The interesting cultural mix of London
London is full of people from various nationalities. Walk down the streets and you hear people speak diverse languages, you see the signs for ethnic restaurants.
When we were in London last week, we found ourselves in the midst of Iranian and Lebanese communities. The underground was clean and, now that we have experience with it, much more understandable. We walked the streets and watched the people, many with their children. The Islamic women often wore full burqas, and I found myself ashamed to be staring. I wanted to take in the different cultural practice, to observe and to understand. What is it like between a man and a woman-a husband and wife-who observe such customs? My wife found herself wondering if the women wearing burqas looked at her with disdain or with envy.
While in London, we attended a conference on executive coaching conducted by the Academy of Executive Coaching (AoEC), the most highly accredited coach-training programme in Europe. The Gestalt Training Institute of Bermuda (GTIB), a sister company to Benedict Associates, will be bringing a specially designed and intensive programme of training for both those with little or no coaching experience and for those with considerable experience but not yet certified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF); it will do so by partnering with the AoEC, and we were in London to meet with key people at AoEC to work out a design uniquely crafted for the specific needs in Bermuda. This training programme will initially also draw people from the Caribbean and the United States in order for people in those regions to attend these programmes in Bermuda.
John Leary-Joyce, CEO, conceived of the AoEC in 1999 as the culmination of 30 years training and developing people, including research into the advanced training of coaches. The AoEC believes that learning to be a great coach is a profound and personal journey. They believe in coaching a person to become a coach. GTIB will be using the expertise and wisdom the intellectual capital to bring AoEC's benefits to Bermuda; they will not just teach coaching methodologies, they will work with trainees to develop each one's own model, their own style, their own 'signature presence'. The AoEC is committed to maintaining the highest professional standards, and it is the only UK coach training company to be accredited by the three top professional bodies. Because of GTIB's and Benedict's commitments to excellence in training, they selected the AoEC for their partner in the training and support of executive and life coaches in Bermuda.
Coaching is becoming an increasingly regulated field. The International Coach Federation, for instance, offers three levels of certification (from the ICF web site):
¦ Associate Certified Coach (ACC)
The ICF Associate Certified Coach credential is for the practiced coach. It requires completion of a set amount of coach-specific training; a minimum of 100 coaching experience hours; and at least eight clients, among other requirements.
¦ Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
The ICF Professional Certified Coach credential is for the proven coach. It requires completion of a set amount of coach-specific training, a minimum of 750 coaching experience hours, and at least 25 clients, among other requirements.
¦ Master Certified Coach (MCC)
The ICF Master Certified Coach credential is for the expert coach. It requires completion of a set amount of coach-specific training, a minimum of 2,500 coaching experience hours and at least 35 clients, among other requirements.
Overall, the following organisations are influential in upholding standards for coaching and accrediting both individual coaches and the programmes that train them (The AoEC is recognised by all of these accrediting bodies):
n International Coach Federation
The International Coach Federation is the globally recognised association of professional, personal, and business coaches. http://www.coachfederation.org/ICF
¦ European Mentoring and Coaching Council
The European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) exists to promote good practice and the expectation of good practice in mentoring and coaching across Europe.
¦ Professional Development Foundation
The PDF provide accreditation for practitioner and master coaches. http://www.pdf.net
¦ National Centre for Work Based Learning
The Institute for Work Based Learning offers an in-depth and diverse range of products and services for business in connection with Higher Education and Work place learning.
¦ Association for Coaching
The AC is an independent non-profit organisation with the goal to promote best practice, raise awareness and standards across the coaching industry, while providing value added benefits to its members whether they are professional coaches or organisations involved in coaching. http://www.associationforcoaching.com
According to Cavanagh, Grant, and Kemp (in their book Evidence-Based Coaching), coaching can be understood as potentially three types of activities:
n Skills coaching focuses on developing a specific skills set and can be quite short-term in nature
¦ Performance coaching concerns the improvement of overall performance over a given period of time. This kind of coaching is about how a person sets goals, overcomes obstacles, and evaluates and monitors performance while working toward their goals.
¦ Developmental coaching takes a broader approach and deals with the personal and professional development of a person; it can include such things as enhancing emotional competence and working effectively as a member of a team.
Sometimes a person needs to learn how to operate a widget. At other times a person needs to become more proficient in making a widget, and at still other times a person needs to learn how to work effectively to manage a team of widget makers. GTIB's Intermediate Programme that will begin in February will be for those managers who need to learn how to work more effectively so as to coach within their existing teams and will lead toward the ACC certification. The Advanced Programme, which will also start in February, is for people with coaching experience who need to learn how to excel in their practice of executive coaching and will qualify a person for the PCC level of certification.
Adjusting to cultural change is not something that comes easily. Whether a person is walking down the streets of London and trying to navigate the Middle Eastern neighborhoods, or whether someone is an executive moving to Bermuda and attempting to adjust to living on an island, a little coaching now and then can help quite a bit. Coaching is another way for people to find solutions to business and life problems, gain skills, and develop as persons. It is not psychotherapy, even though the techniques and approaches encountered in coaching can be quite therapeutic.
