle, labelling yourself a “coach”, immediately invokes all sorts of resistance from people and the universe in general. Even those who claim to want and need those services manage to avoid following through, probably due to fear of change. I now find myself sidling in obliquely, as an element of another service that’s easier for people to grab onto. My goal now is not to label myself as a coach, but to have other people do so.
Comment by Lable on 19 April 2008:
Hi Izabella,
Welcome to the conversation and thanks for the great post. I think you have hit on an extremely important point. Too often, I think, Coaching is seen as the way to deal with “issues” in a person’s life. When the “issue” has been dealt with, the Coaching engagement is expected to end.
What Coaching can learn from Positive Psychology is that it is the Coaching relationship, NOT the “issue” or “goal” that is central to the Coaching relationship. Just as Positive Psychology is working to move the psychological conversation from the study of aberrance to the study of wholeness, a positive approach to Coaching can move the conversation from issue and goals to dealing with the client’s fullness.
And, as you indicate, the change that is required is not limited to Positive Psychology. Coaching must open dialogues to every field that can benefit from the Coaching Body of Knowledge, and vice-versa.
It sounds like the integration of Coaching and Positive Psychology is your personal Grail Quest. Please let us know what you discover, and whether you need support in dealing with any monsters on the path.
Thanks!
Lable
Comment by Lable on 19 April 2008:
Hi Russ,
Welcome! I really resonate with your oblique path. It sounds very much like my Organizational Development practice. Not that OrgDev is that much better defined than Coaching. But it is an established practice within the corporate world and lowers the barrier to entry.
Thanks.
Lable
Comment by Izabella on 20 April 2008:
Thank you, Lable. And Russ, I feel you’ve really nailed it with the idea that calling yourself a coach “invokes all sorts of resistance from people and the universe in general.” I think that this is such a central issue to what we face as coaches that it deserves a separate thread/conversation. I, too, have been struggling with the problem of what to call myself and have yet to come up with a solution that feels true to me…
Comment by Lable on 20 April 2008:
Hi Izabella,
I can understand the conundrum of what to call yourself. Many people involved with Coaching (including myself) haven’t found a name they can feel comfortable with.
For myself, I found the best way was to sidestep the issue entirely - to not worry about what noun I went by, but to incorporate the verb Coaching in everything I did. I don’t care that I now carry the noun “Director of Organizational Development”. That doesn’t say nearly as much about what I offer as that I have incorporated the verb “Coaching” into my approach to the job.
I wrote an article on how this affected my career decisions and approach to Coaching. The article was title “Coaching Nouns and Verbs”. The IAC attributed to this article the inspiration for changing its name from the International Asscociation of CoachES to the International Association of CoachING. If anyone, is interested in a copy of the article, let me know.
Bottom-line, I would suggest that each of us should use whatever noun/title that makes us most recognizable to our target audience/customer base, and then bring the Coaching skillset to that title.
Thanks.
Lable
Comment by Karen J. on 20 April 2008:
This is going to be a fascinating discussion! - Thanks to Andrea Lee for linking here.
http://www.coachingcommons.org/featured/burning-up-the-house/?cp=all#comments
I’ve seen a lot of resistance to “uncertified” coaches on various discussion lists, and I agree that the perception needs to be changed that there’s some kind of *magic guarantee* in a certificate!
This (coaching, or whatever we want to call it) is an arena where “personal fit” and “experience” can be as (or more) important than documentation and education. I’m looking forward to the continuing conversation!
Bright Blessings ~
Karen J.
Comment by Lable on 21 April 2008:
Hi Karen,
Welcome to the conversation! It is a bit like the Wizard of Oz, isn’t it? The Wizard recognizes that the Sacarecrow can think as deep thoughts as any philosopher, but is missing one thing. So the Wizard hands him a diploma and, suddenly, the brainless Scarecrow can recite the Pythagorean Theorem. That is one of my favorite scenes in any movie - ever.
It’s not that diplomas or certifications are meaningless. It’s just that they do not produce Wisdom - they are an acknowledgement of already existing Wisdom. They’re like cash money - very little intrinsic value, but they are a statement of credit in a situation where trust does not exist. When I borrow a cup of sugar from a neighbor, I don’t have to leave cash. The neighbor knows I am good for a similar favor when they need it. When I buy a bag of sugar from a supermarket, however, I need the cash (or some such instrument of credit) because no such relationship of trust exists.
It’s the same with a certification. They’re useful on a cold-call where no relationship of trust exists. But the coaching relationship should not be entered until that relationship of trust has, indeed, been established - because the certification by itself does no good. On the other hand, if the trust is established without the certification, then the certification itself would be vestigial.
The mistake, to my mind, is seeing the certification itself as something of value, as opposed to seing the certification as representing something of value. There’s a wonderful phrase that Huston Smith, the founder of the academic field of Comparative Religion, uses. He calls it “Eating the Menu”. He says many religious people treat scripture as being nourishing, instead of seeing it as representing something nourishing. Eat the menu itself, and you stay malnourished. Order from the menu and eat the food, and you will be nourished.
Since the day I heard that phrase, I am constantly asking myself whether I’m eating the menu. It’s one of the reasons I have not pursued certification.
Thanks.
Lable
Comment by Angela Spaxman on 21 April 2008:
Wow, what a fascinating conversation. The issue of coach certification is something I have been engaged with for some time. I’ve been calling myself a coach for 8 years, I’ve taken hundreds of hours of training and coaching, and yet I have never managed to get certified. (I also never got a degree and I never got married although I am both educated and in a longterm relationship. Maybe I resist documentation?)
And now I find myself in the role of President of the IAC, a coach certification body! I have had to do some serious soul-searching on this issue in order to motivate myself to lead such a group.
I totally agree that coach certification is only a symbol that can help to initiate the development of trust. It can build trust between a coach and client, and it is also very useful in developing self-trust or self-confidence. That is why less experienced coaches tend to be more interested in it.
The reason I wholeheartedly support the IAC certification process is because it is a very effective learning process and it is designed to encourage innovation in the process of learning to coach. It is challenging because the standards are very high. Those who manage to get certified are certainly capable of coaching at a very high level of proficiency. I recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their coaching abilities because I think it is the most efficient way to do so.
So rather than seeing certification as a stamp of approval, (Yuck –who is really qualified to judge the value of coaching apart from the client in the moment that it happens?) I see it as a learning process.
The other reason I am leading the IAC is because it is full of other people like those on this list who will talk openly and thoughtfully about what is really happening in the field of coaching.
Comment by jsibley on 21 April 2008:
I believe that coaching and positive psychology are very much in dialog, at least among some participants. Martin Seligman partnered with Ben Dean for a while, although I’m not quite sure whether either of them is still teaching authentic happiness coaching. Robert Biswas-Diener has a book on positive psychology coaching available here: http://www.amazon.com/Positive-Psychology-Coaching-Putting-Happiness/dp/047004246X
Carol Kauffman is organizing a positive psychology and coaching conference at Harvard this September and there is information here:
http://www.harvardcppi.org/
So, yes, there is a natural relationship between coaching and positive psychology, and I think those in the positive psychology field are increasingly aware of this. It may be that many coaches are not yet aware of positive psychology and what it can bring to coaching.
One additional note. I believe that the fit between positive psychology and coaching is a more intuitive one than the fit between positive psychology and therapy. At a conference I attended last December on positive psychology and therapy, there weren’t any clear answers about how to integrate the finding of positive psychology into traditional therapy. There are times, for example, when people are truly overwhelmed and suffering. This may not be the most appropriate time to talk about “flourishing.” However, as we continue to look at the entire wellness continuum and how therapy and coaching fit together, I think we will have more answers.
Comment by Lable on 22 April 2008:
Hi Angela! Your post represents what I really love about the field of Coaching - the willingness to look fearlessly into the Unknown - because that’s where most of the real learning takes place. For a certifiphobe to accept the responsibility for leading a credentialing organization, and for the leader of credentialing organization to look honestly at the value of certification - in what other profession would that happen? It gives me great optimism for the future of Coaching!
Thanks.
Lable
Comment by Gail Sussman Miller on 22 April 2008:
I stand ready to toss the stated myths into the fire including some perhaps others have already burned, variations, that coaching must be 1:1, that we cannot direct or tell our clients how to do things (when we have expertise in that area), and I happily give up the title “coach” to be trainer, consultant or chief bottle washer as long as I can contribute and create meaning on the way to making money.
Thanks for sharing Lable’s words, a man I admire and have not heard from in too long.
I see a “good” fire here and I am ready to toss a log on.
Comment by Lable on 22 April 2008:
Hi Gail!
Welcome to the conversation. You’re right - it has been way too long, and the admiration is definitely reciprocated. I think you are bringing up a key point. Is our relationship with the client limited by the title of Coach? Do we need to give up the title in order to bring our total selves fully to the client interaction, or can we retain the distinction “coach” and still bring all of our knowledge, wisdom, and guidance to our clients?
Thanks.
Lable
Comment by Sheila Mikulin on 25 April 2008:
“The coach has a duty to promote social responsibility in the client.”
I could not disagree more. Perhaps being completely agenda-less is difficult; however, it is in the striving for this that ennobles the coaching process. The client is aware of his/her own responsibilities to their society based on their own unique values and desires and what they wish for their society. It is not our place to tell them “what to think or do - ever!” How did the coach become a moral authority?
Interesting discussion…..
Sheila Mikulin, M.A.
http://www.lifevisioncoachingllc.com
sheila@lifevisioncoachingllc.com
Comment by Angela Spaxman on 25 April 2008:
“The coach has a duty to promote social responsibility in the client.”
Like Sheila, I also disagree, and at the same time I agree. Let me try to explain.
If the coach tells the client what to think or do, it diminishes the power of the coaching relationship by reducing the coach’s trust in the client and the client’s responsibility for themselves. This is not coaching and is not effective.
There is also a bigger perspective whereby the coach does hold an agenda that enhances the coaching relationship and the value of what is created in the relationship. It goes like this.
The coach believes that the client is always making choices based on their fears and desires, and that when the client transcends their fears to make rational and intuitive choices based on their highest desires, then those choices are for the highest good of society and the planet.
The coach’s agenda is therefore to have the client make choices based on their highest self.
Is this what the group of original log-burners intended?
Do other coaches share this belief?
Comment by Lable on 25 April 2008:
Hi Sheila,
Welcome to the conversation, and thank you for being willing to enrich it by taking a challenging point of view!
First let me say that not so long ago I strongly agreed with your point of view, Sheila, but have come to change my mind. As recently as a year and a half ago, I argued vehemently at a meeting of the International Consortium for Coaching in Organizations (ICCO) that coaches should absolutely not promote a social agenda in their coaching.
My thinking has evolved since then to something very much like your viewpoint, Angela. I certainly can’t speak for the log-burners, but I can tell you where I see it. I think to act agenda-less is not authentic because we are not agenda-less. To take it to the extreme, I don’t think any of us would coach our clients to be great murderers or child molesters, if that was their agenda. What we’d probably do in that case, at the very least, is withdraw from the relationship, and I’m not sure even that would fully meet our social responsibility in that absurdly extreme case.
In the case of most social responsibility issues, it is not that balck-and-white. I am not advocating at all that we decide what is “right” or “wrong”. But I am advocating that we hold the client to the standard of their best selves, however they see their best selves. In almost all cases the client’s vision of their best self is a socially responsible one, and I think we need to coach them to that. However, if the client’s image of their best selves truly is a socially harmful one, I couldn’t possibly coach them to that. If the client wanted help being more effective at an endeavor that involved dumping toxic waste or exploiting child labor in foreign countries, it would be an incompatible relationship and I would feel ethically responsible to withdraw from that relationship.
Does that align with what you were saying, Angela? Is that still something you would strongly disagree with, Sheila?
And thanks again for taking the conversation into an interesting new direction.
Lable
Comment by Angela Spaxman on 29 April 2008:
Hi Lable,
Thanks for extending my explanation. I agree with your comments.
I think the difficulty with this concept is that it makes sense in theory but in practice it might be very difficult to implement. This is, to me, one of the very enjoyable aspects of coaching: to be expanded continuously by our clients to withhold our judgments and use a bigger perspective while staying true to ourselves.
My example would be a client (imaginary) who wants to improve their leadership and is doing that by increasing the sales performance of a cigarette company (or arms company, or even luxury goods …whatever you would label as ‘bad’). While I might not support the products this client is promoting, I believe that developing leadership skills in humans (including raising personal awareness) is inherently good, and so I could focus on that ‘good’ that I’m supporting while assuming the rest is somehow ‘perfect’ even though I may not know how.
So that is the edge we have to walk all the time: the edge between our own moral compass and our ability to trust in a bigger perspective. As usual, it’s a paradox, and the more we do of both the more successful we are.
But it’s tricky to take a moral stand in a coaching conversation. I think the easier way to exercise our moral compasses is in the way we attract clients. As we create our own businesses, we are free to support those whose success we believe will have the biggest impact on what we care about.
Cheers,
Angela
Comment by jsibley on 29 April 2008:
You raise some interesting questions about personal ethics, Angela. There are probably a number of different views on your example within our group. Personally, I don’t think I would accept a coaching assignment that would help someone to do a better job of selling more cigarettes, even if the assignment meant they would be a better, more humane manager. At the same time, I can understand why someone else might take that assignment.
At the same time, there are other potential assignments that would fall into a grayer area for me, and I’m sure we can each imagine potential assignments where we might have ethical qualms.
I imagine there are at least 4 possible decisions when faced with an assignment that appears to conflict with our personal values or morals:
- take the assignment, as we are coaching a person and will help them
- take the assignment and try to influence the person toward our own moral position
- refuse the assignment without clearly specifying any moral grounds
- refuse the assignment while clearly stating a moral conviction
Thanks for an interesting and provocative discussion.
Jonathan
Comment by Sheila Mikulin on 28 February 2009:
Great discussion here. Just wanted to jump in regarding the linking of positive psychology and coaching. Harvard is developing a program specific to this and WellCoaches has used a positive psychology model from the beginning. You can learn more at their website:
http://www.wellcoach.com/
I’ll be back later to include more thoughts about certification…
Sheila
Comment by Sheila on 28 February 2009:
Some links for Positive Psychology and coaching:
http://www.carolkauffman.com/
http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=mapp_capstone
Sheila