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The ICF’s announcement of a proposed revision of certification standards raised questions and concerns, and within days, a concerted effort across multiple social media platforms aimed at “taking a stand” and stopping the ICF’s plans—replacing them with an open discussion of the proposal.
“It was a collaborative effort of a bunch of concerned coaches,” said coach Vikki Brock, who described the group as a leaderless collection of coaches raising questions and distributing a letter largely by word of mouth—but getting a big boost by networking online.
“The way that it spread is, concerned coaches have been sending the letter and stating their own positions to their network of coaches, and it’s truly, purely grassroots,” said Brock.
Within a matter of days, the ICF tabled its credentialing proposal, scheduled a series of open phone calls on the topic, created a special email address for coaches’ questions and launched a blog for further discussion.
It was, to the coaches involved, a powerful demonstration of how social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, and blogs brought coaches together quickly and organized them effectively—leading to a grassroots victory.
“The sheer ability of a massive number of coaches to organize, share thoughts, check their assumptions, and collaborate with colleagues using social media is exactly what allowed the Board to hear the members,” said Suzi Pomerantz, a Master Certified Coach who signed an online petition asking the ICF to table its credentialing change. Within days of the petition being posted online, more than 600 coaches had signed their names.
“Social media, in this case (was) the voice of the membership,” said Pomerantz.
The ICF’s proposed transition from a three-tiered credentialing program to a single, ISO standard credential grew out of at least two years’ work, according to ICF officials, who describe the process as extensive, researched, and thorough.
“The Board used a wealth of research and information obtained from subject matter experts, including ICF Credentialed members, committees, assessors, consultants and research, to consider various scenarios for enhancing the program,” reads a passage on the ICF’s website. “The action proposed here seeks to develop a credentialing program that will truly maintain global credibility and provide permanent value; be a cutting-edge, competitive and robust system capable of handling a growing demand; and operate utilizing globally recognized standards for objectivity, validity, reliability and security.”
The revision to the credentialing system originally involved maintaining a multi-tiered system, but moving away from that raised immediate concerns among coaches—many of whom spent considerable time, effort, and money to achieve those designations.
“I know the system needs to be fixed, all of us do. Somehow, along that pathway, the board determined they were going to throw out all the credentials that we’ve spent ten-plus years branding in the marketplace,” said Vikki Brock, a past ICF credentialing co-chair who also signed the online petition.
Those concerns, which in years past might have led to letter-writing campaigns and phone calls, instead went directly to the Internet with tremendous speed. Coaches with questions about their credentials and the logic of the ICF’s plans launched lively discussions on Facebook, LinkedIn, and in a record-setting debate on the Coaching Commons started by Jonathan Sibley.
“When I posted my questions on Coaching Commons, I had no idea how much they might resonate with others,” said Sibley. “But the wonderful thing about social networking is that I can post some questions or thoughts, and if they are of interest at that point, I’ll find out quickly through others’ responses. Some topics might be of potential interests, but the timing might not be right, and they may get submerged until the time is right to bring them up again. Clearly, this seems to have been the right topic at the right time, and it’s been wonderful to see the number of contributions and at least some attempts at true dialog.”
As commenters raised questions and publicly asked the ICF to join the discussions—and ICF board members to state their views—coaches were also using the Internet to organize, launching a website, ICFCoachesTakeaStand, an effort that attracted—to date—633 signatures, including five past presidents of the ICF.
Coaches involved in the grassroots campaign to slow down any ICF decision and open up the ICF’s decision-making process said the social media reaction should not have come as a surprise.
“When ICF shook that very foundation of the credentials (and egos) of so many coaches, they should have anticipated a very rapid response,” said Ton de Graaf, a coach who joined the discussion on the Coaching Commons.
“The members could have taken the time to sit down and write a hand written letter to the Board. Looking at a piece of paper, unscrewing their fountain pen, gather their thoughts, writing them down and re-read them the next day before they walked to the post office and mail it, but alas, that’s a procedure from times long gone by. We feel the emotion NOW and want to channel it NOW and want a response NOW. And instead of responding to the boss (ICF) herself, we seek sympathy and help from our peers. And the quickest way to get this is of course through the various social media sites.”
The ICF has gone to great lengths to address coaches’ concerns, writing in an open letter: “Please note that the below information is just a proposal – a concept idea. No final decisions have been made and the Board is currently engaging in conversations with members, credentialed coaches and other stakeholders to collect thoughts, ideas and comments.”
IAC president Angela Spaxman, whose own organization is also in the process of reviewing its longterm strategy, says openness has been a principle reinforced by the recent discussion regarding the ICF:
“One thing I’ve learned from the current situation with the ICF is that these days with the masses of information that people are exposed to, it is necessary to be provocative in order to get people’s attention. If membership organizations present themselves as in control and ‘professional’, they miss the chance to involve the members in the creativity and chaos that is inevitably going on behind the scenes in any creative process,” said Spaxman.
“The chaos may be necessary and valuable in an organization that is committed to being truly progressive and innovative. And exposing some of that chaos and risk may help to provoke the real debate that is necessary to unpack the many new choices we face as coaching evolves.”
That creativity and chaos–accelerated and magnified by social media–is allowing a group of coaches with questions and concerns to unite, organize, and ultimately achieve their objectives all within a matter of days.
NOTE: Vikki Brock is the Team Lead at the Coaching Commons for the Virtual Museum of Coaching and the Coaching Hall of Fame.
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