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Trouble reading this newsletter? Click here for online version. Welcome to CTI UK's
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New Course for CPCCs:
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The Co-active Network: |
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Susan Moss, CPCC, was part of the Business Development Program that set up the Co-active Network. She says: "We realised that if we were going to teach coaches about how to find their niche, we also needed to offer them somewhere to explore their niche and network with each other. We realised this would be key in helping coaches explore the many different ways that coaching could be applied and shown to be relevant." Although social networking was still in its infancy at the time, CTI took the bold step in developing a multi-platform website, with messaging, forums, free conference lines, calendars and opportunity to create niche newsletters. It was an essential tool that coaches and people interested in coaching and leadership, could use to come together to create learning, share resources, cultivate alliances, develop opportunities and build community niches. Since 2003, the opportunity to talk to other professionals in their area regardless of geography has proven very attractive to CTI's students and graduates. Today, the Co-active Network has more than 14,000 members and is still growing. The network's niche communities cover almost every subject and application of coaching, from social action to Christian coaches to youth leadership to coaches working with emotional intelligence. Susan Moss' example as co-founder and leader of the education niche shows the network really can inspire coaches to do more than just have enlightened discussion. "I had just completed my Leadership Program, and I saw this as a chance to express my leadership by spreading Co-Activity in education," she says. "Coaching in schools is often equated with mentoring or coaching in the traditional sense, such as coaching sports teams, so we made a deliberate intention to invite people from the education world to present to our niche. We learnt from them, and at the same time they were exposed to Co-activity. "I've met amazing coaches with whom I've been able to have great conversations about the education system and how coaching can make it fit for purpose. The global reach of the education niche, which now has hundreds of members, means my learning opportunity has been so much richer." Nine members of the education niche have recently written an e-book together to make what they have learned more widely available. Titled Turning the Corner in Education: A Global Perspective, the book's diverse content explores what's happening in the world of education worldwide and reflects the power of the Co-active Network to deepen coaches' learning through exposure to a wider range of perspectives. For example, in her chapter, Dr. Linda Lea describes how she brought coaching and leadership skills to young women in Tanzania who previously had not been given a voice, opening up opportunities available to them in education. There are still numerous areas yet to be represented by a niche community on the Co-active Network, so if you feel inspired, now is your moment. Indeed, if you have found it difficult to get your career as a coach started, this might be the opportunity you need to make your mark. If you feel called forth to step up as a Niche Community Leader, Susan Moss makes the following recommendations:
To find out more, please visit the Co-active Network by clicking here. Thanks to Susan Moss for her contribution. www.teenagercoach.co.uk/ |
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Local Groups -- More Than Just Tea and Chat! |
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When we started our Local Groups initiative at CTI UK in Spring 2008, our initiative was simply to encourage coaches inspired to increase the face-to-face contact they had with each other by taking their own initiative in setting up local Co-active coaching support groups. For a profession that is increasingly becoming virtualized, we sensed that this would help coaches either bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly, to renew their passion for Co-active coaching in a way they might not have experienced since training as a coach. From this small seed, the response has been far greater than we could have ever imagined. As Kate Jones, who runs the North West Local Group reflects: "It feels fantastic! There is a lot of fondness in the group; huge amounts of creativity, great minds, great questions, (GREAT COACHES including those who have 'only' done Fundamentals), real honesty and transparency, vulnerability from time to time, sanity and insanity checks...there is room for everything! Co-activity is alive and well and thriving in the North West." Isabel Van der Ven, of the Beautiful South Coaches Network adds: "It was the extra dimension you get when being face-to-face, as most of us spend most time behind the computer and on the phone. On our first day, we had a quiz, speed coaching (!), had FUN, worked on building/expanding your business and had a 'swap-shop' to connect people helping each other on any topic related to coaching." Set your purpose clearly What we have noticed in talking to the different coordinators is that those who have clearly articulated their purpose have found it much easier to engage others. Judy Rich of the NW London Group says that their group is "a place to share our uniqueness as coaches and be recognised for it." This may be simply stating the obvious, and yet, as many of us know, it's all too easy to forget. Indeed, a clearly defined purpose might be the difference between creating a dynamic support group in which coaches can grow and learn and simply creating a space for "tea and chat" (although that too is important!) Form and structure Judy Rich of the North West London Coaching group says that the smaller size of their group (12, of which any 6-8 regularly meet) means they can meet in each other's houses and retain a level of intimacy and committment. But, as Jude Jennison of the Midlands Co-active Community Group says, sometimes you need to be willing to experiment until you find the right format that will allow your group to gel: "The Midlands community tried to get together one evening, but for whatever reason never succeeded to meet. So in the true spirit of co-activity, we tried a different tack -- a day out in the Malvern Hills. With packed lunches, a dog and a dose of sunshine, a great day was had by all. It's amazing how fresh air and a change in perspective make a difference to how we view things." Commitment As Kate Jones adds: "Do encourage others not to give up hope. There were a couple of meetings when there were only three of us, and yet the energy still held. It takes time for the system that is the community to develop. It takes holding on to your vision big time, commitment, time, persistence, patience, tenacity and more time!" Sometimes, this can also mean being willing to open up the ownership of the group to the members themselves. For example, a number of coordinators have reported that while initial enthusiasm was good, the group only really began to grow when the group as a whole became accountable and responsible for itself, and that meant sharing the financial burden of administrating it too. Time and time again, we hear at CTI from course participants how refreshing it is to find themselves amongst such a diverse group of like-minded people, and, moreover, have a model in Co-active Coaching through which they can form authentic and lasting relationships with each other. It's what Co-activity is all about -- being together in a new, more open way. It's our hope that the Local Groups initiative will continue to keep this spirit alive. We will be e-mailing a local groups update to you during July. In the meantime, click here for a full listing of coordinators and contact details. |
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Our Courses |
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To book any of these courses, please email ctiuk@thecoaches.com or call us on 0845 299 8199.
Fundamentals
FUNDAMENTALS Friday 17 - Sunday 19 July 2009 Core Curriculum Core Curriculum 23 Core Curriculum 24 Certification |
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Get In Touch |
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Here are all the ways you can get in touch: |
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The Admin Stuff |
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Coaches Training Institute (UK), PO Box 8134, Reading, RG6 9LE |
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