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My year as President has come and gone!  It was eventful, full of learning, insight, challenges and growth.  All that any new venture should be.  And like the work we all do with our coaching clients it helped push me out of my comfort zone on more than one occasion and hopefully made me a better person and professional.  

When I started my tenure as President I had a great base to build from with the strategic plan the Board worked so hard to establish in 2017.  As I said at our January 14, 2019 AGM at the Derrick Club, it became clear that our aspirations sometimes (often?) exceeded our capacity.  What that demonstrated to me is the passionate commitment each Board member brought to advancing our chosen profession and the commitment they shared to delivering value to our members and those we serve.  That we have accomplished so much in the past year - and past several years - is a testament to the foundations laid by past leaders, members of the Edmonton Charter Chapter and by the particular efforts of this past year's Board of Directors.  At the AGM I was excited to share some pretty impressive results that compare us favorably with coaching chapters throughout ICF Global:

• Our financial health continues on target to the goals we set out in our 2017 plan;
• Our membership renewal rate continues to exceed ICF Global targets - for the past several years we have approached or exceeded 90% renewal;
• Our membership overall continues to grow and we now sit at over 150 members;
• We continued to run a robust slate of CCEU eligible events, both in-person and virtual;
• We developed robust partnership efforts with the Calgary Chapter of ICF and engaged in a cross-Canada webinar series with coaching chapters across the country;
• For the 2nd year running we were able to have the Mayor issue a proclamation relating to International Coaching Week;
• We had our biggest ever event (defined by attendance) in International Coaching Week 2018;
• We continued our pro-bono/not-for-profit effort in 2018; and
• And we had the best media coverage/social media presence both for ICW and for our work throughout the year.

The theme that I had proposed and hoped would animate my presidential year of 2018 was "What if?".  What if we could fill the Telus World of Science to capacity of our signature International Coaching Week event?  What if we looked to further access the support and resources of ICF Global?  What if we could enhance our media exposure and social media activity?  What if we could engage EVERY member of the Edmonton Chapter in at least one event?  By that attitude and philosophy we achieved much.  And together we laid the foundation for the year (and years) to come. Did we achieve everything that I hoped we would?  No, but we shot for the stars and hit the moon! We set aspirational goals and thereby helped us appreciate how much more is possible if we challenged our assumptions and limiting beliefs.  

As I conclude this post and my term as President, I also take steps to renew my commitment to the coaching profession and the Edmonton Charter Chapter for 2019.  Specifically:  

• I look forward to supporting Kevin Tomkins, our President for 2018, and his Board as he looks to COnnect, COllaborate and CO-create with you;
• I look forward to building on the success of our International Coaching Week success of 2018 and thus build a bigger and better event for 2019 - May 2nd at Telus World of Science Edmonton!  Mark your calendars;
• I have renewed my membership in ICF as of January 29, 2019;
• As part of my ICF renewal, I have identified the Edmonton Chapter as my chapter thus ensuring that we get financial support from ICF Global in 2019 - a portion of all membership fees comes back to my chosen chapter;
• As part of my ICF renewal, I have also chosen to contribute to the ICF Foundation, which is expanding the boundaries of coaching in the world through key focus areas:
  • Cultivating frameworks for pro bono coaching;
  • Engaging in and curating research for the multiplying effect of social progress through coaching; and
  • Connecting training organizations and targeted populations for coaching scholarships.

Thank you for a great year.  Let's make 2019 EXCEED our wildest expectations!

Kevin Tomkins, ICF Edmonton Chapter President (2019)

In my work as a Professional Coach I sometimes find that when I, to use a coaching metaphor, “hold up a mirror to my client” I see myself reflected in it as well.

In the course of a Coaching Conversation about choices and decision making I asked my client “If you choose this path, what are you saying ‘No’ to?” It’s a great coaching question, and it sparked some deeper thinking and, hopefully, some more powerful insights. However, I think that I could have asked a better question: “What are you saying ‘Yes’ to?”

I think that it is a better question because I realize that I ought to be asking myself that more. The trite answer is: “I’m saying yes to the goal, the objective, the future.” That’s true, but does it miss a lot? I believe it does. The question is important because as a society and a culture we frequently (and unconsciously) interpret the statement “if you can see it you can be it” as meaning “to be it, all you need to do is to see it”.  Of course, that is an incredibly silly idea; but also a powerfully attractive one and we are surrounded with inducements to buy into it (literally).

Why commit to a regime of exercise and self discipline when for a small deposit and low monthly payments you can get this amazing new device which will have you looking like an athlete in only five easy minutes a day?

Why go through the hard and ongoing work necessary to build deeper relationships with others when you can simply drop a large sum of cash to register for a weekend seminar which promises to provide you with a “secret code” that will allow you to do it painlessly?

Why devote the hard work necessary to building up your business when you can sign up for a webinar that suggests that your participation therein is all that is standing between you and a six-figure income?

A very wise and honest teacher once advised his listeners to “count the cost” before they made any commitment. Asking the question “What are you saying ‘Yes’ to?” is a great way to spark some deeper thinking about what costs might be implicit in achieving the goal in question.

That goal that you are seeing, do you know what you have to say “yes” to in order to get there?  Have you done so?  Will you continue to do so?  If not, what’s getting in the way?

James Greengrass, ACC