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As the planning committee prepares for the 11th annual Executive Coaching Summit (which will be held November 30 – December 1 in Orlando, Florida just prior to the global ICF conference), I wondered about the evolution of executive coaching and the Executive Coaching Summit and what role the Summit can and should play going forward.
For those who have not attended in the past, the ECS is a forum for highly experienced executive coaches to share best practices, explore recent and current challenges and market conditions, and network with their peers.
It is my understanding (those who were early participants feel free to correct me) that the ECS grew out of a perceived gap in what was offered at the ICF conference for seasoned executive coaches at the time (1999).
Executive coaches who already had significant experience wanted to brainstorm with other senior executive coaches in a way that, at that time, might have been difficult to find elsewhere.
Since then, the International Consortium for Coaching in Organizations (ICCO) was created (I believe, by a number of ECS participants), as well as Coaching Among Masters (CAM). The ICF conference has also evolved over the years.
So, in addition to being curious about others’ opinions about the potential role for the ECS, I have some specific questions, addressed in particular to executive coaches who have several years of experience coaching senior executives:
- Have you found that the ICF conference meets your needs (e.g., networking, professional development, thought leadership) for meeting with other senior executive coaches?
- Are other conferences, such as those sponsored by ICCO and CAM meeting those needs?
- Do you see a need for the Executive Coaching Summit and, if so, what needs might it fill that aren’t being met elsewhere?
Thanks for all feedback.
Jonathan Sibley
More 2009 ECS info.
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There is 1 Response so far...
Hi Jonathan…
I believe any organization is relevant if it meets needs that are currently not being met or explands on what’s out there in a powerful way. ICCO evolved out of the ECS. CAM did not. They are very different conferences, each meeting a need of its own for the participants. The format of ICCO is different as are the groups of people around the table for the conversations so it’s no longer comparing apples and apples.
Those of us who attend the ECS are, or have been in the past, very busy executive coaches with full schedules. To entice them to a conference, they would need to know everything about it about a year in advance to reserve the time, to know the agenda is filled with topics that will expand their thinking and proficiency and be on the cutting edge of what coaching is and can be.
I think some of what the ECS has been struggling with is not having planned it way back when with a definitive topic and agenda so the attendees know what they’re diving into, at least to some extent.
Yes I think it’s relevant and can still be very powerful. I would like to see it separate and distince from the ICF as it’s on a whole other plane as far as I’m concerned. I don’t think attaching it to the ICF right now is in the ICF’s best interests. My three cents