I’ve been asked as a past president to come back and speak on a panel of leaders to the Kansas city coaching community. If anyone is interested they can also sign up for it tomorrow Jan. 11, 2013. You can find it at HeartlandCoaches.org
The coaching profession has come a long way over our very short history. We owe a great deal to those leaders and visionaries who have contributed so much to help pave the way to where we are now.
How did we get here?
Where are we going?
What will we (the collective we of our chapter and our profession) create for tomorrow?
What role will you play?
Our goal is to understand what the landscape and industry looked like when our chapter was a baby, and what that growth has been like through the eyes of our Past Presidents. Launching from that perspective, we will tap into their thoughts and your vision about where you see coaching going as a profession, an industry, and what that means for our chapter and our members.
We will prepare questions for our panel in advance so they can provide thoughtful, insightful, and maybe even provocative answers.
Here is the bio I sent them:
Chuck has a background in Counseling and his coaching practice was an extension of his past work. Chuck worked for and ended up managing the Counseling Department for the Excelsior Springs Job Corps, managing a staff of 12 and responsible for over 500 students educational and mental health needs. He was still working on finishing the College of Executive Coaching program and working toward becoming an ICF credentialed coach when he was asked to help lead. He remembers thinking, “Organizing a small group of coaches seemed like an easy task. How hard could it be?” It did not turn out to not be so easy. He remembers hearing the phrase, “herding cats” quite often.
Chuck’s primary goal as president was to create an organization with a strong foundation wasn’t tied to any one person’s personality. Not dependent upon his leadership but could be handed off and lead by someone else.
Group goals
1) Increase awareness. Not everyone will choose to join, but every coach in Kansas City should know about us to make that choice.
2) Affiliate with ICF. Create bylaws that allow for local participation but not mandate ICF affiliation.
3) Create a space that allows for diversity of thought about a coaching practice means.
4) Make sure each meeting has something meaningful that adds value to attendees life or business.
5) Be Kansas City’s coaching organization educate, raise awareness and participate in the community.
I’m very proud of the work that not only I did but of the other coaches that supported me during my tenure as President. Leadership brings many challenges, and with those challenges opportunites for growth. I owe a great debt of grattitude to the community and am honored to be able to once again step into a role to share and give back.