Note from the President
Feature Article -- Happy New Year
Upcoming Events -- Calendar of Great CFR Seminars
We Recommend -- Community: The Structure of Belonging

Greetings Colleagues!
Frances Shuster, PCC President, Coaching For Results, Inc.

As we turn the calendar page and welcome 2010, I am reminded of the opportunity each of us has to live into new possibility. According to Peter Block, in Community: The Structure of Belonging, possibility is brought into being in the act of declaring it. I challenge you to declare the possibility for what you want to occur in the world this new year and then live into that possibility.

Our Monthly Newsletter

All of our newsletter articles are written by CSR Coaches and provide relevant information for school leaders and coaches. The focus of our ezine articles for this school year will center on coaching competencies taught in our seminars, exemplified in our coaching practices and recognized by the International Coach Federation. We believe these articles will provide multiple benefits for all school leaders committed to increased results, whether you are seeking professional coaching certification or primarily interested in expanding your personal coach-like behaviors.

Our electronic newsletters are provided as a gift to individuals who sign up to receive this service and we never share your information with other parties. In our newly updated website, a bonus soon to be provided to our newsletter recipients will be access to our archived newsletters, which will be organized by topic and International Coach Federation (ICF) Competencies. A little added gift for those connected to CSR.

Happy New Year
By Kathy Kee

It is almost unbelievable that we greet 2010. It sounds a little like science fiction, doesn’t it?

With each New Year the opportunity presents itself to re-create ourselves, throw away or shine up old habits and behaviors, and become more intentional about presenting ourselves as coach leaders in specific ways. One focus of our intentions might be to review and consider the core competencies in our identity as a coach leader and determine which areas will be our focus or areas of goal setting.

Give yourself the gift of reflection as you read and review the competencies expected as a coach leader. Thoughtfully reflect on your assessment of them through the following questions for each of the domains.

Meeting Ethical Guidelines and Professional Standards – Understanding of coaching ethics and standards and the ability to apply them appropriately in all coaching situations.

How do I monitor my adherence to the code of ethics?
What indicators inform me when I must refer clients to other support resources?

Establishing the Coaching Agreement – Ability to understand what is required in the specific coaching interaction and to come to agreement with the prospective and new client about the coaching process and relationship.

What are my most effective strategies for establishing agreements with my clients?
What are examples of some common and uncommon agreements?
What data informs me that I am setting and holding to agreements?

Establishing Trust and Intimacy with the Client – Ability to create a safe, supportive environment that produces ongoing mutual respect and trust.

What agreements have been the most common with my clients this past year?
Identify four ways that you demonstrate respect for your client’s perceptions and personal being?

Coaching Presence – Ability to be fully conscious and create a spontaneous relationship with the client, employing a style that is open, flexible and confident.

How do I prepare to be fully present for my clients prior to calls or conversations?
What examples do I have from my coaching that demonstrates when I responded to what was felt, sensed, or was risk-taking because of being totally present with my client?

Active Listening - Ability to focus completely on what the client is saying and is not saying, to understand the meaning of what is said in the context of the client's desires, and to support client self-expression.
Powerful Questioning - Ability to ask questions that reveal the information needed for maximum benefit to the coaching relationship and the client.
Direct Communication - Ability to communicate effectively during coaching sessions, and to use language that has the greatest positive impact on the client.

How do my clients know and experience my committed listening?
What questions have I asked recently that demonstrated my powerful ability to support my clients’ new insights and ‘aha’?
What metaphors have I offered in my language that powerfully supported my clients’ insights, awarenesses, or connections?

Creating Awareness - Ability to integrate and accurately evaluate multiple sources of information, and to make interpretations that help the client to gain awareness and thereby achieve agreed-upon results.
Designing Actions - Ability to create with the client opportunities for ongoing learning during coaching and in work/life situations, and for taking new actions that will most effectively lead to agreed upon coaching results.
Planning and Goal Setting - Ability to develop and maintain an effective coaching plan with the client.
Managing Progress and Accountability - Ability to hold attention on what is important for the client, and to leave responsibility with the client to take action.

What are my most successful coaching strategies that are consistently impacting my clients learning and goal setting?
What learning and goals have become my focus for my own growth this year as a coach?

May 2010 be the most successful and fulfilling year for you in your work as a Coach!

Kathy Kee is a professional coach and consultant, "rehired" after 38 years in education. As an Assistant Superintendent, Kathy led her Texas district to the highest ranking of Exemplary by coaching and supporting her school leaders and teachers to their very best results. She is the past President of NSDC and TSDC and currently serves as Co-director of Teaching and Learning for Coaching School Results.

See details and register at www.coachingforresultsglobal.com

All seminars listed below are four days in length. Some seminars are held on four consecutive days while others are held in two-day increments over two months. Please check the seminar dates carefully.

Each seminar below, with the exception of Powerful Coaching - Level II in Kansas City, includes a series of three, hour-long follow-up teleclasses specifically designed for seminar participants!

Powerful Coaching, Level II: Kansas City, MO, February 25-28, 2010
Instructional Coaching: Dallas, TX, June 21-24, 2010
(Follow-up Teleclass dates will be forthcoming)
Advanced Coaching: Level III: Dallas, TX, June 28-30, July 1, 2010 (Follow-Up Teleclass dates will be forthcoming)

Community: The Structure of Belonging
by Peter Block

Peter Block provides an exploration of the exact way community can emerge from fragmentation. Key questions addressed are: How is community built? How does the transformation occur? What fundamental shifts are involved? Block explores a way of thinking about our places that creates an opening for authentic communities to exist and details what each of us can do to make that happen.

Let Us Hear From You
We are always interested in receiving your feedback on how we're doing as well as what you'd like to see more of as we move toward the future. You can provide that information by emailing us at support@coachingforresultsglobal.com