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This free newsletter is only sent to subscribers and to those persons and organizations that are listed in Coaching Section the Peer Resources' website. We strongly support a privacy policy that prohibits sending unwanted email. If you wish your address to be removed from this list, please let us know. We do not sell or forward your address to any other source. TOPICS 1. Warning Issued About Best of the Best Coaches Handbook Listing Request WARNING ISSUED ABOUT "BEST OF THE BEST" COACHES HANDBOOK LISTING REQUEST A recent promotion has been circulating through the coaching community that seems like a reasonable idea. A well-known and reputable company is creating a Handbook that identifies the top coaches and helps potential clients learn who are the "best" coaches and how to find them. As far as I am concerned this comes close to what some people might call a scam. Here's why. To qualify for inclusion in this handbook, coaches must complete a lengthy form, which in addition to a number of questions includes a request to provide contact information for three clients. No details are provided as to how this information will be treated although you have the option as to whether you give permission to contact the clients. But who will be contacting the clients and what will happen to any of the information you provide is not disclosed. This could be just an oversight on the part of the handbook organizers, but it still isn't clear what information provided in this form will be included in any listing. The form quite clearly specifies that to be listed external coaches must pay a fee of $1000.00 and internal coaches a fee of $500.00 to be listed. There is an extreme contradiction here between implying that a listing is free and charging this "fee" to cover expenses of publication. Listed coaches will receive a limited number of free copies, however. But my guess is knowing this company, that there will also be advertising and other commercial aspects of this Handbook that will generate revenue for the publisher. Persons inexperienced with this publisher might want to know the organization runs a similar system when it puts on a conference: speakers and workshop leaders pay the organization to deliver their sessions - a model quite different than other conference systems where the speakers and workshop leaders actually are paid to deliver their expertise. I wonder whether everyone who pays the fee and completes the form will be included in the final publication. This leads one to wonder about screening. How will this take place? At present completing the form allows all applicants to be screened as to whether they will be included and if selected for inclusion then they will be required to pay the fee. But the "screening" is carried out by an unidentified source using unmentioned criteria. Agencies such as the Coach Connection have spent considerable time and expertise working towards developing screening criteria for the highest quality coaches; so how will this Handbook publisher with little experience in screening make such distinctions? Is the "screening" just a sleight of hand or a clever marketing strategy? Would it be more accurate to say that this Handbook was just a listing of coaches who paid a fee to get listed? Will anyone who completes the form with appropriate information and pays the fee not be listed? Is there a limit on the number of coaches to be listed? Coaches interested in this endeavor and particularly those who are proud of what they have accomplished as a coach might be worried about not being listed in a compendium of "best" coaches. Is this Handbook publisher relying on or exploiting these fears? Is it really possible to create a Handbook that lists the "best" coaches? Do I want clients asking me why I "wasn't" listed in the Handbook of Best Coaches? I personally don't think coaches ought to participate in this collection. I think it does a disservice to the coaching profession to attempt to distinguish "best of the best." There are many ways for coaches to gain recognition for their work and most coaches already know whether they are doing their best or what they need to do to obtain better results. Creating a "who's who" might make sense in other disciplines or professions, but coaching is a unique discipline where cooperation, teamwork, integrity, spirit, focus and results take precedence over competition, exclusion, status and elitism. On the other hand, if you want to pay me to have my name listed, give me a call. (NOTE: This viewpoint was written by Rey Carr, who has given permission for it to be forwarded to additional sources who might benefit. Rey reports that a list of questions based on the points raised in this article was sent twice to the individual in the company responsible for the Handbook. After one year and several emails, no response has been received.) FOUR NEW BOOK REVIEWS ADDED TO THE TOP COACHING BOOKS WEB PAGE Now appearing in the Top Coaching Books, Tapes and Videos page maintained by Peer Resources at <www.peer.ca/coaching.html> are new reviews of four books of interest to coaches: A SAMPLE ITEM FROM THE PEER RESOURCES ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Peer Resources continually scans the professional and popular published literature to find articles of interest to coaches. A recent addition to the searchable, annotated bibliography at <http://www.peer.ca/coaching.html> is: Wozniak, L. (May 16, 2002). Coaching the chief executive. Far Eastern Economic Review, 165, 19, 56.
The Coaching News is provided to subscribers every 45-60 days by Peer Resources <www.peer.ca/coaching.html>. To become a member of the Peer Resources Network and receive a more comprehensive monthly publication as well as the only print magazine on coaching, visit www.peer.ca/PRN.html or call 1.800.567.3700 in North America or 1.250.595.3503 outside of North America. To be removed from this mailing list send an email to <info@peer.ca>. All articles and information included in this newsletter have been prepared by Rey Carr and all copyrights are held by Peer Resources. To submit information or articles for possible inclusion in future issues, please send an email to coachingnews@peer.ca. |
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