Are you Present?
by Emily Woodman-Nance

While cooking I thought about “coaching presence”.  At the April ICF-OC meeting Michael Stratford, MCC and Carly Anderson, MCC made it clear that coaching presence unlocks the door to the other core competencies.   ICF defines coaching presence as follows:

“Ability to be fully conscious and create spontaneous relationship with the client, employing a style that is open, flexible and confident”

Just think if you are not fully conscious how can you communicate effectively, facilitate learning and results or set the foundation with a client.  When I think about coaching presence an inner peace runs through my body.  I get to be open, flexible and confident.   I do not have to perform or create results. 

Thanks to Michael and Carly, I check to make sure I am prepared emotionally and physically before each coaching conversation.  How effective are you if you are hungry or thirsty or thinking about how you need to move a client forward?

Today, I took coaching presence a step further.  I looked at how I am showing up in my personal relationships.  Am I fully conscious?  The answer was not what I wanted it to be.  Not always.  I am either pre-occupied or written off the conversation as the “same old broken record”.  Ouch!  Why would I be fully conscious with my clients and not the people in my life that mean the most to me?  I have come up with a number of reasons but none give me a warm fuzzy feeling.  I have decided that I am committed to being fully conscious with the people in my life.  I will self correct if I find myself being pre-occupied or playing the broken record game.  Next time, you see me ask me how I am doing with being fully conscious with the people in my life.  How about you, are you present?    

Warm regards,

Emily Woodman-Nance
ICF-OC President

Three ways to restore balance and improve efficiency

There’s no doubt the current economy has created an environment where people and organizations are working harder with fewer results. It’s easy to get caught up in the “doing” instead of focusing on the right activities that generate results and create stability.

Three ways to restore balance and improve efficiency:

1. Spend time reviewing your strategy to make sure it's in alignment with your purpose, goals and vision. By doing so, you bring the team together and avoid competing priorities. A plan with measurable metrics is a valuable tool that will help keep you and your business on track.
   
   
2. Focus on high payoff activities to maximize your time, efforts and increase your results. If you feel stretched it’s a good indication your plan is insufficient and lacks focus.
   
   
3. Evaluate your expenses and cash conversion cycle to optimize cash flow and redirect towards growth catalyst such as sales and marketing activities which will produce new business.
   

A crystal clear plan will create alignment with your team, allow you to execute effectively and ultimately restore balance in your organization.

Mike Brenhaug
Business & Sales Force Development Coach
www.FastBizGrowth.net

The Why Café by John P. Strelecky

Sometimes when you least expect it, and perhaps most need it, you find yourself in a new place, with new people, and you learn new things. That happened to John (our hero) one night on a dark, lonely stretch of road. In retrospect, his situation at that moment was symbolic of his life at that time. Just as he was lost on the road, he was lost in life as well, unsure of exactly where he was going or why he was moving in that direction. That night in the Why Café changed his life. The questions he was exposed to resulted in thoughts and discoveries beyond anything he had imagined before then. Click here for full book report.

Click here to view additional book reports by Frumi.  To find out more about Frumi Barr, MBA, Ph.D.  click here

Our monthly meetings are every second Thursday of the month.

………………………….
May 13, 2010 meeting:
5:30 – 6:00 p.m. Networking
6:00 – 6:30 p.m. Dinner and Announcements
6:30 – 7:30 Session I: “Setup a Foundation for a Service Oriented Coaching Business”
7:45 – 8:45 Session II: “Coaches, their Specialties and the Wisdom for a Sustainable Coaching Business”

Are you struggling to make your coaching business a success?

Have you spent thousands of dollars on training to obtain the skills and certifications only to find yourself unable to attract the clients that will make their business a success?

Are you an experienced coach who wants to take your coaching practice to the next level?

If so, you need to attend the May 13, 2010 International Coach Federation Orange County meeting where a panel of five successful coaches will show you exactly what you need to know to organize your business and attract clients.

This coaching panel will present two one-hour sessions, the first focusing on organizing your business, the second focusing on coaching specialties.

Session I: Setup a Foundation for a Service Oriented Coaching Business

Many new coaches enter coaching with little or no knowledge of how to set up and organize a business that will support their coaching practice.

In this one-hour session, you will learn these basics of running a business:

• Business setup: office space, computer(s), business phones, mobile phones, business software, fax, printer
• Business plans: naming the business, business license, business plan, financial projections, business development plan, marketing plan, vision, mission
• Technology: website, emails, internet, social media, newsletters, blogs
• Time: setting up a master calendar, how to manage it for business and personal, delegating to support personnel
• Support personnel: virtual or in-office assistants, bookkeeper, CPA, graphic designer, website designer
• Financial: estimated cost to start a business, estimated annual costs, the pros of beginning a part-time coaching business, the pros of maintaining a job while beginning a business

Session II: Coaches, their Specialties and the Wisdom for a Sustainable Coaching Business

During this session, the coaching panel will discuss:

• The challenges they faced and what actions they took to meet those challenges, especially when they were just starting their coaching practice
• How they developed and perfected their niche/specialty
• The most important steps they took to achieve a successful specialty business such as Executive Coaching
• How they created a successful business once they determined their specialty
• How they sustained their successful businesses

Click HERE to register.

Affiliate Events

ICF-LA Monthly Meeting May 19, 2010 7:00-9:15 PM “What Is Your Ethic’s IQ” Presented by Tina Elliot, MBA, PCC Could you be treading into some ethical gray areas as a coach, and not even know it? What do clients file complaints about? Are you familiar with the ICF’s Ethical Review (complaint) Process? More importantly, do you know how to keep yourself out of this extremely stressful situation? Are you sure your coaching agreement is protecting you? Get some inside tips on how to fine tune it! When should you refer your client to another coach? Knowledge is power!  Go to www.icf-la.org to get more information and to register.

Congratulations

ICF-OC is delighted to welcome industry partner Roger Cregg, CTFA Morgan Stanley Smith Barney