Resources: Referral Systems for Coaches

If you know of others or this information is incorrect, please add a comment. It is very hard to keep up to date with all of these types of services.

• 24/7 Coaching advertises that at just $69 for a Standard LIFETIME Membership, you have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. They convinced me. However, that is just to access resources and post your events. To get the referral service, it will cost you $299. I have the Lifetime Professional Membership but to be honest, I think the standard membership may be sufficient. One another note, there is also the organizational listing which AssessmentsNow is checking to see if it will be worthwhile.
• The International Coach Federation provides a referral service. To be listed you need to be a member and it is now part of your membership.
• The Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC) has areferral system for their members as well.
• Peer Resources also lists coaches and has recently developed an association with The Coach Connection.
• If you are attending or have graduated from CoachU or Corporate Coach University, has a new program that costs around $375 and can be found under : The International Coaching Directory as well as FindACoach. Students and graduates can get a small listing for free. I no longer maintain a full listing. Many people use this database to locate a coach.
• The Coach Connection is a service that qualifies both the client and the coach. Cost was $120 US. I joined early and the organizers are clearly working hard to promote the coaches.
• The Coaching Circles will list you if you qualify and they take a percentage off the top for any clients that they refer. No initial cost to join.
• LocateACoach is a small referral service that appears to be associated with Teleclass International. Cost to join is about $13 per month and that is all I know.

LinkedIn Bloggers Boost - Patsi Krakoff on Writing Ezines and Blogs

It's LinkedIn Bloggers Boost time - the project in which members of the LinkedIn Bloggers group focus once a week on one of the members' blogs, post something about it and link to it. This is my first "boost" and I will only post where I feel a benefit to my readers. I am just starting on trying to identify the best in coaching and I need your help. Tomorrow I will be listing some coach referral systems and then taking a break as I will be travelling for the next two weeks.

Patsi's blog is mentioned as a good resource in my previous post and I definately have this blog on my RSS feed with Feedburner. I find that it is a could source of some interesting trends. You might want to scroll down to enter the free ipod contest or check out articles that you can purchase to use in your own ezine. Patsi is always trying to expand her knowledge and resources in the area of communications - an area where we as coaches should also focus attention.

Resources: E-zines, Blogs and Coaching Groups

I realize that a lot may be missing so add your favourite resource to this list in the comments. I just posted what I have up on my own Resources page for coaches on my web. I am finding it too difficult to maintain. So I will be transferring some here on an ad hoc basis.

• Peer Resources has a fantastic ezine list of Coaching Newsletters Available on a Complimentary Basis. Check out all of their resources and do consider joining their network.
• The Coaching Insider offers an interesting perspective on the coaching profession and doesn't shy away from controversy.
• For those of you in Europe, you may want to check out the EuroCoachList
• Coaching Innovation calls itself a new coaching think tank. Check it out for yourself.
• The Coaching Zone is a a whole site of resources for coaches and those interested in finding out about the coaching profession.
• The New Coach Connection is a virtual community comprised of new and experienced coaches who are seeking ways to connect. Subscribe with an email to: newcoachconnection-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
• One of my favourite newsletters is John Agno's Coach to Coach Network Newsletter. To get connected, a coach should send an email message to: coach2coach-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
• CoachVille has study groups, local chapters and a listserve for coaches. More info can be found at the link.
  

Blogs are the latest thing in coaching and I think here to stay. If you want to set up your own, I recommend that you check out some of the suggestions of Andy Wibbels.

Here are a few that I can like and love to recommend (including my own):

• CoachEzinesBlog with Patsi Krakoff
• Teachme Teamwork with Tom Heck
• Easy Bake with Andy Wibbels
• Build a Better Blog
• Assessments Now with Roberta Hill
  

Don't forget about my own Coaching Debates which is broader and more general in nature. This is a Free Teleclass / Teleclass Forum.

The Organization Development Network also hosts an email list for coaching professionals, as the OD profession and the coaching profession work collaboratively to develop individuals, leadership and organization competence. It is not very active these days for some reason.

Article: And I'd Like to Thank My Coach

By MIREYA NAVARRO

Here's an intersting article that appeared in this weeks New York Times fashion section on Life Coaching to the entertainment industry.

Coaches for Pigs?

I didn't know where else to post this but clearly what has coaching come to? Go figure. Your comments are welcomed. As reported in Ananova: Piglets in training for sport

Russian piglets are being trained for competition by personal coaches as a new craze of pig racing spreads across the country. The training at the Sport Pig Centre in the Moscow region includes honing the piglet's skills in running, swimming, and 'pig-ball competitions'. "They are going through general training and only after that will they take up different specialist sports. The piglets are being looked after by coaches and zoo psychologists."
10:49 Tuesday 14th March 2006

A "populist" view of coaching

Of course we should be able to laugh at ourselves; but can we? Last night on The Daily Show there was a critic of life coaching. Personally I found it quite funny. How about you? Obviously coaching is now mainstream if we get to be skewered on such a popular comedy show.

Trendspotting: Life Coaching
According to Demetri Martin, Life Coaching is all the rage. But not in an angry way.

Speaking of skewered, you have probably heard of the on-going controversy of the episode of South Park that “took on” the Church of Scientology as well as Tom Cruise AND lost. The episode was pulled and Issac Hayes who has played a major character on the show resigned. Hayes felt comfortable poking fun at others but less so when it came to his own Church. Personally I don’t know that much about Scientology to do an analysis but it raises the issue of what is free speech and what promote hatred. Perhaps you be the judge if you wish to watch the show yourself.

South Park has many of its own critics and it is often in bad taste. Why include it on this blog at all? As a promoter of the use of assessments in coaching, I am always amazed how “personality tests” are used. This South Park episode begins with Stan being “drawn in” by the offer of a free personality test from the Church and they make fun of these things as well.

New Name - New Cutting Edge

A new colleague of mine said to me today . . . “So you were the one who did ‘The Coaching Debates’? Why did you stop? What a great concept.” There were good reasons that it went on hiatus, but perhaps it is time to resurrect the concept. It had the following principles:

We plan to validate ALL opinions no matter how extreme or out of the box.
We believe that this helps us to challenge our assumptions and paradigms.
Disagreement is fine by us. Although we may come across as wedded to a
particular position, in truth there is no absolute right or wrong. We are
interested in an exchange of ideas and opinions in order to stimulate
independent and critical thinking.

I want your thoughts, inputs, challenges and ideas. Please share with me the latest in coaching and I will post it here. I will list resources and anything else that might be of interest.

Thank you.

Carnival Blog for Coaches ahead of its time.

It is with disappointment and amazement that I am revamping this blog www.BestInCoaching.com . I am not amazed at the lack of interest – quite a few clicked through my announcements to check it out. I am rather disappointed. I sent out 21 personal invitations to coaches and of those I know half reasonable well. I heard back from four– three were interested one who encouraged me to select the postings to use. I also heard from two others who read about the concept on a list serve.

Why the lack of response? Could it be:
• Lack of interest in this concept
• Too busy – I know many of us are over extended
• Not computer savvy enough - I know this not to be the case with those I personally invited
• A limiting belief that one will get the business and not the other (disbelief in the law of attractions or abundance)

And so I am left with a decision. Do I spend more time trying to get this idea off the ground or do I simply let it die a natural death? I think the latter is best and that I use this blog for something else, sometime in the future. I don’t know how active this blog will be with all my own other commitments but I thought that this may be a better place to list resources as I discover them or read about them. It has become too difficult to update my “Key Resource’s page on my business web.