Welcome to The Coaching Commons » career coach

Is This The Right Time To Become A Coach Or Stay A Coach?

Deborah Brown Volkman — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:00:19 +0000

I’ve asked myself this question several times over the past 12 years.

In 1998, I saw a Fortune Magazine article that interviewed people on boats, planes, and exotic locations, coaching clients via the telephone and getting paid a lot of money to do so. I said, “I can do that.”

My journey as a coach began.

What followed was hard work. There were long days and sleepless nights. I had to figure out who I was, what I offered, how I would spread the word, and what I would charge.

I put myself out there in ways I had not done before. I spoke before large crowds. I wrote books. I networked like crazy. I am proud of what I’ve accomplished.

So why do I wonder from time to time if it’s still the right job for me? (Well, I am a career coach, and that’s what we career coaches do)

Really, it’s because the marketplace has gotten tougher for coaches. There are more coaches now. This means individuals and businesses are not sure who to choose. There is less money in customers’ pockets, which means less money in ours.

I continue to be a coach because it’s the best job I’ve ever had. I wake up every morning and look forward to speaking to my clients. People thank me for my coaching, take notes while I speak, and remind me that my words have improved their lives.

Are YOU wondering if it’s the right time to become a coach or stay a coach?

In order to find your answer, ask yourself:

“Do I continue to do what’s in my heart versus what the economy and marketplace is open to paying for at this time?”

“Do I keep plugging away or table my love for coaching for another time?”

In addition, ask yourself the best question that we ask our clients: “What is your heart telling you to do?”

Building, growing, and maintaining a coaching practice takes work. But in this economy, you will have to work harder and longer to live your dream as a coach. You can get there and stay there if you want it and keep at it.

Coaching is something that hits us inside, to the very core of who we are. Once we find out about the profession, there’s no turning back. We know what our calling is -instantly - and we understand what we have to do; become a coach.

If you want coaching to be, or continue to be your profession, don’t give up.

Research the marketplace and offer coaching that solves problems that customers can’t solve on their own. This has always been the “sweet spot” of coaching. Keep looking for your specialty, keep trying out new things, keep doing one thing every day no matter what to build or expand your practice, and success as a coach is yours for the taking.

Losing Her Own Job Paves the Way to Coaching Others

Carol Sorgen — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:00:20 +0000

When Gayle Becker lost her sales and marketing job with an Internet start-up almost two years ago, she was taken completely by surprise. “I didn’t see it coming,” says the Baltimore resident. “For the first time in my life I was unemployed….I was devastated.”

After spending 30 years helping others meet such goals as increasing sales, building customer bases, expanding operations, creating new divisions, and launching entire businesses, Becker, 50, realized it was time to take stock of her own career.

“I took some time to evaluate my strengths and skills and think about what I wanted to do next,” she says. Through her research, Becker learned of the Entrepreneur’s Source, a franchise business consultancy that advises individuals on franchise opportunities.

Becker enrolled in both The Entrepreneur’s Source Academy and E-Myth Worldwide. After graduating and also earning a Certified Career and Business Coach designation from Franchise Source Brands International, she became a franchisee of Entrepreneur’s Source, and now counsels others who are in the same situation she was in.

“I’ve developed a passion for helping people through these challenging times,” says Becker, who has adopted the mantra of Indian philosopher Sri Chinmoy, “True success is the only thing you cannot have unless, and until, you have offered it to others.”

“Everything I do now—talking to people, understanding their pain, helping them develop a strategy for the next phase of their life—takes advantage not only of my professional skills but also my life experience.

“As a career coach, I meet clients who are at a crossroads in their life…by choice or by chance,” Becker adds. Regardless of their circumstances, Becker strives to give her clients confidence, and assists them with action steps and a solid plan for the future.

For clients seeking re-employment, she assesses their transferable skills and then helps them prepare for change with successful resumes, marketing plans, search techniques, and interview tactics.

For clients pursuing self-employment, she conducts a similar discovery process and ultimately matches their expertise with optimal franchise opportunities.

As a business coach, Becker also advises organizations of varying sizes on key operations such as leadership, marketing, management, sales strategies, production, and cost controls. After identifying problem areas, she develops strategies for improvement.

Since Becker started her own consulting business in the summer of 2008, she has seen a difference in the clients who approach her. “People used to be more proactive…they were simply looking for new opportunities,” she says. “But because of the economy they’re now much more reactive and coming to me because of career or financial losses.”

While Becker says she wholeheartedly enjoyed her long career as a sales and marketing professional, she is enjoying this new “interesting journey” just as much. “I know I’m making a difference in people’s lives,” she explains. “My past life was all about selling, but I’m in a different place now….it’s not just about the income.

“Losing my job turned out to be a blessing,” says Becker. “All the dots in my life, both professionally and personally, are now in synch.”

Listen to an Uncommon Conversation from July 28, 2009: Finding the Goodness in Business

Elizabeth Crouch — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:12:46 +0000

Listen to the recording:

Tuesday, July 28th
Time: 2:00 – 3:00pm Eastern Time

Guest: C.J. Hayden, MCC, CPCC
Host: The Coaching Commons
Topic: Finding the Goodness in Business

Imagine a world where business is a force for good. Perhaps more than you think, this is the world we live in right now. All around you, visionary entrepreneurs are launching enterprises that serve a triple bottom line — contributing to people and to the planet, not just to profit. The era of the conscious business has arrived. Are you a part of it?

Did you know…

* Estimates suggest the social entrepreneurship sector employs around 40 million people globally, with 200 million more as volunteers

* 72% of U.S. consumers consider the social responsibility of a business when deciding whether to buy its products and services

* Companies with the best social responsibility ratings consistently out perform others in their class by a ratio of 9 to 1

* Small businesses like yours give more to charity and donate more volunteer hours than their corporate counterparts

In this conversation, we’ll be discussing questions like these:

Is conscious business just a tiny corner of the liberal, progressive world, or is it a growing, worldwide movement?
Can a coach be socially responsible, give back to his/her community, protect the environment, and still earn a good living?
Do your clients care whether you’re socially responsible?
What about the social responsibility of your business clients?
Can they – small businesses and corporations alike – afford to be socially responsible?
Why should they bother? And why should you care if they are?

About C.J.:

You may know C.J. Hayden best from her book and coaching program Get Clients Now!, but C.J.’s private coaching clients are social entrepreneurs, activists, and community leaders. Since 1992, she’s been helping conscious citizens build business ventures to effect social change.

C.J. is the author of three books and over 300 articles on marketing, entrepreneurship, and social action. She has published and taught in more places than she can keep track of, including Choice, Principled Profit, John F. Kennedy University, Mills College, and The Coaches Training Institute. C.J. was a founding director of the first international nonprofit association for coaches, which later merged with the ICF. She currently serves on the leadership teams of the Send Girls to School Project, Social Enterprise Alliance San Francisco chapter, and Global Initiative to Advance Entrepreneurship.

Find out more about C.J. at www.cjhayden.com

The Star-Ledger: Career Coach: Internet An Entryway To Finding A Job

admin — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:50:54 +0000

From The Star-Ledger – Newark, NJ, USA
June 13, 2009

By Lee E. Miller

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, it doesn’t affect your chances of finding a job. If, on the other hand, you don’t have an online presence that makes you “findable” on the internet, you will be at a disadvantage in finding employment in today’s highly connected business world.

The internet has not only changed the way we work it has changed the way people are hired. According to a recent survey by Jump Start Social Media on how social media is being used in the hiring process, of the hiring managers surveyed, 66 percent visit Linkedin, 23 percent visit Facebook and 16 percent use Twitter to find job candidates when they are seeking to fill openings.

How do you build an online presence that will allow employers and recruiters to find you if they are seeking to fill a position for which you are qualified? Creating an online presence goes well beyond merely posting a resume on various job boards like TheLadders.com or Careerbuilders.com. It requires having information about you available in as many places as possible, making it more likely that employers that might be interested in hiring you will be able to find you. In addition to helping those seeking to fill positions discover you, having a strong online presence facilitates networking with other professionals.

Create a VisualCV to showcase your skills and experience online. Join the professional networking website Linkedin. Create a Facebook page that highlights your professional, rather than personal, life. Be sure to have profiles posted on the private networks that many professional organizations, like the National Association of Female Executives, are starting to include as part of the services they offer to their members. Also, if you are doing volunteer work with nonprofits that have their own networks be sure to post profiles there. Add a link on your profiles to your Twitter page if you’re using it for professional networking.

Write articles online that deal with current issues of interest in your profession. Volunteer to speak at professional events where your bio will be posted online. Offer insights on the important issues facing your profession by writing a blog. If you don’t have the time or inclination to do that, answer questions on issues of interest in your field on websites such as Yahoo Answers or Linkedin.Then cross-reference the various items that you have posted on the web. Make sure that your profiles include the relevant key words that people would use to find someone with your skills and experience.

Alison Doyle, author of “Internet Your Way to a New Job,” a must read for anyone looking for a job in today’s job market, offers the following advice:
Ensure consistency in what you say and how you choose to brand yourself. Make sure everything you post, including information on websites that you are using for purely social networking, portrays you in the way you want to be depicted. Employers may gather information about you from several places online. Inconsistent information or unprofessional behavior may hurt your candidacy.

Use the internet strategically. Build and nurture your network. Schedule time every day to network online. Keep your information current. Use the internet to find people that you know but have lost track of and reconnect with them.

Keep track of what you do and be sure to follow up with people. If you see an article of interest to someone in your network, send it to them. If you read an article someone in your network wrote congratulate them. Keep you network informed of what you are doing and be sure to thank people who help you. Offer help to others whenever you can.

Don’t rely solely on the internet to find a job. “Cover all the bases. Don’t think you can just go on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, put up some information about yourself and you will miraculously find a job.” Most jobs are still found through people with whom you have face-to-face interactions. While the internet is a great way to build you network there is no substitute for meeting and talking with the people in it.

The job market today is extremely competitive. Understanding how to use available technology will help you stand out from the crowd. Strategic use of the internet in your job search will not only help you get a job quicker, demonstrating that you know how to effectively harness the power of the internet will make you a better candidate.

Read original story.

The Chronicle of Coaching – News of the Week – May 7, 2009

admin — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:00:24 +0000

Editor’s Note: Wave goodbye to the Chronicle of Coaching. The weekly compilation of global media-talk about coaching is getting a makeover. Sort of.

Three years ago, when the Chronicle first went live, there were only 10-15 coaching articles to be found each week. It was like detective work to find them. Now the Chronicle of Coaching is overflowing with TMI! (too much information) At least, too much to read in one sitting. So starting next week, we’ll offer coaching news, hot and fresh each day, under the headline, ‚ÄúThe Commons DeNewsinator.” You’ll find it front and center on our Coaching Commons homepage. So visit more often to read what’s new – Still BIG news, just smaller bytes.

The Chronicle of Coaching provides a snapshot of what’s happening in the coaching profession, designed to show where and how coaching appears in the popular culture worldwide. It is not intended to be a summary service nor a news roundup, although it may serve that purpose for some readers. The Chronicle is new each Thursday morning. Compiled and edited by Alex Goldsmith and Linda Ballew.

Meet Us @ The Coaching Commons

The Chronicle of Coaching strives for 100% accuracy and regrets any deviation from that standard. Our policy is to correct errors promptly and prominently, in the next edition and in the online archive. Please tell us immediately if you see something wrong.

Executive/Business Coaching

Your Office Coach: Focus on What’s Important
May 5, 2009, San Luis Obispo Tribune – San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
Although you’re putting a lot of energy into this battle, it’s not clear what the war is about. In fact, you might be the only person fighting. Since these co-workers seem to be doing you no harm, your resentment may simply reflect the inevitable frustrations of a mid-life career change.

Motivators, Coaches Weigh In On ‘Dirty’ CEO Label
May 2, 2009, International Business Times – New York, NY, USA
A group of three motivators, whose work includes executive coaching, business management consulting and formulating creative approaches for changing organizations, weighed in on a discussion topic asking if the negative perceptions some Americans have about chief executive officers as being greedy and incompetent is fair and when the CEO label can stop being a ‚Äúdirty word.”

Leadership’s Ripple Effect
May 2, 2009, Telegraph-Journal – Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Leadership is an important skill for managers, but a company with developed leaders across the workforce right down to the lowest level employees will have a ripple effect of benefits, executive coach Marilyn Singh says.

Someone to Watch Over Me
May 1, 2009, TrainingZone.co.uk – Bristol, UK
How many coaches have supervisors, and of those that do, are they truly benefiting from it? Alan Ward argues that supervision, done properly, is in the best interests of the coach and the coachee.

Five Steps for Effective Sales Coaching
May 1, 2009, BusinessWeek – USA
While the link between effective sales coaching and better sales performance is widely known, the majority of sales organizations fail to realize the full potential of their investments in sales coaching training. Often times, this means missed opportunities for dramatic improvements in top-line revenue growth, margin enhancement, conversion rates, as well as sales forecast accuracy, and sales rep retention and engagement levels.

Outplacement Becomes a Coveted Benefit in Hard Times
May 2009, Workforce Management – Irvine, CA, USA
Also as a result of the recession, career transition services for executives have begun to take a new form. Many employers that signed up for executive coaching and promised outplacement services for these employees (should that be necessary) now find themselves in a position where they don’t want to lay off executives, but they’ve eliminated the positions for which they were hired.

Your Office Coach: Adjusting to Different Management Styles
April 30, 2009, Grand Forks Herald – Grand Forks, ND, USA
Getting a new leader almost always means adjusting to a different management style. The key is to recognize “different” does not mean “wrong”. Your previous boss apparently liked spontaneous interaction, while this one prefers planned communication. Either approach can work, but the change is uncomfortable, especially if you are a more spontaneous person yourself.

Life Coaching

If I Were My Own Life Coach…
May 5, 2009, Beliefnet.com – New York, NY, USA
If I were my own life coach, I would say: “Victoria, the hell with it. Seriously. Take care of yourself, take care of your family, and everything else can take a number.” And since I am my own life coach right now (I’m spending my money on book publicity), I’ve been taking my advice.

What Have You Been Up to These Past 100 Days?
April 30, 2009, Huffington Post – New York, NY, USA
Everyone is welcomed to join in the practice, and many of us do. However, how many of us applied this random time marker to our own lives, and conducted a review and assessment of what we have been up to these past 100 days?

Life Planning After Divorce: Tips to Rebuild Your Life and Your Goals
April 30, 2009, San Luis Obispo Tribune – San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
“Divorce shakes the whole foundation of your life and puts it on sand that blows in the wind,” said Joanie Winberg, author of “Rising to the Top: A Guide to Self Development.” Winberg became a single mom after a 20-year marriage. Her struggle to rebuild her life after divorce led her to become part of the newest coaching specialty – life planning after divorce.

Niche Coaching

Tackling the Teething Pains of a Busier Lifestyle
May 5, 2009, Financial Times – London, England, UK
One of the most important issues for any organization’s human resources department is how best to manage maternity leave. In recent years, some companies have been turning to specialist maternity coaches to help ease the shift from high-flyer to mother and back again.

Money Shrinks Soothe Souls of the Tragically Rich
April 30, 2009, San Jose Mercury News – CA, USA
Across the country, so-called wealth coaching has never been more profitable than in the current economy because rich people have never been more frightened. “And the reason they’re more afraid is that more of them believe this time is different,” Gottfurcht said. “They believe this (recession) is more semi-permanent.”

Life Coaching Blogs

How Life Coaching Helped My Blog
May 5, 2009, By Tracy, I Hate My Message Board
After our last coaching session, I felt like much of the conflicting emotions I was having dissipated greatly. We spoke about obliterating undermining beliefs and reframing situations, which helped me enormously in my tendency to second guess decisions.

The Fine Art of Listening
May 5, 2009, By Gina Baksa
Think back to the last time someone really listened to you. I mean really listened. For more than a few minutes. Without interrupting. Listening with all their being, until you’d actually finished your train of thought, and in some cases even your whole sentence?

Guest Interview with Dr. Margaret Jones on Leadership and Spiritual Abuse
May 3, 2009, By Futurist Guy
Dr. Jones’ own status of a survivor of spiritual abuse in several church settings – plus her work as a psychologist, counselor, and life coach – give her a unique, pastoral care perspective on such topics. And so, I posed a series of five virtual interview ‚Äúcluster questions” on topics related to spiritual abuse.

Company Life Coach
May 2, 2009, By Coach Scott, Corporate Life Coach
Today there is no separation between work and life. Problems outside of work are brought into work. A company life coach will benefit you by sitting down with troubled or upset employees and help them overcome their problems.

How Do You Become a Life Coach Who Has Total Certainty About Your Ability to Find Clients
May 1, 2009, By Jeffrey T. Sooey
If you are like many life coaches, one of your greatest fears is wasting time and money on a marketing strategy, and falling short of your coaching client goal. There is so much information; you might often not know where to start. This is coach training you can start using today to improve your results.

Learning and Empowerment
April 30, 2009, By Stephen
There is a shift in the balance of power that happens in a typical coaching, mentoring or managerial relationship. At first the coach may need to manage the client, having power ‚Äòover’. As the work progresses, the coach hands back power, sharing it with the client.

Executive/Business Coaching Blogs

Follow Your Dream
May 5, 2009, By Real Business Coaching
Do not care what other people say. Men have no clue what’s going to happen and what is going to happen certainly isn’t based on the past! Many visionaries have stuck to their dreams despite the criticism and declaration of others. A dream is powerful. Ideas cannot die.

Books, Products, & Services

A Mother’s Day Gift for You
May 4, 2009, By Kailani, Island Life
Beginning May 8th-for 48 hours only-you can download a free copy of the new, award winning book, The Mother’s Guide to Self Renewal: How to Reclaim, Rejuvenate and Re-Balance Your Life by Renee Trudeau, a nationally recognized career/life balance coach (a $20 value).

Newt Gingrich, as Life Coach, Offers Success Story Based on 5 Principles
May 4, 2009, U.S. News & World Report – Washington, DC, USA
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has rarely strayed from the public’s eye since leaving the House of Representatives more than a decade ago. The author of several books, fiction and nonfiction, Gingrich is now adding “life coach” to his list of accomplishments.

Join ‚ÄòCoaches United for Success in America’
April 30, 2009, By Key to Success Coaching
Coaches United for Success is a coaching program designed to help support job seeking professionals as they navigate their search. Through the coaching relationship, we help our clients to look at the possibilities and the potential for something wonderful to manifest on the other side of unemployment. In some cases, being laid off frees you to take risks, reinvent yourself, and find the job of your dreams.

Flight of the Conchords Opener Plays Life Coach in New Book
April 29, 2009, St. Louis Post-Dispatch – St. Louis, MO, USA
The advice site grew into a self-help parody book, ‚ÄúThe Will to Whatevs: A Guide to Modern Life,” released earlier this year. ‚ÄúIt can help you do anything from raising a family to becoming a rock star to farming ‚Äî literally whatevs,” said Mirman.

Publicity Releases

Hummingbird Reinvents Life Coaching with AboutMyLifeStages.com
May 6, 2009, PR Web (press release) – Cincinnati, OH, USA
Hummingbird Coaching Services has unveiled the newest version of its life coaching service, AboutMyLifeStages.com. The service enables employers to encourage healthy, balanced lifestyles among employees and positively impact health care costs and productivity.

Life Coach Social Network Membership Site Being Auctioned
May 5, 2009, WebWire (press release) – Atlanta, GA, USA
The BigLife.ws life coaching social network is a cornerstone of the most valuable and respected industry in the world… life coaching, entrepreneur coaching and self development. All the hard work has been done. You just take it over and run it. You can do this business from home or while you travel. Your creativity and ability to network is a valuable asset.

Divorce Coach Jerry Canino of Top Divorce Coach LLC to Expand His Practice Nationally
May 4, 2009, PR.com (press release) – Merrick, NY, USA
Divorce coach and founder of Top Divorce Coach, LLC, Jerry Canino, is now expanding his practice to accommodate the growing demand of men and women throughout the United States who seek his progressive personal coaching strategies to help them recover from divorce.

Executives Embark on Second Careers in Tough Economy
May 1, 2009, Franchising.com (press release) – Highland, IL, USA
Despite the serious challenges in the current economy, however, Dr. Bruce McLaughlin, Business Coach with The Entrepreneur’s Source in Highland, Illinois says there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for many seasoned executives looking to make promising career changes.

The Chronicle of Coaching – News of the Week – April 30, 2009

admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:00:13 +0000

Editor’s Note: The rollercoaster global economy means the job market is more competitive. This week’s Chronicle offers a wide variety of coaching counsel addressing leading stressors in the workplace. For the first time, Britain is offering coaching to citizens living in public housing or claiming government benefits in order to help boost their confidence and motivation to find a job. In Ireland, job coaches are offering individuals practical assistance seeking employment and emotional assistance coping with a job loss. One London career coach advises carefully crafting a network of friends, colleagues and family members to increase progress in the job search. Another coach from the US suggests that accepting a pay cut may be the best and only choice for now. So is there a bright note this week? Certainly – Life coaches say add optimism and creativity: organize a to-do list with color or poetry, make a list of 100 (yes 100) things to be grateful for, and take a walk and breathe with nature, enjoying what the Japanese call ‚Äúforest bathing.”

Join an Uncommon Conversation with Career Coach Deborah Brown-Volkman
Help Your Clients Find Their Transferable Skills

Executive/Business Coaching

Newly Unemployed? Your Coach Awaits
April 29, 2009, Irish Times – Dublin, Ireland
A new industry is springing up on the back of the thousands of people who have lost their jobs due to the recession. Courses advising people how to find work, how to cope with unemployment, and to how to keep their sanity while on the dole are proving very popular. Two such ‚Äújob coaches”, Clodagh Hughes and Nial O’Reilly, are offering free coaching to unemployed people as their contribution to get the country get back on its feet.

Lost Your Job, Boss? Join the Club
April 29, 2009, Times Online – UK
Thus, it is to support the region’s beleaguered business community that Mr Criddle has launched a kind of executive support package. The Metier passport scheme is a combination of career coaching, psychological support and networking opportunities. At ¬£3,000- ¬£4,000 a year it is not aimed at those on their uppers, but at top-level executives affected by the recession.

Your Office Coach: Adjusting to Different Management Styles
April 28, 2009, The Olympian – Olympia, WA, USA
Calmly explain you are worried about morale and feel your new manager could use some coaching. Offer examples of the business problems created by her leadership style. Suggest the HR manager talk with some other employees. Then wait and see what happens.

Career Coach: Go With the Flow and Accept the Pay Cut
April 26, 2009, The Star-Ledger – NJ.com – Newark, NJ, USA
Let me be clear: The world has changed. Salaries and benefits packages have fallen and that trend will continue as many companies reduce costs to stay afloat. You must get with the program and change your expectations. This is not the time to get rich, but a time to survive.

Put Me In, Coach
April 23, 2009, Examiner.com – USA
Sharon’s journey to becoming an ‚Äúexecutive coach” began at a local church where everyone ‚Äúwould line up outside my door to ask my advice on team development, strategic planning, and how to develop their ministry and staff. I thought it would be really cool to help people bring more of who they are into the workplace, so I talked to people and found out about coaching.”

Coffee Break: Coach Says Entrepreneurship Not a Bad Idea
April 23, 2009, The Star-Ledger – NJ.com – Newark, NJ, USA
The economic downturn actually presents entrepreneurs and small-business owners with a variety of advantages like reduced competition and lower leases, according to Nick Cohron, a business and career coach in Summit.

When You’ve Set the Pattern With an Employee, You Have to Be Tough to Change It
April 21, 2009, InfoWorld – San Francisco, CA, USA
At the risk of sounding self-serving, sometimes executives like the ones you describe need someone from the outside to tell them what to do differently. In this case, I’d advise bringing in someone who can provide both strategic consulting and executive coaching: the strategic consulting to help these two understand what they need to do differently from an operational perspective, the executive coaching so that they understand how they need to behave differently to lead a larger organization.

Life Coaching

Life Coach to Help Jobless Londoners
April 27, 2009, This is London – London, England, UK
Unemployed Londoners are to be assigned a free “life coach” to help them find work. In the first scheme of its kind in Britain, people claiming benefits and living in social housing will be offered free therapy courses to improve their confidence and motivation to find a job.

Coaching: The Global Perspective
April 27, 2009, TrainingZone.co.uk – Bristol, UK
With a Global Convention on Coaching and key UK coaching bodies signing a ‘statement of shared professional values’, 2008 seemed a ground breaking year for this emerging industry. The convention’s laudable desire was to establish more defined codes of ethics, standards of practice and qualifications within the coaching industry.

Lawrence Life Coach Offers To-Do List Tips
April 27, 2009, Lawrence Journal World – Lawrence, KS, USA
Train yourself to think that every task on your to-do list is something that you personally want to accomplish, rather than something you have to do. If you need to clean the house, don’t dwell on the chore; remember that you want the house to look nice, so that is why you are cleaning it.

Life Coach: Recommended Diet, Lifestyle Changes
April 26, 2009, Lansing State Journal – Lansing, MI, USA
Making diet and lifestyle changes will have long-term benefits on your health and your heart. These recommendations are from the American Heart Association.

6 Networking Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
April 23, 2009, HarvardBusiness.org – Cambridge, MA, USA
If you were my coaching client, I would simply say: network, network, network. And yet among my clients, networking is often an underdeveloped skill.

Artists Use Life Coach to Beat Recession
April 23, 2009, Wimbledon Guardian – Cheam, England, UK
Europe’s largest collective of artists, huddled in a small annex of Wimbledon, are enlisting the help of a life coach to stave off the recession.

Niche Coaching

Communication Coach: Slackers Hit Chopping Block First in Lean Times
April 25, 2009, The Star-Ledger – NJ.com – Newark, NJ, USA
The people he wanted to let go were underachievers — people who just weren’t producing or carrying their weight. In fact, there was a list of employees whose names came up over and over again as people who were pulling down the firm.

Media coaching: Do the Hardest Thing First
April 22, 2009, Examiner.com – USA
I was just media coaching a woman who was in a major scuffle with the media due to a very controversial product that her company recently released. We were prepping for another equally controversial product that’s now on the market and she was scared out of her mind. Rightly so.

Life Coaching Blogs

Coaching ‚ÄúSafety Net” Questions – For When Your Mind Goes Blank
April 28, 2009, By Become A Certified Coach
Using a safety net question helps the flow of the coaching conversation, takes the pressure off the coach and puts the focus back where it belongs – on the client (as opposed to on ourselves and ‚ÄúWhat do I say next?”).

Manifesting Evolution in Consciousness: On Self-Compromise
April 27, 2009, By Sherry Bakhtian
Once again love, not having it, not recognizing it, and anything related to it has determined the course of our lives. When a coaching client comes to this point in their session, they are usually ready to acknowledge what exactly it is that they do want in a relationship.

Be Your Own Mentor: The Healing Power of Trees
April 27, 2009, By Karin Marcus
As a Life Coach and Retreat Leader, I have always thought of nature as an essential partner. My preferred method of one on one coaching of “Walk and Talks” is done outdoors.

The 4 Stages of Transition
April 27, 2009, By Shann Vander Leek
My talented and brilliant mentor coach, Deb Martin shared some valuable information with me awhile ago about the 4 stages of transition. This material along with my personal story have become a big part of the focus of my life coaching.

Qualities of a Good Coach
April 25, 2009, By MTI Coaching
It is very easy to advise people. All you need to do is look at his or her situation and come up with suggestions on how you think he or she will be able to improve it. But this is not the essence of coaching; coaching requires a relationship between the coach and the client wherein both are in the same place and move towards the same goal together.

Are You Grateful?
April 24, 2009, By Kelly Thorne
One of my favorite life coaching exercises to do with women is to help them create a list of at least 100 things (yes, I did just say – 100 things on a list) that they’re grateful for in their life.

Using an Online Dating Coach to Find Love, Happiness. and Even Find Your Soulmate
April 22, 2009, By Anything Personal
As an added benefit to the convenience of online dating, clients can also receive the services of an Online Dating Coach or ‚ÄúLove Coach” as we’re sometimes referred to by our clients.

Executive/Business Coaching Blogs

Sales Management: The Role of Coaching
April 27, 2009, By Ian Brodie
And finally, they need to understand not only what’s needed for their team’s roles: but also what is needed to continuously improve their sales management capabilities.

What Do Children Teach Us About Leadership?
April 27, 2009, By Andrew Bryant
Both Tasha and Nathan like to clap for themselves when they do something right and they both beam when Zurina and I give them praise. As a leadership consultant I know how important it is that I continue to praise even moderately good performance as research by Dr Ethna Reid shows that teachers who get the best results, validate regularly.

Did Christopher Columbus Have a Coach?
April 24, 2009, By Tom, SmartCompany.com
I’ve worked for a couple of coaching companies, OneCoach and TEC /Vistage, so I’ve seen how having a business coach in your corner can make a huge difference. I ran a faster marathon (and achieved one of my life goals) because I had a great coach, pushing me further than I might have gone on my own. But here’s the thing: You can actually coach yourself.

Books, Products, & Services

Inspiring Mother’s Day Gift is Full of Heart and Easy on the Wallet
April 26, 2009, PR.com (press release) – San Francisco, CA, USA
The Women Masters Teleseminar Series makes a wonderful and meaningful gift for mothers and daughters alike. Offered free of cost, this program is about sharing the wisdom and insights of our most respected women experts with women (and men) worldwide. Additionally, 10% of proceeds from the upgrade package benefit Women for Women International And Girls, Inc.

Publicity Releases

JavaBlackBelt Adds Coaching to e-Learning in Breakthrough Java Courses
April 19, 2009, Emediawire (press release) – Brussels, Belgium
JavaBlackBelt, a global leader in Java learning and powered by over 50,000 developers in its global community, today announced the immediate availability of coached e-Learning for Java developers in Europe, North America, and India.

The Chronicle of Coaching – News of the Week – April 2, 2009

admin — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:00:44 +0000

Editor’s Note: Ahhh, spring is in the air in the northern hemisphere. And with spring comes the yearly ritual of spring cleaning. This week’s Chronicle offers help tidying up both professional and personal lives. A former stripper, now life coach, cleaned up her own career and is advising others on ‚Äúwhipping” their career into shape. Looking to clean up the world? One coaching firm has advice for those interested in getting into the green jobs market. In the face of tough economic times, an executive coach recommends polishing your resume right now, while another coach has advice on how people losing their jobs can ‚Äòclean up’ on a severance package. This week, coaches are motivating clients to spring to action with a fresh perspective on their lives.

Are Expensive Coach Training and Certification Required To Achieve Your Goals?

Executive/Business Coaching

Your Office Coach: Looking Ahead, Polish That Resume Now
March 31, 2009, Bellingham Herald – Bellingham, WA, USA
With your job security in doubt, you would be wise to start preparing for the worst. But don’t let anxiety send you running wildly off in all directions. Use this time to plan and organize an effective job search.

Inside the Mind of a Coach
March 30, 2009, Rundtownnews.co.uk – Spain
From the start I explain that it is you who decides what your coaching is going to be about. ‚ÄòWhat can I help you with?’ is normally my first question and then we take it from there.

Three Truths About Coaching
March 30, 2009, TrainingZone.co.uk – Bristol, UK.
Coaching is flourishing. There’s no doubt that coaching has hit the mainstream. These days you’re hard pressed to find an organisation big, medium or small that’s not using coaching in some form or other, it’s the constant topic of articles in all the business magazines and websites everyone from consultants to plumbers are adding ‘…and coach’ to their taglines ‚Ä¶ even Dilbert is mocking it. And this is not such a bad thing.
NOTE: Join Michael Bungay Stanier for an Uncommon Conversation on April 8th at the Coaching Commons.

Executive Coaching Changing as Economy Shifts
March 30, 2009, Fort Worth Business Press – Fort Worth, TX, USA
As leaders look to improve their organizations, they must pay particular attention to developing those who will follow them and to creating new rising stars. Executive coaching is designed to aid those transitions.

Urban League’s nextOne Program Developing Minority Business Dreams
March 28, 2009, Chicago Sun-Times – United States
Eighteen months ago, the League launched its nextOne program to assist a select group of established Chicago companies in partnership with Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. The intensive six-month program provided industry specific one-on-one business coaching to entrepreneurs.

The Baggage We Bring to Work Each Day
March 27, 2009, Business Week – USA
Each of us brings our whole self to work each day, regardless of whether we have a chance to express and actualize ourselves in our jobs. As an executive coach, one of my most important roles is to help my clients understand what they are bringing to work each day. I often find that people use language to describe bosses or co-workers that sounds as if they are describing parents or siblings.

How To Integrate Legal Mentoring With Law Practice Management
March 27, 2009, The Complete Lawyer – Atlanta, GA, USA
Mentoring programs usually start off with a bang and then fizzle, leaving younger lawyers dazed and confused, and at least a bit cynical. What does work, however, is to integrate good mentoring and coaching skills into the way your firm is managed.

The Psychology of Stress
March 25, 2009, msnbc.com – USA
And if you’re an entrepreneur in an economy on the brink, your perspective could be getting a little loopy. Actually, it’s called cognitive distortion, says Edward Trieber, a clinical psychologist, an attorney and the managing director of Harris, Rothenberg International LLC, which provides integrated solutions, executive coaching, web development and more. Cognitive distortion can cause people under undue stress to discount positive events, seeing only the negative.

Life Coaching

Find a New Job in Retirement
March 31, 2009, Examiner.com – USA
You have probably heard of ‚Äúlife coaching,” a relatively new field. Life coaching is a practice with the aim of helping clients determine and achieve personal goals. Transition coaches are the latest expression of personal coaching and usually help people retire.

Vail Valley: Charge Up Your Personal Energy Engine
March 30, 2009, Vail Daily News – Vail, CO, USA
During a recent coaching session with one of my clients ‚Äî let’s call him Bill ‚Äî he shared with me something he has been doing for a while that helps him maintain an optimistic approach to life. Get this ‚Äî whenever the gas gauge on his car goes below full, he immediately fills his tank.

Jumping Into the Green Job Market
March 30, 2009, GreenBiz – Oakland, CA, USA
Nick Ellis, a managing partner of Bright Green Talent, an environmentally focused executive search firm whose services recently expanded to include one-on-one career coaching, is quick to dispel what he says has already become a “classic myth” in the nascent green job market.

Career Coach: Train Yourself to Be More Productive
March 29, 2009, The Star-Ledger – NJ.com – Newark, NJ, USA
My marathon training has me finding parallels in my career. In our multitasking, juggling, out-of-balance world, it is critically important to stay focused on the specific task at hand, since that will enable you to perform at your highest level.

Life Coach Stacia Pierce Teams Up With Celebrities to Empower Women
March 27, 2009, Lansing State Journal – Lansing, MI, USA
Life and style coach Dr. Stacia Pierce announced celebrity guests Tasha Smith and DeShawn Snow will speak at the Women’s Success Conference on May 21-23 at the Lansing Center. Pierce invites business owners and women desiring to be at the top to come be personally coached at America’s most influential event for women.

Don’t Quit Your Job Unless You Have Another: Life Coach
March 27, 2009, Timmins Daily Press – Timmins, ON, Canada
Now is not the time to quit your job. “Times are tough. Find another job first before you quit a job you don’t like,” said life coach JoAnne Ward at a recent seminar in Kelowna, B. C.

Thorhallsson: Discover the Benefits of Transition Rituals
March 26, 2009, NSB Observer – New Smyrna Beach, FL, USA
Some of these rituals may be of interest to our readers. Upon arising in the morning, it is especially important to greet the day openly and consciously. Gratitude for the gift of a new day accompanied by a verbal expression of optimistic expectations for the events of that new day set the stage for a bright beginning each morning. Morning stretching or hand massage is a pleasant way to greet a new day.

Elizabeth Loyd, 60, Psychologist, Life Coach
March 25, 2009, Atlanta Journal Constitution – GA, USA
Psychologist Elizabeth Loyd kept a sign in her office that summarized her approach to therapy. It said: ‚ÄúNo whining.” Of course, she was a caring listener. And her manner was always warm and supportive, said her husband of 41 years, Jerry A. Loyd of Cumming. But at a certain point, she’d tell her clients, ‚ÄúWe’re not here to listen to your story over and over. We’re here to do something,” he said.

Coaching Conundrums: What to Do When You Think Your Client is not Telling the Truth
March 25, 2009, TrainingZone.co.uk – Bristol, UK
Most external coaches don’t get the opportunity to see how their clients perform in their job or interact with their colleagues. You may get a third-party opinion by way of a briefing from a sponsor or manager but, other than that, your only information is what the client chooses to tell you. So, what do you do when you think your client is failing to tell you the truth or perhaps even lying to you?

Niche Coaching

Life Lessons From a Beauty Pageant Coach
March 25, 2009, CBS 11 – Dallas, TX, USA
These days more and more people are finding themselves unemployed. But finding out what works for beauty pageants can also work in real life. In a room of about 25 people at the Frisco Seniors Center, pageant coach Laura Lewis of Plano asked her audience, “Is that why we’re here?” Those in attendance are seniors who want to get in shape and are also looking to get back into the working world.

Dominatrix Career and Life Coach Whips Clients into Hardcore Action
March 23, 2009, Examiner.com – USA
Erika Lyremark, ex-stripper, knows firsthand that just because a job is lucrative, does not make it rewarding. Now a successful career and life coach, she has learned that just because your dreams may seem hazy and out of reach today, does not mean they are unobtainable tomorrow. It may just take a little ‚Äúwhippage”.

Life Coaching Blogs

A Life Coaching Haiku?
March 30, 2009, By Gaia Community
As I am working on creating the next chapter in my life I am exercising all my creative energy. At the moment, one of the projects I’m working on completing is a short story.

What is This Pain?
March 30, 2009, By Laura Fortgang
As a life coach and now, more recently, as an interfaith minister as well, I am called on by people to help them heal their lives. “Let me understand my place. That will bring me peace,” is something I hear often.

Who’s a Fake Coach?
March 29, 2009, By All About Life Coaching
With the growing trend of life coaching, everyone is calling themselves a coach these days. I recently joined twitter, a cool social networking site. It’s amazing how many people who are in sales and network marketing call themselves “coach”.

You’re Close-Minded
March 29, 2009, By Tim Brownson
How do I know that you in particular aren’t open-minded you may be wondering? It’s because nobody is, including me. It’s a state that doesn’t exist in the human condition in my less than humble opinion. To be properly and genuinely open-minded you first have to accept that you may be close-minded.

Coaching Celebrities
March 26, 2009, By Tolik – Articles World
Coaching celebrities is a great gig if you can get it. But expect to be flexible, available and hard working. It’s also wise to be conservative in your billing. If you do a few of these things and more, you’ll end up with a great client!

Surprises We Should Have Expected
March 25, 2009, By Bob Dale
On the surface, Anxious Andy/Angie is a ‚Äúperfect” coaching client‚Äîmotivated and solution-oriented, on the move and in a hurry. But, Anxious Andy/Angie may be too hurried. When Andy/Angie is being coached, anxiety can propel the process and create an emotional sprint for a solution‚Äîa quick solution.

Negotiating Your Severance Package – Should You?
March 24, 2009, By Cecile Peterkin
Given that the economy is nowhere near as strong as it could be, more and more companies are looking at layoffs as an option that will help them to stay in business. No matter how great you are at your job, there is a risk of the company eliminating your position – and if that happens, it’s likely that they will offer you a severance package. What many people don’t know is that negotiating a severance package is possible.

Executive/Business Coaching Blogs

Healthcare Management: Coaching Case Study
March 31, 2009, By John Coxon
John Coxon & Associates work with managers in hospitals, aged care facilities and medical centres. We provide management consulting services when asked and we work one-to-one with managers in a coaching relationship. This case study involves one of our coaching clients.

GROW Into a Coaching Model
March 30, 2009, By Mike Morrison
The GROW model has been around for some time. It is widely believed that GROW was originally developed by Graham Alexander, who worked with Whitmore. GROW has been used successfully by coaches in sport and business as well as by many organizations as part of a change towards a coaching style of management.

Business Coaching: How To Reduce Lead Generation Costs
March 27, 2009, By Paul Simister, Your Profit Coach
I have strong views on this – your lead generation cost must include an assessment of your time to help you to look across the different ways of attracting prospective customers and making an objective assessment. The easy way to calculate the cost of your time is to decide how much you want to earn and divide it by the number of hours you want to work. That gives you an hourly rate.

Coaching is Largely a Sham and Leaders are Largely Born and Not Made
March 29, 2009, By Ken Nowack
What Evidence Do We Have that Coaching Works? From the survey of 100 respondents who received coaching, Manchester Consulting estimated that coaching resulted in an average return of 5.7 times the initial investment. Furthermore, coaching contributed to a perception of increased productivity for 53 percent of respondents and improved quality of work for 48 percent of the respondents. Of those receiving coaching, 61% reported a significant increase in their level overall level of work and job satisfaction.

Books, Products, & Services

Coaching Yourself to Leadership
March 27, 2009, By Ginny O’Brien
What would happen if a respected business coach gave you a new model for leadership that could help you achieve the happiness, productivity and fulfillment at work you so desire? It would change your life. That’s exactly what author Ginny O’Brien has done.

Publicity Releases

Executive Coaching Helps De-Stress Leaders, Builds Employee Stability
March 31, 2009, PR Newswire (press release) – Rockville, MD, USA
At a time of economic uncertainty, executive coaching helps companies survive and thrive, says executive coach Laurie Hackett-Maddalena. As business executives nervously figure out how to survive as they await a rebound, many are faced with tough decisions regarding overhead and expense reduction.

OSO Restaurant Presents Dinner With Renowned Life Coach Monica Bennett
March 31, 2009, Hamptons.com – Southampton, NY, USA
OSO Restaurant at The Southampton Inn continues its popular mid-winter series featuring Hamptons luminaries in an elegant evening of gourmet dining and sparkling and informative conversation with the people who make The Hamptons what they are with renowned life coach Monica Bennett.

Career Coach: Help Your Clients Find Their Transferable Skills

Deborah Brown Volkman — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:51:22 +0000

The concept of transferable skills is important for job seekers in today’s economy. In your resume, cover letter, and during the interview process, you need to prove that you have the experience, knowledge, passion, and drive to get the job done.

How you explain to potential employers what you’ve done up to this point, depends on what you want to do next.

If you have been doing the same job for years, and plan to stay in a similar position, or identical industry, your present skills are what you showcase to employers.

If you are looking to switch industries or take a different position than the one you have now, you will have to show potential employers why you are the best candidate and the best match for the position.

Transferable skills are the skills you have acquired up to this point in your life that can help you do something else in your career. This means your entire life, not just what you have been paid to do.

I have my clients list everything they have done in their life including, work, volunteer experience, and hobbies; anything that can make a good case for doing something different.

Once they see their past on paper, it increases their confidence, and helps them believe they can go in a different direction

What do you do?

The Chronicle of Coaching – News of the Week – March 19, 2009

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:00:03 +0000

Editor’s Note: For those feeling a loss of control in their lives because of the changing global environment, The Chronicle is filled with options this week. Is it time to retrain and start a business? One man chose that option, started a coaching business and found the timing was perfect. Not sure WHAT options are available? Career coaches suggest people look ‚Äúinward before looking outward” to explore what kind of work truly inspires them. There are options for networking, choices to make courageous life leaps or guidance toward carefully measured and planned changes. Optimize your self-image, turn your mom-skills into life/work skills, and learn to stop putting limits on yourself. Find options to rethink almost every area of life. Executive coaching classes at Wharton are addressing the significance of an individual’s response to change. Take a moment and look at the all the options for change that coaches offer this week. And for those who are still uneasy, Martha Beck suggests a first step, ‚Äúlearn to trust yourself” with a trusty trust-o-meter.

Information Needed on Leadership Development. Can you help?

Executive/Business Coaching

Coaching Can Break the Glass Ceiling, Study Finds
March 17, 2009 – Institute of Leadership & Management – London, UK
Coaching schemes can help women break through the glass ceiling, according to a new report. However, despite the usefulness of training in helping female workers advance their careers, the study conducted by the Institute of Employment Studies (IES) also found that they are less likely to be offered development opportunities than their male colleagues.
NOTE: The Foundation of Coaching, a former project of The Harnisch Foundation, was a funding partner of this research.

Navigating Life’s Changes
March 16, 2009 – Philadelphia Inquirer – Philadelphia, PA, USA
Shea, 56, teaches management in executive-coaching classes at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. And the way he sees it, the most important thing to manage – whether one is an executive or an individual on the job – is one’s response to change.

Prime Time for Graduates to be Own Bosses
March 15, 2009 – Times Online – UK
He also retrained as an executive and business coach but when he announced his plans to start Capitalise Change, his own executive coaching business, at the beginning of a recession, his friends in banking thought he was mad. ‚ÄúPeople thought I was nuts,” he said, ‚Äúbut it turned out to be perfect timing.”

Productivity Guru Faces Changes of Downturn
March 15, 2009 – The Associated Press
The 64-year-old author started his coaching business more than a decade ago in a cottage behind the house he shares with his wife in Ojai, near Santa Barbara. Allen’s ideas about personal productivity started taking shape in the 1970s as he delved into the personal growth movement sweeping the state. His most recent book, “Making It All Work,” is about applying GTD (getting things done) more deeply to all aspects of life.

Bear Stearns Castoff Takes Leap of Faith
March 13, 2009 – The Star-Ledger – NJ.com – Newark, NJ, USA
What I would suggest to people, especially people who have been dreaming about doing it but have no point of reference, there are professionals out there who can help you. My wife joined the Essex County Chamber of Commerce and it was through them that we found our business coach. She helped to focus me. Any business coach with a decent reputation will take elements from an accountant, an MBA, a project manager and a teacher. They can tell you what’s a mistake, what’s good and they’ll give you guidance.

Coach Effect Inc. Launches Career Management Solutions for Senior Level Employees
March 13, 2009 – Chief Learning Officer – Oakland, CA, USA
Coach Effect Inc. announces the launch of individualized career management solutions for manager and senior-level job seekers. The solutions address the need to support unemployed individuals, or those who are employed but emotionally disengaged, by providing resume review consultation, interview preparation and accountability groups. Also provided are services for career direction coaching and ‚ÄúBack in Control” coaching programs.

The 10 Biggest Mistakes IT Managers Make
March 12, 2009 – TechRepublic – Louisville, KY, USA
Certain common IT management mistakes can make you less effective, hamper your career advancement, and even jeopardize your job. Executive coach Joey Smith has spent years working with IT management and he put together this list of the mistakes he’s seen most often.

Coaches Help Jobless Baby Boomers Work Out Frustrations, New Careers
March 12, 2009 – Dallas Morning News – Dallas, TX, USA
Career coaches usually put clients through a battery of self-assessment tests to discover their interests, skills and strengths. “You have to know yourself before you can identify the right career,” Harkness said. “I ask my clients to look inward before they look outward.”

Life Coaching

York Life Coaches in Britain’s Next Top Coach Competition
March 16, 2009 The Press – York, North Yorkshire, UK
Three women from York are locked in an online voting battle to be crowned Britain’s Next Top Coach. Each entrant has produced a short video giving their top life coaching tip and members of the public are invited to vote for the contestant they find most inspirational.

A New Kind of Easter Makeover for Ladies: Character Revamp
March 14, 2009 – Examiner.com – USA
As a life coach, I begin a coaching relationship with the belief that my client is creative, resourceful and able to find truth within that reveals who she is and what she wants. I am a safe place for exploration and discovery, and when it is time to move forward, I am a source of encouragement with appropriate support, challenges and accountability.

Life Coach: Take your Books Out of my Backpack
March 12, 2009 – Grand Junction Free Press – Grand Junction, CO, USA
Coaching challenge: If you think of your level of responsibility like a backpack, what is in your backpack? What do you carry around needlessly or carry for someone else? What could be removed? It’s easy to add one more thing into a backpack until the weight of the backpack becomes overwhelming. If you feel irritated or frustrated, it may be time to sort through your backpack to see what needs to be removed.

Layoff Survival: Ways to Keep your Skills Sharp
March 12, 2009 – The Associated Press
Social networking, he said, is a good place to get acquainted with the expanding possibilities online. It’s an area that is easily self-taught, and one that can have numerous applications once you’re back in the workplace. As a bonus, establishing a network of contacts can also help during a job hunt. Pointing to a 24-year-old staffer at his company who has 4,000 “friends” on MySpace and 300 connections on LinkedIn, Straits said, and ‚ÄúHe will never have a problem connecting to a position.”

Use Trust-o-Meter to Find Dependable People
March 11, 2009 – CNN – USA
“As soon as you trust yourself,” wrote Goethe, “you will know how to live.” To discern between people who might save your life and those who might ruin it, you must be reliable, honest — in a word, trustworthy — toward yourself. And we do this far less often than most people realize. I’m about to reveal one of my favorite life coaching tricks, which I’ve used on literally thousands of people. In the middle of a speech or coaching session, I’ll suddenly say, “Are you comfortable?” Take the Trust Test.

Niche Coaching

How Business Coaching Can Help Your Firm
March 17, 2009 Kitchen and Bath Design News – Melville, NY, USA
The advent of business coaching services may be the single, most important industry development for independent kitchen/bath dealers to leapfrog ahead in revenue and net profit growth. After all, a business is a tool to get what you want out of life. And in my view, business coaching is the best tool available to date to get what you want out of your business. It bridges the gap between gaining knowledge and taking action on that knowledge.

Wealth Coach Shares her Tips
March 16, 2009 – Florida Today – Melbourne, FL, USA
She also will talk about financial cycles, the economy and different forms of money management, including investing in ourselves. “Women are getting beyond it, but I think our biggest issue is that we put limits on ourselves, and we don’t need to. They’re false limits,” she said. “We aren’t limited beings.”

Style Coach Jandi Girard Shares Clothes Shopping Tips with Sara Perry
March 15, 2009 – The Oregonian – OregonLive.com – Portland, OR, USA
Girard is a trained and certified style coach. An informative, positive and kind style coach whose passion is helping her clients look and feel their best in the clothes they own and the clothes they would like to purchase. Unlike a personal shopper, who is a commissioned salesperson with an inventory to sell, Girard and her team are certified coaches who are working for you.

Asthma “Coaches” Keep Kids Out of the Hospital
March 12, 2009 – Reuters – USA
Community health workers acting as asthma coaches are able to reduce the need for rehospitalization for asthma episodes among children in low-income families, researchers report in the March issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Moms Mean Business: Lori Aleknavicius, Family Coach
March 11, 2009 – MSNBC – USA
Family Matters is a business where I work as a family coach, helping families with specific problems in their home environment. For example, I can work with parents to assist them with transitioning their 5-year-old child to sleeping in his/her own bed instead of sleeping with his/her parents, or to help build relationships and set up household rules for children in newly blended families.

Life Coaching Blogs

Open to a Life Coaching Moment: The Road to Being Fired…. Probation
March 16, 2009 – By Lisa Spahr- A life coach for better living!
This blog is meant to be two-fold in its purpose: (1) warn you that your personality matters and can help or hinder your success and (2) a few tips on what to do if YOU land on probation (at work).

Optimize Your Self-Image: “Spring” into Spring with a Vision Board
March 15, 2009 – By Higher-Self Life Coaching
Vision Boards have been around for years, and the concept was popularized when a book called, ‚ÄúThe Secret,” was published. Vision Boards are very simple, yet extremely powerful. Now, normally I usually explain to all of you my experiences with certain challenges and then I share how I was able to deal with them. However, in this case, I have not yet done a vision board, so I will be creating one at the very same time as all of you

Can Life Coaching Stop Global Warming? Guidance for Those Who Desire a Healthy, Sustainable World
March 12, 2009 – By Health Education
Life coaches can’t stop global warming on their own. Nor can they single-handedly create a world where all have the opportunity for a healthy and enjoyable life, nations are at peace, people of all races and backgrounds enjoy equal rights, humans respect other living beings, and leaders behave ethically. However, if socially and ecologically conscious individuals and organizations take full advantage of what life coaching has to offer, then a vision for a healthy and sustainable world is within our collective reach.

Lifestyle: Living Life Out Loud
March 12, 2009 – By Michael Moniz
These are my 10 tips I suggest for living your life out loud. These should help you get the most of your life and to live in the present. But this is not a complete list, there are many, many more we could add. I know you have tons of ideas how to live your life out loud, please share them in the comments below! Michael Moniz is a life coach focusing on the LGBT community.

Christian-Life-Coaching: A Life, A Testimony
March 12, 2009 – By James Thomas
This video is a little snapshot of my journey. I started as a hard-charging adventurer, outdoorsman, firefighter and emergency medical technician. How did I get from there to a relationship-focused stress management coach? The video below is a short version of a story that is unfolding over a lifetime.
NOTE: Video not reviewed.

Executive/Business Coaching Blogs

Coaching is Top Best Practice for Talent Management
March 17, 2009 – By admin
Bersin and Associates did two years of research and analysis of a million data points and found the top 22 talent management processes that drive the highest business impact. They provide the full list on their website that you can use as a priority list to guide your talent management strategy. The list is great, but I was particularly excited to see the number one for impact is formal or well established coaching programs for employees.

12 Questions That Show Good or Poor Managerial Performance
March 15 – By John Gaynard’s Creativity and Innovation Blog
The 12 questions are presented below in order of importance (the wording has been slightly adapted by me for this exercise). The good or great manager will not necessarily have “yes” answers to every question, but even if there are six or seven his or her performance will be better than average.

The Art of Resilience in the Global Era
March 14, 2009 – By Anne Egros
Providing training to employees to develop skills and knowledge they need to perform their job is not employee coaching. Coaching is not about giving advices, consulting or giving solutions. Telling employees what to do is not coaching and that is why managers usually cannot coach their employees themselves.

Powerfull Living: Do You Have Courage To Be Authentic?
March 14, 2009 – By lorraine
What’s your definition of authenticity? Does being authentic matter to you? With whom do you feel the most comfortable to be who you are? In what situations do you hide who you are? What is one thing you can do today to bring authenticity into more areas of your life?

Mark Hoaglin’s Small Biz Success Blog: Delegate Don’t Abdicate
March 14, 2009 – By “Coach” Mark Hoaglin
There’s a difference between delegating and abdicating. Abdicating is giving up total control with no future involvement on your part as the owner. I can’t think of any responsibility in a business that would cause an owner to abdicate it. Delegating on the other hand is entrusting someone in your organization with a responsibility that you then hold them accountable for.

Books, Products, & Services

The Not So Famous Julia Roberts Offers Life Coaching
March 13, 2009 – NewsReleaseWire.com (press release) – USA
Julia Roberts can be found at Motherhood to Otherhood.com. She is author of ‚ÄúMotherhood to Otherhood: Step Up to a New You. Use the Lessons Learned as a Mom to Create a New Life.”

Publicity Releases

Noble Manhattan Launches Course In Romanian
March 16, 2009 1888 Press Release (press release) – Alief, TX, USA
(1888PressRelease) March 17, 2009 – Noble Manhattan Coaching are delighted to announce that having been operating in Romania for over one year now they are opening a full-time office in the capital Bucharest. They are now delighted to be offering their full practitioner coach training programme in the Romanian language.

How to Become an Etiquette and Manners Coach and Consultant
March 13, 2009 – NewsReleaseWire.com (press release) – USA
Impression Management, Image and Style and Etiquette and the Business and Social Graces for a total of ten days of personal training with Gloria Starr for an investment of $16,000.US dollars and realize a savings of $1000. In addition to the ten days of training with Ms. Starr, your investment also includes six months of mentoring by phone, fax and email to further enhance your business growth.

The Chronicle of Coaching – News of the Week – March 12, 2009

admin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:00:05 +0000

Editor’s Note: Cartoonist Bill Watterson is quoted as saying, ‚ÄúI’m not in denial. I’m just selective about the reality I accept.” Reality can look very different when observed from different perspectives. This week’s Chronicle is about the power of perspective. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has input from life coaches about growing personally during layoffs. A life coach in California says that finding happiness is simply a matter of choice. One doctor sees health coaching as a new way for doctors to avoid dealing with insurance companies and malpractice lawsuits. The owner of a closing design shop wishes she had sought the outside perspective of a small-business coach more frequently. Sometimes changing perspectives can make all the difference. The Chronicle of Coaching provides a snapshot of what’s happening in the coaching profession, designed to show where and how coaching appears in the popular culture worldwide. It is not intended to be a summary service nor a news roundup, although it may serve that purpose for some readers. The Chronicle is new each Thursday morning. Compiled and edited by Alex Goldsmith and Linda Ballew.

Join Michael Bungay Stanier for an Uncommon Conversation March 18

Executive/Business Coaching

What to Know About Coaching Your Successor
March 10, 2009, BusinessWeek – USA
Preparing your successor can be a leader’s greatest challenge. If you handle it the right way while you are still at an organization, it can mean that your successor enters to applause while you bow out gracefully. So what do you need to know about coaching so you can ensure a smooth transition?

Need to Know: Coach Yourself
March 10, 2009, PersonnelToday.com – UK
Having a coach to help us work through difficult situations or make important changes can be a wonderful thing. However, such resources do not come cheap and not all of us can afford the luxury. Fortunately, we can all have a coach any time at no cost: we can learn to coach ourselves.

Discover Client’s Needs for Productive Sales Call
March 9, 2009, Gary Post Tribune – Gary, IN, USA
My first thought is, another sales call about something I do not need. The first few words turned me off, left me cold and sounded like everyone else. My emotions are stone-cold frozen and quickly spreading throughout my entire office. Brrrrrrr!!!!! Sales Coaching Tip: This is why cold calling is named cold calling, because it creates ice.

Recession-Busting ‚Äî How to Be Part of the Recovery
March 9, 2009, Henley Standard – Henley, UK
Through project teams, the commercial group is addressing subjects such as parking, traffic flow, residents’ amenities and attracting new businesses. Barbara Richardson, chairwoman of the commercial group, has also negotiated a special business coaching offer with the aim of improving the business performance of existing local enterprises.

Needing a Fresh Set of Eyes
March 9, 2009, Crain’s Chicago Business – Chicago, IL, USA
After opening Lakeside Interiors in Wilmette 4¬Ω years ago, Fern Allison met “occasionally” with a small-business coach. In hindsight, she says, she needed more help, especially as the economy worsened.

Boosting Your International Success with Coaching and Mentoring
March 9, 2009, The Complete Lawyer – Atlanta, GA, USA
Why do international lawyers hire coaches or seek mentors? Often, it’s to help them exceed their prior performance. Perhaps they want to develop more clients globally, make partner, get promoted, or become leaders within their law firms or field.

Executive Q&A with Jay McCurry: Corporate Trainer Finds His Niche
March 8, 2009, NewsOK.com – Oklahoma City, OK, USA
McCurry’s corporate training sessions focus on customer service, leadership development, conflict resolution and executive coaching. But that just describes his past three years.

Investing for Success!
March 6, 2009, Online Recruitment – UK
Yet all too often one of the first things to be cut, during periods of change, are the budgets related to managing and developing talent; when in actual fact this should be seen as a time to invest – assuming this investment is in the right place! For example, let’s look at investment in executive coaching and whether it should be for all or just the select few.

Is It Time for Coaching to Don Some New Clothes?
March 4, 2009, TrainingZone.co.uk – Bristol, UK
Olivia Stefanino suggests that it’s time for coaches to roll up their sleeves and offer practical help and prove their versatility if they don’t want to lose their shirt in these recessionary times.

Life Coaching

When Layoffs Hit, Look for Ways to Grow, Life Coaches Say
March 9, 2009, Seattle Post Intelligencer – USA
The Seattle P-I talked with local life coaches in Seattle about how to cope with change and prepare yourself to explore the unknown. Career coaches will tell you how to revamp your r√©sum√© and tap into transferable skills, but life coaches can help revamp attitude and map out a future that heretofore was unforeseeable.

Workshops Offered for Parents and Teens From Local Life Coach
March 6, 2009, Sparks Today – Sparks, NV, USA
Teens have always gravitated towards Life Coach Lesia Knudsen, and parents have always called to ask her for help. The Sparks resident knows she has a special gift and has made her passion for young adults the focal point of communication workshops she conducts for parents and teens.

Why You Should Hire a Life Coach
March 6, 2009, U.S. News & World Report – Washington, DC, USA
While hiring a coach can seem like a wasteful indulgence during a recession, the people I interviewed told me that it was during tough times, or times of transition, that they most valued such targeted mentoring. Still, with the average coach costing around $500 per hour, it doesn’t come cheap.

In This Economy, Ask Yourself the Right Questions
March 6, 2009, Fox Business – USA
While so many people in our nation right now are frantically searching for answers that will keep life as they know it afloat and intact, one man wonders this: Do they even know the question?
Note: Lable Braun has contributed several blog entries to the Coaching Commons.

Life Coaching Blogs

Widows and Dating: The Differences Between Men and Women
March 9, 2009, By Widows Breath Coaching
Men are not like women. They are built differently, they think differently and they act differently. (Thank goodness‚Ä¶who really wants her man to be a woman?) You may think that this is obvious, right? Yet we women often look to our men to react as we ourselves do.

What Is a Health Coach, and Why Are They Paid $121 an Hour?
March 9, 2009, By Kevin Pho MD
Some sites promise $121 an hour (“at least”), without having to leave home, and there are no worries about malpractice. Imagine what those with an actual medical degree can do as a health coach. It’s no wonder why so many physicians are leaving medicine, and finding cash-only alternative medical practices so appealing.

How Are the Guys Doing?
March 9, 2009, By Daisy Swan
I work with a lot of men and have been thinking a lot about what male ‘issues’ vs. female ‘issues’ are. There have been a lot of things written lately about how men have been affected more by the economic downturn than women.

How to Sit Down With the Kids and Tell Them You’re Divorcing
March 9, 2009, By Shannon Cook
There are few conversations a parent dreads more than the one where it is time to explain that mommy and daddy are getting a divorce, and that the picture of their lives as they know it is about to change forever. No parent wants to cause their children pain, and unfortunately there will be hurt, confusion, and anger as a result of announcing this life transition.

Bahamian Coaching
March 7, 2009, By Center for Positive Change
We took a grand tour of the Bahamian flats firsthand, led by one of the most sincere and trusted coaching guides on the planet. His skill, coaching approach, humor, and wisdom were amazing. He taught us how to appreciate life again, and how to sing to the fish, how to use stealthy casts, and how to laugh at ourselves.

Dating or Love – You Choose
March 7, 2009, By Carolin Dahlman, Love Coach
Dating columnist Sam Brett has started a booty school and will offer one-on-one coaching. That’s great. The more people helping others to fall in love the better. I love “competition”. If more people realize that they probably need more than another 10 blind dates to find love, there will be more happy relationships.

Church and Society
March 6, 2009, By Tom Nankervis
Life coaching is a partnership between a coach and an individual who wants to make positive life changes. The Rev. Jim Robey, a United Methodist elder endorsed as a life coach, views the process as a way to help a person move into the ‚Äúfullness of life” which Jesus offers.
Note: Scroll to last item in this article.

Top Ten Things You Would Never Hear a Coach Say
March 5, 2009, By Angie
Coaching is about the client and NOT about the coach, usually. Sometimes a coaching experience might be worth a share if a coachee is stuck – but not usually. It’s all about them – not you.

Would a Writing Coach Help?
March 5, 2009, By Word Grrls Blog
First, a writing coach can help you stay focused and on point with your current project or goal. Next, a writing coach can help you over those rough spots when you’re stuck in a rut or aren’t sure which avenue to take next. In addition, a writing coach is someone who encourages and supports your efforts, yet offers concrete suggestions to assist you in reaching the next level on your creative journey.

Executive/Business Coaching Blogs

Now is a Great Time to Start a Home Based Business
March 9, 2009, By David B. Bohl
I know we are all concerned about economic conditions these days, with massive job layoffs, declining housing markets, and plunging stock prices. Yet, the rise in unemployment has created a great opportunity for those who have entrepreneurial dreams.

Open-Ended Questions – Tools for Engagement
March 9, 2009, By Marcy Nelson-Garrison
What a pleasant surprise to show up at a recent Minnesota Coaches Association meeting and see that my deck of Q? Basics, was part of the program. The presenters greeted attendees at the door with a basket of the open-ended questions and we were each invited to draw a random card.

Business Coaching: Men, Why It’s Time to Look at Women’s Magazines
March 7, 2009, By Paul Simister, Your Profit Coach
Twice in the last week I have received the tip that to improve my ability to write headlines, I should take a look at women’s magazines. Just to be clear, that’s magazines written for women and not the top shelf magazines with photos of naked women.

10 Questions to Find Out if You Suck at Wealth Management
March 4, 2009, By John Mckee
Many leaders are dissatisfied with their personal life and financial situation. In this blog, leadership coach John M McKee suggests managing each of the three key life elements to ensure satisfaction over the long haul.

Books, Products, & Services

Choose Joy: You Have the Power to Improve Your Life, Says Author
March 4, 2009, Daily Breeze – Torrance, CA, USA
It is perhaps appropriately ironic that the day I was scheduled to interview Michelle DeAngelis about her book, “Get a Life That Doesn’t Suck: 10 Surefire Ways to Live Life and Love the Ride,” I got into a car accident. What better way to brush off life’s little accidents than with the help of a life coach who, naturally, specializes in dispelling dissatisfaction?

Publicity Releases

Margaret Lynch, Success Coach and Author, to Guest of ‚ÄúBare Naked With Nora Klaver”
March 10, 2009, PR Urgent – Oak Park, IL, USA
‚ÄúBare Naked with Nora Klaver”, Voiceamerica’s popular internet radio program, welcomes author Margaret Lynch to the March 12th episode. Lynch is a Success Coach, an Emotional Freedom Technique Expert and an author who has written a series of books called the ‚ÄúSecret of Intentional Wealth”.

La Dolce Vita Retreats. Empowering Women to Live the Life They Envision
March 9, 2009, BigNews.biz (press release) – Irvine, CA, USA
The long-time dream of mompreneur and professional Life Coach, Janice Briggs, created the company to help provide women with international travel opportunities that combine experiential learning and creative self-expression to enhance the mind, body and spirit.

Got Coaching? Try Coaching for Commitment – Rare Author-Led Public Workshop Scheduled
March 7, 2009, PR.com (press release) – Pueblo West, CO, USA
Coe and Zehnder are best known for their work as executive coaches, keynote speakers and master facilitators. They work with clients internationally to help them improve their leadership quotient, management and coaching skills, employee engagement and retention, team effectiveness, operations and ultimately the bottom line.

American Health Announces New Disease Management and Lifestyle/Wellness Programs
March 5, 2009, Marketwire – Worthington, OH, USA
Program highlights include disease management and lifestyle coaching; interactive online tools; at-home and onsite biometric testing; onsite and online educational programs; and disease-specific equipment, such as glucose meters, weight scales, and blood pressure cuffs, which are equipped to send electronic readings to American Health’s Nurse Coaches.