Coaching at Work (CAW) magazine features viewpoint on the importance of managing the boundary between coaching and psychology

Coaching at Work magazine published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in the UK targets HR professionals with an interest in coaching and mentoring focuses on topical issues facing both organisations and practitioners.

Lauriate director Pauline Willis presents her viewpoint on boundary issues between coaching and psychology in the April 2006 issue of Coaching at Work magazine published by the CIPD. The article titled Labelling Boundaries can be accessed by clicking here (325KB PDF).

Firecracker productions are professional filmmakers who are making a documentary for Channel 4 and are eager to hear both celebratory stories and cautionary tales from people who have worked with either a life or business coach.

The filmmakers are seeking to create a documentary that will inform both coaches and their prospective clients about what to expect in terms of responsible professional coaching practice.

A questionnaire has been developed to capture both celebratory stories and cautionary tales about coaching from the client perspective which should achieve the aim of supporting the filmmakers in finding people who are willing to take part in the documentary, as well as collecting valid and reliable research data about the issues being explored. We are hoping that a broad range people who have both positive and negative experiences of coaching will participate.

If you have purchased coaching services and would like to be interviewed as part of the documentary your details will be passed on to the film producers who will make decisions about which stories to feature. If, however, you want to participate in this survey for the purposes of providing research information only, then all of the details provided will be treated with strictest confidence.

The questionnaire is in 4 parts which cover:-

• Information about your coach and coaching programme
• Impact of the coaching on your life or business along with ‘the full story’ in your own words
• Additional background information that will support analysis and reporting
• Participant contact details

If you are interested in sharing your Celebratory Story or Cautionary Tale for the purpose of taking part in the filming, you should complete the questionnaire by January 31st at the very latest.

Interested?
Go to https://members.lauriate.com/Survey/
to tell us about your Celebratory Story or Cautionary Tale

The next reporting date for the EMCC Coaching & Mentoring Standards Project is June 15th at the 3rd Annual Standards Workshop to be held in Oxford. The EMCC will now be collecting data in preparation for this next important industry wide event until May 31st, so if you have not yet taken part in this consultatative research process you now have another opportunity to do.

Existing project participants also now have the opportunity to review and modify previous responses, or to be upgraded to the next level of involvement.

To give you an idea of what is involved, there are 200 ‘core’ standards and these relate to competencies that are ‘core’ to all types of coaching and mentoring practice. Everyone who participates in the project is given a username and password that allows them to go online and rate these standards via an online ‘questionnaire’.

For those who are interested in going to the next level, this would involve rating an additional 200 statements relative to your area of practice. These additional statements and indicators cover specialised areas that touch upon a range of professional domains, these include leadership development, systems thinking, psychological models and artistic and creative skills.

If you would like to take part in this consultative research project contact pauline.willis@lauriate.com

Invitation to participate in ground-breaking Standards Project

The European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) this week announced
that it is entering the second phase of its ground-breaking Standards
Research Project.

In the first phase, an expert panel identified a wide set of key
competencies for coaching and mentoring professionals. Now the EMCC is
asking the rest of the industry – and its clients – to help refine these
findings further.

Pauline Willis from Lauriate Ltd, the consultancy contracted to undertake the research said: “The opinions of coaching/mentoring practitioners, academics,
trainers, programme managers and other key consumers of coaching and
mentoring services are all very important and all of these groups are
invited to take part.”

She added: “Results of this research will support the professionalisation
of the coaching and mentoring industry. They will also be of specific
practical value to a range of organisations, training providers,
universities and professional bodies, both within Europe and internationally
who use EMCC research outputs to inform the development of Standards for
Coaching and Mentoring practice.”

The results of the research will be announced at the EMCC’s annual
Standards Workshop on June 15 and will also be published in a range of
academic and practitioner-focused journals, as well as on the
EMCC’s website

This latest tranche of research takes the form of an online survey. EMCC
members will be able to access it through the EMCC using their allocated
usernames and passwords. Non-members are equally welcome to take part and
anyone interested in participating should contact Project Director Pauline
Willis Lauriate Ltd

Pauline urged: “Anyone wishing to take part should act now as the closing
date for completed questionnaires is February 10.”

She added: “Any professional coach or mentor completing the questionnaire
will also receive a CPD certificate in recognition of the time and effort
they have spent. They’ll also have the satisfaction of knowing they will
have played an important role in shaping the future of the coaching and
mentoring industry and may also find that taking part in the research will
also be useful in reflecting on their own development agenda.”

For more information contact Project Director Pauline Willis
pauline.willis@lauriate.com

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) aims to end the discrimination that many disabled people face. It gives disabled people important rights of access to employment opportunities and everyday services that others take for granted.

Changes to the DDA mean that from this date anyone providing a service has to address those physical features which make it difficult for people with disabilities to use their services. Ensuring compliance with the spirit of the act does, however, mean doing more than just conforming to the requirement to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to the physical environment.

To create a welcoming and supportive environment for both customers and employees with disabilities also means engaging with the person who is disabled, rather than the disability, and overcoming psycho-social as well as physical barriers to access.

In collaboration with Zulfi Hussain, Lauriate’s Diversity specialist, I will be writing an article for publication in 2005 about how effective UK businesses have been in addressing the spirit of the DDA as opposed to simply ensuring that issues of basic physical access are covered. To this end, I would like to invite your support in finding Britain’s best and worst practices.

If you have a story that highlights either best or worst practice following the implementation of the DDA on October 1st, 2004 and are willing to share this with us please send it to pauline.willis@lauriate.com. And if you are providing a story that is an example of worst practice, please also tell us how a similar situation could be handled more appropriately.

All contributions will be held in strictest confidence any details that could identify the contributors will be removed to ensure anonymity.

Many thanks & look forward to reading your stories over the next few months!
Pauline Willis

Managing Directors and senior managers of businesses with between 20-249 employees in the South Eastern regions of the UK can now access up to £1,000 towards their personal development from a new government grants programme.

Funding is being made available for a range of interventions including personal, business or executive coaching and mentoring, training courses, books, qualifications and any other self-improvement tools needed to inspire and develop employees and grow a business.

The grants are available through Business Link and are directed at helping senior staff with addressing specific development needs. To qualify for the grant each MD or Director who applies for the funding must undergo a personal development review where specific development needs and requirements will are discussed and defined. Grants of £1,000 are then allocated to those who are eligible to spend on specific development needs.

For more information about the grants and eligibility criteria either call 0845 600 9006 or visit the following websites
The Learning Campus
Business Link

Lauriate Ltd offers senior managers and directors a range of services to address personal and business development needs ranging from performance improvement to stress management.
More information can be found about our services at the
Lauriate Development Homepage or by calling +44 (0)1865 784388

There has been phenomenal response from the professional psychological community to the proposed Special Group for Coaching Psychology.

More than 1200 Psychologists who offer professional development services under the branding of ‘coaching’ have registered their intent to join the SGCP if it is formed.

Voting papers have now been sent out to all BPS members with GBR or above so provided that 400 BPS members vote in favour of the Special Group being formed then the SGCP will become an official subsystem of the BPS later this year!

If you are a Coaching Psychologist and have registered your intent to join the SGCP, it is now very important that you look out for your voting papers in the post this week!