Dear Co-Active Coaches,

The topic in this month’s Inquiry is ritual, and I’m struck by how much ritual is associated with this time of year: the last few weeks of summer vacation, back-to-school specials in all the stores. Even though it’s been a long time since I was shopping for those new #2 pencils, notebooks and school clothes, the rituals of this time of year are still alive for me. I suddenly have an urge for that new box of crayons. What does this time of year evoke in you?

In early November, it will be time for the 10th Annual International Coach Federation Conference in San Jose, CA. If you’re planning to attend, check out the Team Coaching Intensive being offered prior to the conference on November 9 by the Center for Right Relationship, Stellar Team Diagnostic and The Next

Level. The founders of the Center for Right Relationship are also the creators of CTI’s Organizational and Relationship Systems Coaching program, Marita Fridjhon and Faith Fuller, and this day promises to be filled with learning on working with organizations. Read more in CTI News.

The questions we asked in introducing the articles topic of “ritual” were: How do you use ritual in your coaching, in workshops or in self-care as a coach? How does ritual enrich your coaching? How has the use of ritual benefited your clients? Sabrina Roblin, CeCe Converse, Mary Cole and Bruce Sandy each share their unique perspective on ritual and its use in coaching, workshops and daily life. Relax, sit back and enjoy a good read.

In our Community section beginning this month, we’ll be introducing you to the staff here at CTI. If you’ve called our offices, you’ve probably talked to our receptionist or to a registrar or admissions advisor, or maybe you’ve gotten support on the Co-Active Network or with certification. We’ll be introducing you to the people who hold the more “public” roles here in the office and also to those who work “behind the scenes.” Our first profile is of Dawn Munroe, Events Coordinator. Dawn handles the immense job of scheduling the leaders and the locations for all our courses…and she does it with grace and a huge capacity for detail.

You can also check out what’s new in the Co-Active Network—including a discussion on the Future of Coaching led by CPCC and ICF President Steve Mitten. Read the topics for upcoming issues of The Inquiry and think about sharing your insights by writing an article. And, as always, join us in celebrating our newest CPCCs.

Enjoy! Warmly, Kathy Curry, CPCC Director of Marketing

What Organizations Are Hungry For: You and the Relationship Systems Difference
A One-Day Learning Opportunity

Many coaches would like to work in the corporate or organizational environment. The coaches we talk to want to know what companies are looking for. In the final analysis, what organizations want is a healthy bottom line. They often act as if relationship doesn’t matter and that all individuals are replaceable like parts in a machine. Frequently coaching is brought in to an organization to buff up one of the parts (otherwise identified as either a department or employee) so that the machine can work more efficiently. What we know from many years’ experience working with organizations is that the ability to work with the team as a system is the most powerful pathway to a healthy—and sustainable—bottom line. We are unabashed evangelists for relationship work with teams in organizations.

We know that Co-Active coaches are our No. 1 allies in this mission. One of the fundamental differences between Co-Active coaches and coaches from most other schools is the appreciation for and an understanding of the power of the relationship. What we do in the Organizational and Relationship Systems curriculum is take that foundation and transfer the learning to relationships and systems. There is a crucial shift necessary and new skills to learn in the transition from working with individuals within the team to working with the system that is the team. It is the shift from coaching individuals to access their own Emotional Intelligence (EQ) to coaching the team to access the Relationship Intelligence available from the system itself.

As more and more coaches look to the corporate world to build their coaching practices, we believe we have something to offer that is more than a competitive difference in the coaching market. The ability to understand and work with the team as a system is the key to empowered teams. This relationship systems work gets results.

We also continue to look for more ways to share what we know about systems work with teams. We want to take this opportunity to invite you to a very exciting one-day Team Coaching Intensive in San Jose, CA, the day before the ICF Conference, November 9. This will be an innovative day, weaving together leading-edge technologies from three great Co-Active companies:

• The Center for Right Relationship, with Marita Fridjhon and Faith Fuller
• Stellar Team Diagnostic, with Phil Sandahl and Alexis Phillips
• The Next Level, with Tom Courry and Dorcas Kelley

These companies and the principals representing them are all focused on how to assess and create interventions for teams from a systems perspective. The day will be packed with learning. You will leave with a new understanding of how to work with the team as a system, an introduction to team assessment, intervention and team coaching skills, and a portfolio of practical tools and exercises you can apply to work with teams.

Date: November 9, the day prior to the ICF Conference
Location: Hyatt Sainte Claire, San Jose, just steps from this year’s ICF conference convention center
Cost: $150 includes take-away materials, breaks and lunch catered by Il Fornaio

To learn more and to register, go to www.teamdiagnostic.com.

Introducing CTI Staff Member—Dawn Munroe
Dawn Munroe is the Events Coordinator for The Coaches Training Institute. She handles the entire leader scheduling for our public and corporate offerings and all of the logistical details involved in that process. She figures since the start of her career here at CTI, she’s scheduled more than 300 courses with more than 60 hotels and made arrangements for about 70 leaders over time. Whew! It’s pretty clear that we’d be lost without Dawn in the office—especially because she is also the one who organizes our staff events, such as the company picnic, safety and ergonomics presentations, various and sundry Theme Days in the office, and all holiday dinners. Those on staff here at CTI would agree that we have good associations with Dawn’s name and presence. Read more about Dawn.

Co-Active Network

How exciting…5,000+! The Co-Active Network is a little more than one year old and we now have more than 5,000 members in the main community and more than 40 niche and geographic communities. Each day, members of our community come together to share ideas, celebrations, challenges and support. If you haven’t already joined, come check it out.

We’re thrilled this month to have Steve Mitten, MCC, CPCC, and president of the International Coach Federation hosting an event titled “The Future of Coaching” on the main community. At this writing, there are still a few spaces available. Click here to register.

Event Title: The Future of Coaching
Date: Aug. 18, 2005
Start Time: 1 p.m. Pacific
End Time: 2 p.m. Pacific
Description: Steve Mitten, MCC, CPCC , and current ICF president will talk and answer questions on the Future of Coaching. Come and enjoy an open discussion on the challenges and opportunities for the coaching profession and your business. Bridgeline information will be emailed August 15.

The purpose of the network is to support every member in achieving his/her greatest vision for Co-Active coaching and leadership in the world. Each community has resources, discussions and community events. Check the full calendar on the Co-Active Network. There are an amazing array of exciting events. Also, many of the events held on the main community have been recorded on audio podium. The list of recorded sessions is available under the “Resources” section of the main community. Look for the topic “Audio Podiums from Network Main Event Sessions” for a full list.

Would you like to share your insight with fellow coaches?
We love to learn from our community, and sharing your thoughts with your fellow coaches is a great way to let us know what’s happening in your world. The Inquiry focuses on a specific topic each month. Topics for the next few months are:

September—Research and Return on Investment (ROI): How do you know whether coaching is working—either with individual clients or in an organizational setting? What were the results of any research you’ve done? How have you measured the ROI of bringing coaching into an organization?

October—New Ideas, New Thought, New Models: What new ideas/thoughts/models are you exploring? Are you intrigued by a new model or new approach that you think blends well with Co-Activity? What new ways of thinking are you incorporating into your coaching?

November—Networking: What types of networking have worked for you? Do you have tips to share on how to get the most from networking opportunities? What difference has networking made in your business?

We invite you to submit articles and share your insight in The Inquiry. It is a fantastic way to increase your visibility in the coaching profession. Please send articles to newsletter@thecoaches.com. Read the detailed submission guidelines.

How to Create Ritual with Coaching
Sabrina M. Roblin, CPCC, integrates indigenous wisdom and practices into her coaching. She designs and facilitates rituals and ceremonies, and has done vision quest work for many years. She says that, “Ritual and ceremony have been a part of the human experience for thousands of years and are most recognized as an acknowledgement of a major life transition such as a birth, death or marriage. Ritual is a powerful and transformative tool that supports and facilitates the challenge of incorporating any kind of life change, whether it be joyful or grievous, such as loss of a relationship or a job, moving into a new home, or contracting/overcoming an illness. It is also a specific event and structure in time that the client and coach can refer back to whenever needed for meaning or inspiration.” To read more about her experience using ritual, read her article.

Incorporating Ritual Into Our Daily Lives
“Ritual causes one to embrace all of life including its challenges rather than suppressing them. It creates intention, mindfulness, focus and purpose. This passion and desire begins or continues to inform us of the life lessons that need our attention. Pull the lesson out and examine it thoroughly without judgment. Utilize passion and desire as the driving forces to come face to face with the illusion on your path toward enlightenment,” says CeCe Converse, CPCC, a coach who has studied intensively with The Rocky Mountain Mystery School and is an Initiated Ritual Master, Kabbalist and teacher. Read the article to find out more about using ritual in your everyday life.

Coaching as Ritual Transformation
Mary Cole, MA, MPS, ATR-BC, LPC, is an artist, writer and professional coach, and has a lifelong curiosity about the marriage of energy and form. In this article, Mary shares her research in the field of ritual and transformation: “The agent of the ritual, often a shaman or priest, is the one who knows the power of the space, but is empowered only to show the way, to create ritual ways for the rites of passage through which others undergo change in significant ways. Coaches, I dare to say, are modern shamans in this sense.”

The Riches of Rituals in Coaching and in Life
“Coaching can be viewed as a ritual itself in that it is a confidential and sacred time in which clients connect with their coach on a regular basis to tell their stories, learn and practice ways to stay focused, celebrate both wins and losses, reflect on what they have learned on their journey, and make commitments to themselves and others. I introduce the concept of ritual right away to my clients. It forms an important part of designing the alliance.” Bruce Sandy, PCC, CPCC, BA, MPA, is the principal of Pathfinder Coaching. Bruce specializes in career and business coaching, relationship and organizational systems coaching and spiritual coaching. Here, he shares with us his personal use of ritual that sustains and benefits his own life and coaching, and talks also about how he uses ritual with his clients. Read more.

Please join the CTI team in congratulating all of the Certified Professional Co-Active Coaches who have finished the rigorous certification program and passed their exams!

CPCCs through July 15
C. Roy Argall, Ellen Daly, Ginni Galicinao, Pamela Helwig, Haskell Hestand, Laura Lynn Jansen, Tracy Jarvis, Morten Nygard, Karen Radtke, Julianne Schwietz, Grant Schnarr, Susan Shirley, Alison Smith, Adrienne Zervos.