Selecting a professional accreditation body

Martin Hill, Senior Tutor BSC

“People are usually more convinced by reasons they discovered themselves than by those found out by others.”- Blaise Pascal

I hope that the above quotation underscores the fact that my motive in writing this blog is not to “sell” one particular coaching professional body, but instead to encourage and enable you to embark on a voyage of self-discovery and make a selection.
The International Society of Qualified Coaches (ISQC) has launched recently and, as can be seen from my post-nominals below, I am a Fellow of ISQC. British School of Coaching supports ISQC as an organisation, as the body is the only professional body to explicitly recognise qualified coaches and is of international scope.
I thought that it might be useful to capture some of the points to consider when making your choice:

• Evidence of professional and ethical practice – as those of you undertaking an ILM qualification know only too well, one of the key factors that coaching purchasers, tenders and HR professionals use to separate the wheat from the chaff in the coaching fields is what the prospective coach can evidence to demonstrate that they operate a professional and ethical coaching practice. Joining a professional body brings an external validation of that commitment – as it demonstrates your commitment to those ideals.

• Needs – which to choose? For me this is going to be informed, amongst other things, by your own needs; the needs (or reassurance) of your clients; your type of coaching practice; your marketing strategy and also your location and the location of your practice. Find the body that suits your needs – but make sure it covers all bases. It may even mean that you are a member of a variety of coaching bodies because each may suit a different purpose. What I like most about ISQC is that it explicitly recognises and distinguishes the fact that you have taken the time, trouble and expense to undertake a coaching qualification – the ISQC post-nominals shouts that qualification distinction from the rooftops – a fact that coaching purchasers are highly likely to take into account, particularly given that the Ridler Report recognised that the coaching purchasers were becoming more discerning and better informed.

Similarly the name of the professional body may well be useful in attracting prospective clients or reassuring existing clients. For example, practising in the Middle East- the phrase “international” adds a layer of greater kudos than perhaps a more localised name would use. Similarly would “European” appeal to the Middle East market? Does one phrase fulfil more than one function? “International” fits multiple markets in one hit, for example.

• Expectations – this does not just refer to your own expectations, but what are the expectations for the professional accreditation body? For example CPD requirements; membership criteria; supervision requirements; selection criteria etc. Do these fit with you? Can you deliver these? What added value is it bringing to you if you complete them? At what cost?

• Compatibility – some professional bodies have Codes of Conduct and Ethical Codes, and require that you adopt and comply with these. Check out whether these are compatible with your needs and your values and beliefs. If it does not fit – shop around.

• Marketing – a professional accreditation body membership can provide you with that marketing edge and help build your own personal brand and USP (unique selling point) in a crowded marketplace. If the membership benefits include post-nominals, this is something that can be built into your business stationery and publicity material.

• Networking – for me the key test of a professional accreditation body is the membership. If there are networking events go along – if the body is any good, it will welcome you BEFORE you have taken the commitment to become a member. Do you feel comfortable? Are the other members from similar areas of practice etc. etc.? Do the networking events provide accredited CPD opportunities? Do they hold meetings in your region?

• Cost and Benefits – what gives you “more bang for your buck?” What benefits do they offer? What benefits do you want?

The above is by no means an exhaustive list, but I hope it prompts some research and some action.
If you are interested in finding more about ISQC, we have included more information here 


Martin Hill LL.B (Hons), FCMI, FInstLM, FISQC, MAC, EMCC Member, Coach & Coach Supervisor
Faculty Member
Programme Director for ILM Level 7 Executive Coaching & Mentoring Courses

A practical toolkit for your coaching practice

Judith Barton, Director of Coaching & Mentoring

In this blog, I want to share my thoughts on personal preparation and practicalities to support your coaching practice as professional and effective.

Practicalities:

•    Timekeeping: if you have to travel to a venue, ensure that you arrive there in plenty of time so that you can prepare the room and yourself for your coaching practice.  This includes making allowance for travel delays, checking road conditions and/or real-time train departures and arrivals when deciding when to leave your own starting point (home or office).
-    If the client is coming to your offices/home go to the room where you will be coaching in plenty of time to prepare the room and yourself.

•    Materials/resources – ensure that you have ready access to all the materials and resources you may need during your coaching practice, for example flipchart, paper and pens (for scaling, noting down ideas, action points), glasses of water.

•    Make sure that chairs are comfortable and positioned so that you and your coachee can see each other clearly without being so close that you risk invading each other’s space.

•    It is good practice to keep the business administration (how much, how and when to send invoices/make payments), of your coaching practice separate from the actual coaching sessions.
-    If you have the benefit of employing a secretary or administrator, it is best to refer all business administration to them and maintain your distance from these matters unless negotiations beyond their competence or role are required.
-    If you have to manage this yourself, try to ensure that these matters are fully agreed in advance of the coaching sessions.
-    All components of Terms and Conditions should be dealt with beforehand, before the coaching proper commences.
-    It makes sense to use PayPal, a debit or credit card rather than cash for payment.

Preparing yourself to coach

•    To ensure that you are wholly present for the client, try the following:
-    Centre yourself, focus on deep breathing and removing all distractions from your thoughts – this will lead to you asking better questions and being more able to pick up all the nuances of what your coachee is saying.
-    Remove any assumptions about your coachee, their progress since the last session, their personality, their issues.
-    Review and reflect upon any previous coaching sessions, your knowledge and understanding of the coachee.
-    If the client is new to you and, where relevant, find out something about their organisation
-   Put into the client into the front of your mind and be ready to go into the session, without having to refer to notes from previous sessions.
-    If you are meeting a number of coachees, e.g. for a corporate client, know who you will seeing, and the order in which you expect them to attend.
-    Consider what information you may wish to exchange with client, in order to develop trust, and personal safety.

During the coaching session

•    Ensure that you remain open-minded and suspend judgement so that you are able to really hear what your coachee is saying – verbally and non-verbally.
•    Sit with your feet flat on the floor (not cross legged) with an upright posture (not slouching) so that you are physically demonstrating your focus on and interest in your coachee.
•    At the beginning of each session review contract, revisit confidentiality, your code of conduct, and reconfirm the coach’s objectives from the session.
•    Agree with client how any notes you make are to be disposed of or retained – you could offer to give them your notes at the end of the coaching programme.

After the coaching session

•    Review and reflect on the session – what went well, what really worked, where you could have improved your coaching practice.
•    Maintain proper records with the minimum necessary information to enable you to issue accurate invoices and continue with the next session where you finished the last.
•    Identify and keep a note of any issues you will want to raise with your coaching supervisor.

What's in your Coaching Kitbag?

Martin Hill, Senior Tutor, BSC

 Sir John Whitmore in his preface to “Challenging Coaching” by John Blakey and Ian Day states:

“A coach’s task and responsibility are to benefit not only the coachee, but also the client company and all of society too... Anything that is appropriate in the moment to help a person move from A to B is coaching.”

That started me thinking- what tools should I take to a coaching session to ensure that I can ensure that “anything that is appropriate” is delivered?

It goes without saying that context is king and the coach must take into account their own personality and preferences, as well of those of the coachee. Similarly the environment in which the coaching is taking place may also impact on the tools that can be used- but may well also be used to provide some of the tools.

Here are my thoughts for the coaching kitbag:-

• Bag - well, the kit has to fit into something hasn’t it? The likelihood is that whilst the Bag for Life from the local supermarket may be doing your bit to help with the environment. It isn’t likely to cut it with your clients. Remember first impressions are made in seconds but last for much longer! Whilst it doesn’t have to be a designer label, make sure that the bag is professional and practical for the purposes for which you need it… and big enough for all your needs.

• Coaching Agreement and Code of Ethics - always useful to take along a copy of the coaching agreement that is being used for the particular coachee. Can serve as a useful reminder for coach and coachee as to what the parameters are and also what each can expect from the other. Similarly with the Code of Ethics.

• Coaching Profile and/or Business Cards - always to hand in case an opportunity to promote your coaching services arises.

• Technology – in this fast moving hi-tech age – as well as making sure you have your smartphone and/or tablet/laptop, do not forget your plugs to charge them up, or invest in a mobile power pack to provide a handy backup. As another “just in case” do you need a portable hard drive to back up the work you do in a session to avoid losing the material?

• 1970s Laptop (also known as a notebook) - always useful to have as it can serve many purposes – capturing “gems” in the session and also serving as a memory jogger to write up your own reflective journal after the session.

• Pens - make sure to take a pen and also have a spare. Like the bag. Do not ruin your professional image with a cheap and cheerful pen. Get a decent pen – “because you’re worth it!!”

• Plain Paper - plain paper is great if you are going to be using the “scaling” tool. It may also be useful to use if the opportunity arises to use other VAK styles- such as drawing a visual representation of the issue and/or capturing metaphors pictorially. Also useful for passing to the coachee to record the agreed actions on. 

• Coloured Pens/Pencils - great to use a variety of colours when using scaling etc. as mentioned above. Different colours can be useful in reinforcing with the coachee the different stages covered and variety of actions agreed.

• Diary - if you are not using technology as an alternative, remember to take the diary to capture next appointments and keep track of all your commitments.

• “Thought Provokers” - there is an absolute myriad of accessories/ merchandise that can be used for coaching interventions – for example coaching cards providing sample questions; tools/techniques . Also bear in mind that there are free resources that can be accumulated by you – for example, collecting pebbles or other indicators to use as a tactile scaling model. If you are an accredited user of tools or models, for example MBTI, FIRO B etc., there may be support materials that you need to take to draw upon as well.

• Stickers/Post It Notes - again a different method to highlight issues and/or actions.

• Dictaphone/Recorder - what are your supervision arrangements? What is your own reflective practice regime? May be useful to take a Dictaphone /recorder to record the session and reflect back thereon. Bear in mind the need to contract specifically about this with the coachee and also explain clearly what will happen to the recording, how it will be stored, length of retention etc. Also keep in mind Data Protection Act obligations. A dictaphone is also a great alternative to the notebook in capturing after the session your thoughts and key points.

• Coach - remember that you are the key “tool” that the coachee will be relying upon in the session. Make sure you are focused, energised and “in the zone” for the coachee.

• Timepiece - how are you going to keep track of the session length- watch, travel clock etc.You will need to ensure it is something big enough to be seen, but not too big to create an interference or distraction. 

• Tissues - emotional reactions are not uncommon in coaching conversations. A pack of travel tissues can be useful in acknowledging the emotion in a quiet, understated and empathetic manner.

• Refreshments – doing a long session, or sessions, bear in mind the need for you to keep your energy levels up. A healthy snack or a piece of fruit and some water may be useful in ensuring that you retain your focus and energy.

Those are my starters for ten ……..what are your thoughts?

Flip the switch for Reflection & Learning

Judith Barton

In my last blog I concentrated on reflection. Whether through writing the blog, I have reflected more or have written the blog due to more reflection and learning I am not sure.

However I do know truly effective reflection needs:



1. Time – not necessarily long periods of time but ‘ free’ time free from ‘spikes’ of thought - jumping or spiking into your reflective thinking.

2. Space – freedom to think, create space to think - include it in your daily to do list.

3. Clearance-Reflective Clearance© – without a clear mind the thinking, pondering and ‘openness of mind’ is not available to you and is crucial when working with clients.

4. Unblock and remove the debris – in reality this often means stop thinking about stuff that doesn’t matter, after we have created the time, space and clear the big stuff. There can be continual internal struggles that if not removed will act as a distraction and infect your reflective thinking.

5. Floating & Oxygen – Remember your mind should be ‘floating’ to think not solve, so introduce the space to think, I like to think of this as allowing the oxygen to flow through the brain.

Make reflection part of your DNA and see your practice improve. Flip from continually doing to a balance of doing and learning.

I would love to learn of your ‘best reflect moment’. What made it really work?

Write a blog and we will publish it*.

* All blogs subject to review and sending in a blog does not guarantee publication.

...Silence

Sanam Yaqub

Did you hear that?
It was the sound of silence.

Sir Conan Doyle had it right when his character Sherlock Holmes criticized Watson for only ‘looking’ and not ‘observing’. We all ascend the same stairs everyday at home, but do we observe how many steps there are?

Similarly, it can be easy to ‘listen’ to what your client is saying, but do you always ‘hear’ what they say?

Listening to what the client is saying and hearing what they actually mean is a skill that all coaches should develop.  A coach must not only focus on the clients spoken response but also pay attention to non-verbal clues, which can be imperative in guiding further questioning.

Techniques such as pausing after questioning, are essential in allowing the client time to think about their response – silence is where the thinking and change is taking place.

In addition, listening for key information and phrases can give clues to the clients thinking. Furthermore, paraphrasing, reflecting and summarizing what the client has said can help to develop the thinking of the client and ensuring that the coach has heard the clients response correctly.
Once effective listening has been mastered, open-ended questions can be powerful for extraction of information.

Listening is more than just sitting back and taking in the words of the client.

It is about picking up the clues in the unsaid words, facial expression and body language. So next time you are listening to your client, ‘observe’ and ‘hear’ the silence – it should speak volumes.

Sanam was CPD Leader at Dubai English Speaking School and now is the Head of Cultural Development.  Having completed the ILM Level 3 Award in Coaching with flying colours, she is now working on the ILM Level 7 Certificate in Executive Coaching and Mentoring with the British School of Coaching

Why Run a Coaching Practice?

Judith Barton, Director of Coaching, bsc

To me, running a coaching practice is similar to being in a legal or medical practice.  As a professional coach I am going on a journey with my clients enabling them to delve into their own resources so that they can develop a sense of their own potential and are supported to realise that potential through listening, questioning and challenging.  But in the end it is their own decision – as a coach it is not my place to provide guidance or advice but to draw out from clients their own understanding and enable them to make choices to develop their own careers and futures. 

 

Professional coaches are also practicing – practicing our skills, reviewing and reflecting on how each coaching session progressed and the interactions which took place.  Finally, a coach must create an accurate an accurate baseline. This sets out their strengths and areas for improvement and leads to a personal development plan to be actioned.  Once implemented, this plan is subject to review, reflection and further planning for improvement.  As part of this process, the coach must also recognise and celebrate their strengths and achievements. This leads me to four central tenets of running a coaching practice – which are: self-review supported by supervision, maintaining their skills base; keeping up to date with research and thinking about coaching practice; and ensuring that purchasers of coaching understand the concept of ‘coaching practice’. 

1: Self review supported by supervision is critical.  To be effective, review of practice should be carried out soon after each session is completed.  You will need to find your own balance between being to close to the interaction to be objective; and too far to be able to remember key points.  Self-review on its own however carries risks – that you will become overly self-critical or insufficiently self-aware.  In order to ensure some degree of distance and to avoid getting too drawn into feeling that you have to sort everything out on your own, the input of a supportive, challenging and knowledgeable coaching supervisor is an equally critical element of self-development.  You should choose a supervisor who understands your approach to coaching who is willing and able to be both supportive and challenging to question your assumptions and self-evaluation and provide a platform for continuous improvement of your practice. 

2: Coaches need to Coach – this may sound obvious but coaching is not something you can do once or twice a year whilst maintaining professional standards of competence. I feel that I need to be practicing my coaching skills at least twice per month. Coaching a number of people who have different issues to resolve, different learning styles and different interpersonal skills ensures that I can maintain a variety of coaching skills and the ability to deploy these skills in working with a range in types of client 

3: Keeping up with new thinking in coaching.   As a professional coach I can only provide a ‘state of the art’ coaching experience for clients if I spend time on a regular basis reading, evaluating and, where appropriate, working out how to use new techniques in my coaching practice.  I regularly read a number of journals – Coaching At Work, Edge, Management Today, Harvard Business Review – which keeping me up-to-date with not only coaching theory and practice but also management thinking.  As well as providing some coaching articles, the latter keep me up to date with the issues which may be facing my clients in their professional roles. In addition, I attend relevant conferences and CPD events.  For example, Association for Coaching conferences and Institute of Leadership and Management events can provide useful insights into developing my coaching practice and ensuring that my practice is evidence-based and leading edge. 

4: Purchasers of Coaching need to understand the concept of practice.  For those who purchase coaching, for themselves or members of their leadership or management teams, it is critical that they appreciate and seek out coaches who undertake regular supervision; who maintain their coaching practice, at the appropriate level of seniority, and who can demonstrate that they are up-to-date with the latest thinking and practical skills.  Purchasers have an in-depth understanding of what they are purchasing and what they hope to achieve for both individuals and the organisation.  I will be further sharing my thoughts on ‘Selecting the Right Coach’ in future blogs.

Judith Barton

Director of Coaching

British School of Coaching

"As we come up to our 19^th year, I wanted to share my experiences and thoughts on the practical, the essential and the humorous aspects of my coaching career so far.  I have learnt so much from the coaching successes, challenges and recognition of limitations along the way, as well as from coaching in what I call the ‘cultural cocktail’ of the Middle East."

Judith is currently delivering the ILM Level 7 Certificate in Executive Coaching and Mentoring as well as leading the British School of Coaching Practice.  Read more about this and the other courses BSC are running here.