You can also view this issue of the CV Member News online at www.coachville.com/cvm/2003/cvmn123003.html

January 5, 2004
From Kim George
Communications Director, CoachVille/Schools of Coaching
40,058 members in 125 countries.

CoachVille Chapters Feature

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the CoachVille Member News! We’ve got some great information for you this week, including a feature on the success of our CoachVille Chapters, written by guest editor, Maria Andreu. Maria is the new Chapters Director, who has a tough act to follow after the superb work of Donna Steinhorn. This article explores the fun and fortune that can be found by participating in a local Chapter. As the founder of my local CoachVille Chapter, the Western Massachusetts Coaching Alliance, I have experienced firsthand the value of these amazing coaching communities. Want to get involved? Read on for more information.

We’ve added another exciting feature to the News this week: Hot CoachVille Resources. This regular column will spotlight a great free resource available to members. We know many of you are often amazed, and even overwhelmed, by the amount of information at www.coachville.com. Look to this feature to highlight terrific resources you can implement to grow your coaching practice. We’ve started with the cream of the crop—the CoachVille Discussion List.

I want to personally recognize and thank a very special CoachVille volunteer, Pat Gundry, for all her hard work and dedication to managing the Discussion List. Pat, we can’t thank you enough for your tireless dedication! You can look forward to other highlights of key CoachVille contributors in the future.

Do you have a favorite CoachVille resource or contributor you’d like featured? Email your suggestions to kim@coachville.com with “Hot Resource” in the subject line. If we use your suggestion, we’ll feature your name and contact information. Got another suggestion or idea about the Member News? Email me anytime. Until then . . .

Keep playing,

Kim George
Communications Director, CoachVille
kim@coachville.com

Let us know what you think! Contact us at letters@coachville.com!

CoachVille Chapters: Building Worldwide Communities and Creative Collaborations

By Maria Andreu

For what started as an online learning center, CoachVille sure has turned into a close-knit community. And nothing has done more to bring about this camaraderie than CoachVille Chapters. CoachVille Chapters provide outreach to members right in their hometowns and cities, turning what could have been a static collection of programs and information online into a living, breathing entity.

CoachVille Chapters put a local face on a global group. Chapters meet regularly, some in large hotels in metropolitan areas, others in a coach’s living room in a sleepy town. Large or small, their goal is the same, to provide a collaborative learning and networking environment for all coaches and potential coaches in their areas. There is no end to the creativity our Chapter Hosts exhibit when planning their meetings and activities.

Craig Jennings of the New York City Midtown Coaching Center (NYMCC) puts it this way: “Our mission is to create conversations and events around coaching which make coaching more successful for coaches, make coaching more successful for coaching clients and inform and excite non-coaches about coaching.” To that end, he and his chapter put together monthly presentations of interest to coaches. December’s event was “Show Me The Money, or How To Get Paid For What You Do!” NYMCC also is home to Study Groups with fun slants like “Nifty Niches” and “Public Speaking for Coaches” which meet in places around town.

Other chapters, like my own, focus on getting cool guest speakers as a way of adding value to the members. Since we’re in a metropolitan area, many of the world’s greatest coaching minds happen to be within driving distance of our meeting spot and most I invite graciously agree to speak to our group (just another example of the boundless generosity of coaches). Our very own leader, Dave Buck, through a fluke of geography (he lives a half hour’s drive away from where we meet) was able to come speak to our group in June, shortly after the Future of Coaching conference in San Francisco and give our members an insider’s view of both the conference and the future of CoachVille. Other recent speakers at our chapter have included Talane Miedaner, author of Coach Yourself To Success, and David Matthew Prior, president of GetACoach.com.

The Memphis Coaches Network in Memphis, TN, hosted by Bill Burtch, has set up a unique collaboration with a local non-profit organization – The Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis. This organization provides funding to organizations and programs that promote the financial independence of women and children. In this initiative coaches are providing two hours of pro bono coaching to the Executive Directors of each of the organizations for the next nine months. Bill said, “We wanted to give back to the community from which we make our living as well as partner with a visible organization that would help give exposure to coaching throughout the community.” The initiative has been written about in the daily newspaper as well as other local and regional periodicals. “This partnership is a win/win/win for the Memphis Coaches Network, the Executive Directors and their organizations as well as the Women’s Foundation.” This is another example of how coaches are working within their local communities to further coaching worldwide.

CoachVille Chapters have grown in number from a handful to over 140 active chapters worldwide, with new ones being created weekly. Donna Steinhorn, the out-going Chapters Director, remembers some of the things that made the community grow. “At the Las Vegas conference, we did a reception for Chapter Presidents and those who were thinking of starting a chapter. We had them break up into groups and do some brainstorming. A lot of new chapters started after that.”

As an evolving community, CoachVille Chapters are undergoing rapid growth, like CoachVille at large. Donna Steinhorn, who helped spark that phenomenal growth and carefully oversaw the operation of chapters from China to Bosnia to the U.S. and beyond, is now moving on to a new position as Dean of the Thomas Leonard Coaching School and in the CoachVille Leadership Team. Asked about her stint as Chapters Director, she says, “It was extremely rewarding and exciting communicating with coaches from around the globe who all had the same basic desire to be part of a community of coaches.” About moving on, she says she is, “Not sad...because in my new role as Content Integration Director I'm serving all the members of CoachVille and still get to interact with many [of them].”

Stepping into the position as Chapters Director is yours truly (read on for a bit about me). But as for the future CoachVille Chapters, new things are in development which will make participation in Chapters easier, more interactive and even more fun. CoachVille Communities, set to be brought online starting at the beginning of the year, will make it possible for members to see one another not only at meetings, but also to interact online, post information about their own upcoming local events and more.

In addition, the Chapter Host community is getting ready for a big push for the 2004 Coach Week (February 2-8, 2004), sponsoring events like all-day teleclass coach-a-thons, community outreach programs to introduce their local communities to coaching, radio talk shows and more.

For more information on how you can get involved, contact your local Chapter Host. Don’t know who that is? Look them up at http://www.coachvillechapters.com/info.html. No chapter in your area? Join a virtual group or get brave and start a chapter of your own. You’ll receive support and guidance and develop many rewarding and lasting relationships in the process.

Maria E. Andreu, incoming Coachville Chapters Director, coaches professionals in the process of growing businesses that sustain rather than drain them with special focus on internet marketing. Learn more about her on her website http://www.AndreuMarketingSolutions. In addition to taking on her new role as Chapters Director in September, 2003, she is also the President and founder of the North Jersey Coach Alliance, a Coachville chapter. Do you have ideas or thoughts on how to make Coachville Chapters even better? E-mail her at maria@coachville.com.

Brand New Live Events Announced!
CoachVille has just unveiled 3 brand new live events:

The Attractive Practice: A Symposium on Coaching Prosperity

Beyond Proficient: Evolving as a Coach

Build Your Practice NOW: A Practical Guide to the Business of Coaching

We will be previewing these events in the next month. In the meantime, check out www.coachvilleconference.com for dates and locations.

Hot CoachVille Resources

CoachVille Discussion List — COACHV-L
CoachVille Contributor — Pat Gundry

With nearly 600 subscribers, the CoachVille Discussion List is a hotbed of information on a variety of topics pertinent to the coaching community. If it’s on a coach’s mind, you’ll find it being talked about on the list. Subscribing is easy, and it’s free! Pat Gundry

Like a lot of the wonderful resources at CoachVille, there’s an awesome person behind the scenes. So, who makes sure the Discussion List functions smoothly day after day? Amazing volunteer Pat Gundry.

Pat is a Change Specialist and personal coach who has published five books. She owns or manages six email discussion lists, loves to build websites and play on her Macintosh G4. She lives in Michigan and can be reached at suitcase@mich.com and www.patriciagundry.com.

1. How did COACHV-L get started?
I'd been running email discussion lists for a few years and knew one would be a great asset for CoachVille. I also knew creating a list for CoachVille would be one of the most useful things I could do for myself as a coach. There is nothing as effective as a well run email discussion list for sharing information. It's amazing how helpful they can be. I wanted the best for CoachVille, because I LOVED it, and for me too.

During a phone coaching day Thomas Leonard was having for his Absence Of You course, I told him that I wanted to start the list and was having difficulty getting from A to B. From that point on, it was a piece of cake. I set it up as a test, which Thomas insisted on, (he said he tested everything), and it passed with flying colors.

2. What’s most satisfying for you about managing COACHV-L?
It's knowing that I'm helping provide a highway for information that is almost instantaneous, and that subscribers consist of a community of people of good will around the world.

3. Who should subscribe to COACHV-L?
Anyone who is interested in coaching and who has a tolerance for information that will occasionally be peppered with a bit of flotsam and jetsam. Anyone who wants to share information as much as they want to receive it will always be an asset to any list.

4. Any tips on how to get the most from the list?
Here is my Top Ten List for getting the most from COACHV-L:

1. Read the list rules and FAQ. It's amazing how many people don't do that. But it will save the subscriber time and energy to do it.

2. Observe for awhile before posting a message. Lists have a culture, a climate, it's good to know it before joining in.

3. Be kind, be tolerant.

4. Give to get.

5. Don't be a sneaky marketer, the list isn't for selling stuff to coaches.

7. Delete what doesn't interest you instead of complaining about it.

8. Be appreciative. Privately thank those who enrich you with information they share.

9. Don't be afraid of criticism. Critics are everywhere, don't let fear of criticism stop you from participation on the list.

10. Enjoy the list fully.

And here are a few testimonials from COACHV-L participants:

“I’ve felt for some time that the “CoachVille Discussion List” is one of the better-kept coaching secrets since there is such tremendous value often through well-chosen words from those who feel compelled to comment on a topic. As a sometime- leader of SOC class #2400, I always tell attendees about the list, because it is a wealth of knowledge, yours for the taking! I recommend it to anyone I know who is coaching, and often get thank you emails for sending people to the list.

“I liked the idea of taking a moment to show some appreciation – it has been one of my coaching companions, like a cat curled up under a desk, since its inception. Pat Gundy has been a VOLUNTEER from the beginning – and what a great job you’ve done, and continue to do, Pat. Thanks, coaches – keep it coming!”

Lori Richardson
CoachVille SOC Advisor
lori@coachville.com
www.smileanddial.com

”I like this list very much because I think that it reflects totally the spirit of Coachville. It is very lively, but not too much, and provides daily messages which are highly informative - all this in general with a very friendly tone. I am very often amazed at the wealth of knowledge and information that you can receive through this list, and often just minutes or hours after you have posted a query. It is really a very important resource or source of information for coaches.”

Pascale Cotton, M.A., DESS
A + B Coaching & Training
Geneva - Switzerland
http://www.cvreferral.com/15/107533.html

”I consider COACHV-L a significant asset in my coaching business. COACHV-L provides a venue for extraordinary exchange of coaching information, problem solving and sharing. Questions I have posed - from copyright and trademark issues to availability of specialty coaches - have been answered quickly and competently. I am a member of several similar email groups, but none works as well as COACHV-L. Splendid job!”

Elizabeth Austin, RN, CPCC
The Inside Out Life Design Coach
www.InsideOutCoach.net

“Without this resource, I would never have been able to remain
current. This has been a very efficient way to find out what I don't know. This list serve has made the world a smaller, better place for me.”

Lowell Ann Fuglsang
Workstyle-Lifestyle Consulting
lowellann@WORKSTYLE-LIFESTYLE.COM
www.workstyle-lifestyle.com

“A couple of months ago I was contemplating joining BNI (Business Network International) and asked for comments from members here. I received some very thoughtful and very helpful emails from people who are/were active members of BNI, with practical suggestions as to how I could make the most of the experience. The key thing here is that I really had no other way of finding out from coaches with practical experience how useful or otherwise BNI might be.”

Des Walsh
Sydney, Australia
coach@WEBARTS.NET.AU
www.3circlesuccess.com

“The support is heartwarming, the resources forthcoming. In the three years that I have lived here in Montreal I have felt so isolated as a coach . . .this list has given me the connection to coaches everywhere. I am most grateful for the camaraderie.

"There are four people who, in my opinion, deserve honorable mention: Lisa Micklin, Scott Stratten and Andy Wibbels, because of their many contributions, and to Pat Gundry for holding it all together.”

Carole Chanin
coachcc@look.ca

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