Coaching Blog

I've talked to hundreds of coaches and nearly all of them say the same thing:

They see themselves equally as entrepreneurs and professionals. I'm not surprised.

DEFINITION:

Entrepreneur: Someone who starts businesses for fun. May or may not be successful.

Professional: Someone with professional training & credentials who offers professional services for a fee. May or may not be successful.

Coaches don't just wear two hats. You could say we have two brains, when it comes to running our businesses. One for the entrepreneur (Fun & profit!) and one for the professional (I'll learn everything I can to give the best results and I have credentials that confirm that.)

I love being an entrepreneur. It's loads of fun. I bet you do too. And I bet your inner professional held you back until he/she was convinced you'd done what it takes to be the best you can be. Not always fun - but worth it, if you want to be a professional with integrity. And necessary, if you want to be a professional who succeeds.

You see, to your inner professional, practicing your profession without the appropriate credentials is as terrifying as walking down the red carpet stark naked!

• Or performing brain surgery without being a doctor.
• Or flying a plane without a pilot's license.

There's no getting around this, if you see yourself as a professional. So, if you're a coach who wants more clients and you're trying to do it without training and certification (the coaching profession's recognized credentials), then your inner professional is just trying to save you from disaster and humiliation.

You can thank it for that.

Your inner entrepreneur doesn't get this. It's busy running a cool business and it doesn't have time & money to spend on more training. And anyway, coaches don't really need certification, right?

Actually, according to a number of studies (See Coaching Sherpa), professional coaches without training & certification earn less, become successful more slowly, and/or drop out of the profession after a couple of years.

No surprise, eh?

You've got to get your inner professional and inner entrepreneur talking to each other. They need to work together so you can have the fun, ease and profits you planned on and the integrity you require.

Fortunately for you, there's something that will make both your inner professional and inner entrepreneur very, very happy.

It's called Certification Bootcamp. It's for practicing coaches, only, and it's short on both time and money, long on fun, and high on quality, value and results (Listen, I'm a professional, too).

The premiere edition of CERTIFICATION BOOTCAMP is coming up in a few weeks.

IT INCLUDES:

• 10 TELE-WEBINAR CLASSES
• 4 TELECONFERENCES
• 1 LIVE EVENT

You can customize it and take only what you need.

It's fast and fun and priced so low, even your inner entrepreneur will love it. If you jump in quickly, you inner professional will breathe a sigh of relief and will finally, FINALLY, let you succeed like you know you are meant to.

NO MORE GOING NAKED.

This program is only open to a few good coaches and it's already filling, so if you're at all curious, check it out right now. Your inner professional will thank you.

If you have more questions, call us at +1-877-224-2780

Check out Coach Certification Bootcamp here.

Artifact From the Future:

On April 1st, 2014, the International Association of Coaching released its new IAC Coaching Supremacies^TM, the intellectual property on which its elite IAC Certified Coach designation will be based, going forward.

Reached for comment, current IAC President, Thomas J Leonard, often called the ‘Father of Coaching' and recently brought back to life via advancements in cryogenics said, ‘I'm pleased with the improvements in coaching during my absence, except for all The Secret hoohah... With the release of the new coaching supremacies, I'd say coaching has reached about 13% of its full potential.' Mr. Leonard founded the IAC in 2003 with the mission to ‘Improve the Quality of Coaching Worldwide'.

Here are the Five IAC Coaching Supremacies^TM:

1. Is Completely Transparent: The Certified Coach is so honest, straightforward and highly evolved that in many cases, he/she has  achieved complete invisibility. This negates the need for pajamas while coaching by phone. The advantage of transparency is that the supreme coach gains complete trust from the client, who often is unaware that the coach is even there. It also aides in Supremacy #2.

2. Really Sees the Client: The Certified Coach doesn't rely on client truthfulness. That can come in short supply. Rather, the supreme coach can view everything the clients says and does, electronically, physically or metaphysically, 168 hours per week and coaches the Truth, not some story about the truth. For the geographically or metaphysically challenged coach, a new iShadow App for iPad can be purchased from iTunes for 99 cents. A copycat version for droidPad is also available for free from Google.

3. Is Utterly Silent: The Certified Coach has mastered the skill of silence so completely, he/she doesn't have to say anything. Ever. And the client is then coached, well, supremely. Supreme coaches say this advanced skill set speeds up the coaching process by at least 10 fold. When contacted for comment, Coach Mattison Grey had no comment.

4. Creates Outcomes by Thinking: The Certified Coach has mastered the Law of Attraction (or Principles of Attraction, if you prefer) so thoroughly that he/she merely has to think and feeeel what the client really wants and the client gets it, pronto. This is casually known as the genie-in-the-bottle skill. No need for poky structures, systems or environments to do the work. That's so 2010.

5. Coaches Beyond Enlightenment: The Certified Coach knows that every level of advanced consciousness carries with it its own peculiar dysfunction. Whether it's complacency, absence of boundaries, severe financial woes, or how to feng shui a cave, even enlightened clients, now estimated to make up at least 50% of all coaching clients, need their own version of a kick in the pants now and then and the supreme coach knows how to deliver it.

IAC Eurasia Chapter President, B. K. Ramalamabananananda, who lives in Mumbai, the current epicenter of professional coaching, and who specializes in coaching Bollywood starlets said, ‘These coaching supremacies are really nothing new. Indian saints have been performing such feats for centuries, so why not coaches?'

Want to stay abreast on the future of coaching? Join our IAC virtual chapter and get this free white paper, plus more goodies. No joke.

Coach Natalie Tucker Miller just returned with some amazing insights from last week's Shanghai Coaching Conference.

School of Coaching Mastery's own Dean of Students, Natalie Tucker Miller, IAC-CC, just returned from her visit to China as keynote speaker for the 2010 Shanghai Coaching Conference. As former President of the IAC and the current Lead Certifier for the IAC, Natalie was a natural choice to keynote for this first ever live IAC coaching conference.

But more than that, Natalie is one of the best examples of a great coach that I know. I'm sure coaches in Asia loved just being in the room with her!

It wasn't easy catching up with Natalie to do an interview, but I knew that our readers from around the globe would be curious to hear about the enthusiasm and desire to embrace coaching mastery that Natalie encountered in Shanghai.

Here's what she told me:

JS: Natalie, thanks for doing this interview. What surprised you most about Asian coaches and the Asian coaching industry?

NTM: Asian coaches are so very interested to be on the leading edge of coaching! It's very inspiring to recognize how much we can learn from one another and that coaching opens those doors of sharing and possibility. The very nature of coaching encourages this as no other profession ever has, and it allows coaching's trademark "win-win".

Coaches around the globe see coaching as a way to bring about positive change for humanity, and there may be no place where that is more evident than in Asia. There is a great desire to help others, and improve the conditions of people's lives and work. There do not seem to be borders for the coaches who recognize these possibilities.

JS: Wow, that's truly inspiring! What stood out for you in terms of the attitudes of Asian coaches toward certification and training?

NTM: There is a powerful desire to achieve high levels of mastery in coaching. The coaches I spoke with in Asia want to know what the requirements for coaching mastery are and what needs to be done in order to fulfill those requirements. They seemed very interested in understanding the nuances of transformative coaching outcomes and learning what it takes to coach at that level.

JS: They sounds like high achievers! No wonder there is so much happening in the Asian coaching world. Describe the people who attended this coaching conference. What were they curious about? What kinds of questions did they ask and what did you tell them?

NTM: It was truly an international conference, with Asian representation as well as coaches from Europe, Australia and North America. There were certified coaches, coaches curious about certification, owners of coach training programs and representatives from companies who either shared their coaching success stories, or wanted to know what to expect by including coaching in their employee support programs.

Since this was based in China, there was a lot of interest in how and even if coaching skills could be applied cross culturally. What was concluded was that, when applying high coaching standards, cultural differences do not inhibit the process. There is great interest and support for the IAC Coaching Masteries® as a model for global standards.

JS: What do you see as the future of coaching in Asia and elsewhere?

NTM: I believe we will see a unifying of global coaching standards and a continued trajectory of professionalism in coaching. And as a huge success for the IAC, I think we'll see more live conferences hosted by the IAC.

Also, there are many Asian corporations bringing a coaching culture into their companies and this will continue to grow to all sectors of business, large and small. As China continues to grow as an economic and business center, there is great potential for coaching to grow there as well as all around the world. There are far more similarities than differences among people and this conference reinforced that for me in a big way!

JS: Thanks again, Natalie, for being the great leader that you are. I know our coaching students feel blessed to get to work with you!

If you have a pasion for coaching mastery and want to train with one of the very best, you can do so very affordably and from where ever you are in the world. Natalie with be teaching IAC Coaching Mastery 7 starting April 6th via live tele-webinar. Join Mastery 7 here.

We also have a limited-time special opportunity for new members of our Full Coach Training Program and Certified Coach Training Program where they can work with a certified mentor coach for three months at no extra charge and Natalie is one of our mentor coaches!

Want to know more about how you can work with Natalie? Call 1-877-224-2680 or email here to make an appointment with one of our enrollment advisors.

We're adding some major upgrades to our students' experiences at School of Coaching Mastery.

One new change is that Dean of Students, Natalie Tucker Miller, IAC-CC, is taking a more active role in orientation of new students, as well as answering questions for ongoing students and helping them stay on track with goals like IAC Coach Certification. Natalie of course, is an amazing coach and master instructor (She's leading our Mastery 6 Clarifying module, this month.). She's also past President and current Lead Certifier for the IAC. This month, she's speaking at the Shanghai Coaching Conference, too. Busy lady! But not too busy to meet personally with new coaching students to help them get off to a fantastic start with their coaching careers.

The second change is one that Curriculum Coordinator, Dee Taviner, has been hard at work on for months. It's a new membership and content management system that is really slick. We are SO excited about the possibilities that this new system adds for our students. Plus, we're adding a whole new way to play for coaches who want inside coaching knowledge, but don't need or aren't ready for a full-service coach training school. We're almost ready for a few beta testers. Please stand by...

And speaking of Dee Taviner, I can't help but mention our ongoing Study Groups. There are so many ways a study group can enhance your career (just ask Natalie), but that topic deserves its own blog post. I DO want you to know that in addition to Dee's Seven Secrets of Certification Student Group, talented SCM coach/student, Heidi Courtney, is now leading the Coaching Co-op Study Group.

Join a free Coaching Study Group here.

While prepping for my interview tomorrow with Coach Reporter, MarkJoyella, I came across some fascinating tidbits on coaching in the posts filed by Mark at Coaching Commons.

As a former TV journalist (and Emmy Award winner), Mark keeps his finger on the coaching pulse like the pro that he is. Who better to interview on current trends in coaching for the January teleconference meeting of the IAC North American Virtual Chapter?

Some of these trends ultimately will impact how you practice the profession of coaching. And if there is one trend in coaching that never seems to go away, it's that the coaches who succeed best are either the ones leading the way or those who keep up and adapt quickly to important trends. 

You need to be at this interview. 

We'll be talking about the latest research on coaching, business mergers, high tech developments and job opportunities and we'll even touch on the story that I think proves that coaching has already gone mainstream!

There'll be a quick Q&A at the end of the interview, followed by 30 minutes on some Mastery 1 coaching skills that you probably already have, but may not be using, which can simplify your coaching and lead to happier more successful clients. 

We meet Thursday, January 14th, 2 - 3:30 PM Eastern/NY Time. To join this call and receive notifications on upcoming calls, as well as a white paper on 'How to Become an IAC Certified Coach', a recorded interview with IAC Certifiers, Natalie Tucker Miller and Elizabeth Nofziger, plus the IAC Notes - all for free -

Join IAC NAC Here. 

 If you're reading this article then, obviously, you spend time online reading about coaching.

And if that's the case, then you must have noticed all those ads  that promise that you'll be a master certified coach in two days or 16 hours, or whatever. Sometimes, they also advertise their tuition, which is cheap, cheap, cheap.

You can imagine how those schools are regarded by real professional coaches. Mark Joyella (@CoachReporter), who writes for the Coaching Commons, tweeted about them (I'm paraphrasing), 'Sure and next weekend you can become a brain surgeon!'

I'm thinking those ads mainly appeal three types of people. Those who:

1. Think they already know how to coach (a.k.a. arrogant)

2. Are only interested in coaching for the money (a.k.a. greedy)

3. Are clueless (a.k.a. gullible)

Those who're attracted to us don't fit those descriptions, so I never considered weekend coach training schools our competition. 

But I reconsidered that when I heard that one of my most respected competitors, Barbra Sundquist, is closing her 'Become a Certified Coach' school at the end of this year [12-11-09 Update: Barbra isn't going out of business, but simply closing the doors of this particular program. See Barbra's comments in the comments section, below.]. Barbra cited a number of reasons, including rising competition from cheap, highly advertised, schools. That got me thinking...

What if the proliferation of bogus coach training schools drives out most or all of the legitimate schools?  Where does that leave the profession of coaching? Will the majority of coaches then be unskilled or disreputable? Will the reputation of coaching drop to the point that real professional coaches quit?

I'm not trying to be an alarmist here. You can't prevent a potential problem if you're not willing to look at it. Coaching has enjoyed incredible freedom in the past 20 years. But the success and freedom of coaching has sometimes attracted people with the wrong motivations.

I admit, 2009 has been a challenging year for School of Coaching Mastery, as well. Several of our students didn't pay their bills. But that forced me to consider just how committed I am to coach training and I realized that if it came down to choosing between my home or my school, I'd give up the house!

So I'm in it for the long haul. But what about you? If you're committed to coaching, then you're probably just as disturbed as I am about the proliferation of schools and coaches who don't cast a good light on this profession.

What do you think needs to be done about it? Do coaching organizations like the IAC and ICF have a responsibility to do anything? Do they even have the authority to do anything? Or do coaches themselves need to take more responsibility for the image of the profession?

There's lots of hang-wringing going on in private forums, but coaching is about action. Do you need to take action?

Please post your views on this in the area below and if coaching is a really important issue for you, please also share this article with the social sharing tools, above. 

* Harvard is studying us.
* The CEO of Google is bragging about us.
* Even the Wall Street Journal has great things to say about coaching.

Guess what? The ‘wild west' days of coaching are over.

Cliches about coaching that held true ten years ago, like that  coaches really don't need to be certified, aren't holding up like they used to.

Our surveys show that about 70% of coaches want coach certification, not because they're insecure, but just because it feels right to them. And since other surveys find that untrained, uncertified coaches are less likely to succeed, that intuition is well founded.

But coaches are busy with their businesses, so actually getting certified gets shoved to the back burner. It's a Catch 22. 

So we're giving you a one-time-only reason to pay close attention and get certified, right now: Starting November 16th, three certifiers (Natalie Tucker Miller, IAC-CC, Elizabeth Nofziger, IAC-CC, and Julia Stewart, IAC-CC)* are getting together for an eight hour course to teach you in detail what you need to pass certification. We've rolled it into three packages, so if you need a refresher course, first, you'll get that, and if you're ready to record your coaching sessions, you can get that too and save money.

2010 could be the year that you put those coveted letters after your name. 

Click below to find out more and choose the package that fits your needs best. Or call 877-224-2780 to ask about further customization to help you get certified. 

*We'll be working with the IAC Coaching Masteries^TM. We were the first coach training company in the world to be licensed to teach them and collectively, we've taught mentored or certified most of today's IAC Certified Coaches. In fact, Natalie and Elizabeth are current IAC Certifiers. But we are representing School of Coaching Mastery in this course, not the IAC, itself. 

If you'd like to hear a recording that will give you a taste of the learning you'll get from this value-packed course, the three of us  just did a call for the IAC North American Virtual Chapter and you'll immediately get a copy of that recording for joining, which is free.  

Go here for more info about Certified Coach: Master What the Certifiers Are Looking For 

Her background and how she got into coaching: ‘I'm an intercultural trainer and consultant, cultural orientation training. Originally I'm from the UK and am now living in Houston, Texas. I came into coaching via my coach who is a totally astounding and wonderful coach, called Mattison Grey. I just was so impressed and so assisted by being coached. I thought, Wow this might be a really amazing job to do!'

On what she learned while preparing for certification: ‘I found that going through your certification course was, my experience of person development, was very profound, more than I could have imagined. It seemed to get deeper and deeper and deeper. And that's my own experience...I want to do that, anyway. It also put me on the fast track for that personal development. So that's a very significant piece for me.

I found the instruction to be absolutely excellent, classes with you and Natalie. They were very well facilitated and you both held us in the highest respect even when we were struggling. And it's not easy! There was so much more to this!

I had to hold onto the stair rails very tightly at times. And it was through those challenging times that I so appreciated everybody, the instructors as well as the other people in the class.'

On IAC grading: ‘Challenging. Very high standards. You don't get away with anything, and not that I was trying to get away with anything, but even the masteries I thought I had really gotten well in the recordings. Everything is thoroughly sliced and diced and of course also very honoring...That was little surprising only because I didn't know what to expect.'

Advice for coaches who want to get certified: ‘The practicums are extremely helpful in getting the feedback you need. In addition...I personally have been working with a group of wonderful coaches here in Houston in a study group. That's been absolutely wonderful.
I would also recommend that to get ones own coach whilst you're working on it. There might be things that come up...old deep-seated fears...working with a coach to remove some of the blocks that come up.'

‘It's an absolutely just glorious feeling!'

Listen to the entire recording here:

Go here to learn from three Certifier/Instructors and...Master What the Certifiers are Looking For

I don't want to ruffle your feathers, but if you teach the Law of Attraction, don't you ever doubt whether it really works?

I'm not against the Law of Attraction. It's a great way to draw people's attention to the subtle ways that events seem to line for us when we are sure of what we want. Most importantly, it offers a good excuse for practicing faith.

For example: Recently a relative of mine told me she had a job offer that she really wanted to take, but it was a 9-month teaching position that paid about 1/4 less than her current job. I said, "If you really want it, there's probably a way that you can do it. So the question to ask is not, 'Should I do it?', but 'How could I do it?'". She knew there were lots of part-time temporary positions for her skill set, so she took the job on faith and within a month, her new employer offered her a summer teaching position that made up the lost pay. You could say she attracted the outcome she wanted. You could also say she realistically assessed the situation. Both explanations accurately describe her outcome.

My problem with the Law of Attraction is that tends to confuse people. And no matter how you explain it, confusion stops people from getting what they want. Most people who grew up in the 20th Century (I bet that includes you) were taught that hard work, strategy, education, research, expert advice and goal setting would help them get what they want. Then they hear that the Law of Attraction says all they have to do is think about what they want and they will get it. Does that mean they can throw out hard work, strategy, education, research, expert advice and goal setting? No. All those things include thinking about what it is you want, so keep doing them if they work for you.

Another example: Several months ago, I was musing that perhaps it was time to find a new coach. I'm fortunate to have some of the best coaches in the world as friends who will coach me, as needed, so quality of coaching wasn't an issue, but I fantasized that perhaps it was time for someone who was a spiritual teacher, whose training was different from mine (so they could surprise me now and then) and maybe someone who owns a coaching school, so they could relate to some of the challenges I'm working with; all of that would be nice. A week or two later, Lama Tantrapa called me up out of the blue and suggested we start coaching each other. When stuff like that happens, I've learned to just say, "Yes."

Sometimes things seem to happen like magic, but that doesn't mean that all we ever have to do is set our intentions. As Lama says, "The road to hell is paved with intentions." It turns out he found me via LinkedIn. Was it the Law of Attraction or a good social media strategy that brought him to me? Yes.

I belong to the local Science of Mind church. It's pretty much ground zero for the Law of Attraction. But even they say that LOA doesn't work for everybody. Children who grow up in the church seem to create more of what they want just by thinking about it, perhaps because they don't have competing beliefs that confuse them.

Third example: The other day, I ran into the pastor of my church at the Post Office. She told me how she broke her toe by slipping in the bathroom. She said she had broken another toe on the same foot so many time that it was crooked and she had been considering having it broken by a doctor to straighten it back out. In other words, she had been thinking about breaking a toe and she then broke one. Be careful what you think about! Was it LOA or a freak accident? Whatever story you tell about it, she still has a broken toe.

It's hard to prove causation. Scientists tend to point to correlations and avoid making up stories about causation. When we observe events like thinking about something and then experience what we thought about, we're observing correlation. But humans are story-making machines and we love stories about causation. Correlation feels  confusing.

Choose the stories that work for you. And let coaching clients do the same. Confusing them with the Law of Attraction may stop them from getting what they want, even if it works for you.

I'm here to say that the Law of Attraction is nothing but faith. 

Or maybe it's just correlated with faith. But faith is huge. And at the opposite end of the scale is doubt. All healthy humans have both.

Imagine faith and doubt connected by a line. Faith pulls us forward and doubt pulls us back. However, there is often hidden wisdom underneath doubt, so explore it, rather than try to eliminate it.

Confusion on the other hand, erases the line. Doubt carries wisdom and connects to faith. Confusion is full of missed connections and blurred vision, kind of like the words in the image, above.

Whether you have faith in science, Jesus Christ, hard work, the Law of Attraction or all of the above, that faith will help to pull you forward. Uncover what's behind your doubts and erase your confusion if you can (by creating clarity) and you'll be pulled forward with less effort. It's not a guarantee of outcome, but rather something that correlates with success. 

"No one should spend their time trying to think positive thoughts. We've all got better things to do." - Thomas Leonard  

Some of the most successful and honest thought leaders out there, like Bill Harris, who appeared in The Secret, and Thomas Leonard, who 'founded' the coaching profession, don't ascribe to the Law of Attraction. Thomas actually developed a very different approach to attracting what you want called, The Principles of Attraction. Coaching is about getting what you want and there are many ways to do it. 

Here's a secret: In my experience the Principles of Attraction, combined with the Law of Attraction is even more attractive. Consider trying both together.

What are your thoughts on Attraction? Feel free to share them in the comments section, below.

Want to learn about the Principles of Attraction for free?