Dear Subscribers,

Traditionally this month heralds a sorting and clearing process for a new beginning in the year to come which for coaches includes the advancement of all aspects of Life Coaching and personal development.

So keeping this in mind that’s exactly what is happening at the ECI. During 2009 the powers that be have diligently worked to clear the decks in readiness for New Year 2010 and beyond!

We are so excited about what we will be sharing with you over the ensuing months and years to come with our membership benefits, accreditation options, books, newsletters, coaching industry updates, members offers, videos, workshops, forums, conferences, the list is endless.

Now is the time to share the thrilling news with you of what has been going on behind the scenes since the beginning of this year. We have adopted a new name, a new image, so many new recruits to our volunteer team and a fantastic world wide surge in membership enquiries and sign ups.

What more can I say, it’s simply been all systems go since we realised a transformation was required to meet the demand of coaches just like you – so ladies and gentlemen I’m delighted to share with you that from January 2010 you’ll have a brand new look and feel IIC – International Institute of Coaching and Newsletter, with myself PaTrisha-Anne Todd as Editor.

My background is of personal development and metaphysics an ideal foundation for empowering coaching. My passion is writing and sharing with like minded individuals the wisdom of the ancients, the gurus and esteemed thought provoking positive mindset philosophers through my books, articles and courses. It is my personal intention to forge ahead and bring to you each month what is to become the world’s leading Life Coaching Newsletter within the coaching industry – the newsletter of the IIC International Institute of Coaching. The IIC is a brand new vehicle which supersedes the pioneering ECI European Coaching Institute.

In anticipation of a very inspiring time to come may I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and enjoyment in reading the December 2009 issue of the familiar ECI Newsletter, and a very abundant and prosperous New Year.

From January 2010 you’ll see the IIC Newsletter drop into your in-box from the IIC International Institute of Coaching the world’s most caring accreditation organisation for life coaches and coach training schools – across the globe!

 

Conflicts within a relationship is always a source of pain, worry and anguish often leaving us bruised, tender and unsure of our abilities to sustain positive, fulfilling relationships with those around us.

When the initial disagreement has died down and the ability to look at the event more objectively returns, it’s very useful to stand back and reflect on what caused the clash. It is brave to look first to ourselves as the initial cause of the conflict and consider that our own negative beliefs or our own delicate self-esteem may have been a contributing factor.

It is natural as a human being to defend ourselves when attacked, or when we perceive we are being attacked. However, is it our own negative beliefs that are driving our behaviour and restricting our ability to handle conflicts with a rational and balanced response?

For example, conflict in the workplace may be fuelled by an individual’s negative belief system kicking in with doubts of not being capable of performing their duties adequately, with a fear of being found out and ridiculed or possible dismissal, causing any efforts from colleagues or managers to assist them being met with rejection. Resentment may then follow in line with this negative belief. Sometimes making the individual feel their colleagues and managers think they are inadequate, stupid, unintelligent …. the negative spiral can become endless. This unhelpful negative belief in turn affects all their future interactions, namely teamwork and morale. Conclusively the genuine offers of help and assistance from colleagues disappear.

In romantic partnerships, low self-esteem and negative beliefs such as being unworthy of love and affection can cause feelings of jealousy, neediness and distrust spiralling into endless emotional turmoil leading to conflicts. Sadly despite others kindly and sometimes frantic attempts to reassure and cultivate positive beliefs.

Coaching is a powerful resource available to individuals working on strong negative beliefs which cause conflict. Raising awareness of the strength of negative beliefs, their source and the effect they have on our behaviour is imperative before they can be acknowledged, understood and addressed.

However, once this awareness and acceptance has occurred, work can begin to change those negative beliefs into new, positive, empowering ones. Human beings are blessed with the ability to constantly develop, improve and reinvent themselves for their personal improvement and to enhance their interactions with others. Once the process starts they find themselves blossoming into more efficient and effective individuals, able to respond to a variety of negative situations in a more positive and balanced mindset.
 

Helen Jones
helen-jones@the-eci.org
 

© 2009 Helen Jones. All Rights Reserved

You know who you are, but if you think a prospective coaching client has doubts about your ability to work with them as their coach, then bring up that doubt with them immediately. Don't delay by wasting your time with someone who really isn't open to receive coaching, after all when you think about the situation you'll realise that it's the person themselves who isn't ready for change.

Like I said you know who you are, what your dreams are so move forward and think bigger, think greater and Be - Do - Have.

Often when we are experiencing conflict with another person, good advice suggests that we try to see the situation from the other person’s point of view. Stephen Covey addresses this very subject in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

When assessing a situation of conflict we need to understand the power that our character has on our attitudes and behaviours and therefore our perception of events. What aspects of our character are influencing our behaviours and possibly contributing to the conflict, or our perception of the other person’s behaviour?

We should ask ourselves what values are our motives based on when we react – are we trying to manipulate or behave to satisfy our own gains or are we acting in the best interests of the other person?

Stephen Covey talks about the paradigms we create for ourselves that underpin our perception and behaviours, and which can contribute to conflicts. Are these affecting the way we interpret situations, behaviour of others and their reactions and therefore are these contributing to relationship conflicts? When people disagree with us we often automatically think they are wrong, but Covey suggests that taking a step back from a situation and allowing time to think about the factors involved can enable us to see things differently and enable us to deal with conflict more effectively.

This self-awareness supports massive personal effectiveness as it allows us to respond rather than react to situations, be more flexible in our actions, gain greater understanding of the opinions and beliefs of others and enhance communication dramatically. Paradigms shifts of this kind move us from seeing the world from one perspective to viewing it from another.

Covey underpins this by saying “The way we see the problem – is the problem” and perhaps this is the strongest statement that underpins the causes of conflicts and the difficulties in resolving them.
 

researched by Helen Jones
helen-jones@the-eci.org
 

‘Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.’ Andrew Carnegie

The creation of a team and the strategies to have that team running smoothly with an unshakable and prudent team leader is the most important component of successful teamwork.

So why is this so important in either case of an employee or a business owner to lead well and encourage teamwork?

Could it be because of the acronym T.E.A.M. Together Everyone Achieves More, or is it just basically about realising ‘the vision’, regardless if it’s your personal vision, the company or of the whole group. Aristotle expressed it very well; ‘The whole is more than the sum of its parts.'

Keeping in mind of what both Aristotle and Andrew Carnegie say I personally applaud the concept of teamwork for fast and accurate results.

Just take the example of coaching, that’s teamwork a conscious collaboration of like mind persons coming together to achieve a common goal. It really doesn’t matter if it’s a team of two or more, the essence is that having the support of a team is essential to the success of the goal.

Encouraging teamwork also involves a strategy. There are seven vital factors to take into consideration when putting your team together.

Seven Steps For Productive and Enjoyable Team Work
 

1. Analyse your objective. Know what your goal is, but more importantly be clear on why you’ve chosen that goal.
    
2. Invite like minded others with high energy and the skills you don’t have to join your team and turn the dream into a reality.
    
3. Promise yourself first that you’ll take your vision and share it with others. Make sure the people you choose to work with have that same vision as you and they also envisage taking the goal to its full potential.
    
4. Be consistent and continually communicate the vision to the team and how it will add value to the higher good. Keep your team educated about the goal.
    
5. Know the key characters in your team and help them to help the others remain motivated and charged.
    
6. Work diligently, carefully and with full discipline. Discipline is the critical factor for success in any project.
    
7. Enjoy the journey and share the load and the success.

Working with these seven steps you’ll find your team to be a harmonious and productive asset to the goal.

Of course your charisma, strength and compassion will greatly influence the direction the team goes. So give support, do your fair share of the work, offer a listening ear and you’ll find you become a leader within a great team.
 

PaTrisha-Anne
patrisha-anne@the-eci.org


© 2009 PaTrisha-Anne Todd. All Rights Reserved
 

The International Coaching Register is for any individual who trades as a coach, who help individuals and/or organisations for example, establish a work life balance, manage stress levels and build communication skills amongst many other specialist areas.

Everyone who has qualified as a coach with a recognised coach training company should now take the opportunity to register. This will dramatically cut down on any misrepresentation that goes on within the industry. Many people have websites and call themselves a
coach but have no actual qualifications. The register will stop these people and raise the profile of genuine coaching and how it can transform people’s lives.

C.E.O. of the ECI Gerard O’Donovan said “the register has been administered by the ECI for the benefit of the world of coaching and coaching clients. It is also a great way for coaches to get business as members of the public can search for registered coaches in their area. It brings coaching transparency at last.”

As a Member of the ECI, Have you published your details on the International Coaching Register, at no charge?
To do so:

Login to the ECI Members Area, and then select the ICR Register Edits menu option on the left hand side of the screen.

Create your entry by selecting:

• Insurance - enter your Professional Indemnity Insurance details here.
  
   
• Training - enter the details of all the training courses you have completed here.
  
   
• Workshops - enter the details of all the workshops you have attended here.
  
   
• Accreditation - your ECI Accreditation details will automatically be included here. You also have the opportunity to enter the details of all the accreditations/credentials you have been awarded, as an independent verification of your coach training and experience.
  
   
• Business Details - select or enter all types of coaching you include in your Coaching Business/Practice.
  
   
• Organisation Membership Details - enter the details of all Business Organisations in which you hold a membership - these could be other Coaching Bodies, Chamber of Commerce, or any type of organisation that is appropriate to your business.
  
   
• Display - do not forget to DISPLAY your details. Selecting yes your details will be displayed on the International Coaching Register. For ECI Accredited Coaches, your details will also be displayed on the ECIs Coaching Referral programme.
  
   

We look forward to seeing you on the International Coaching Register.
 

Raise your profile, while inspiring others by sharing your experiences in our day in the life feature. For publication guidelines click here.