The Chronicle of Coaching provides a snapshot of what’s happening in the coaching profession, and is updated weekly. Compiled and edited by Ruth Ann Harnisch, Christine Heinrichs, and Linda Ballew.

In this week’s Chronicle:The top national news story, the aftermath of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, has a coaching connection. National Public Radio (USA) reports that a survivor of the shooting may be helped in her recovery by coaching. Others getting help from coaches this week: a high-profile executive who terrorized his staff, adults with ADD, women trying to get pregnant (yes, a niche is born), those committed to better health, better parenting, better life balance, better relationships, and those who want to spend more time at the beach.

New technology may bring personalized coaching to your cell phone, but you can take coaching wherever you go right now with free podcasts and internet radio.
The best teachers are recognized for their life coaching help, a spa adds life coaching to its services, and financial planners get training in retirement coaching.

Coaching is a prize at a charity fundraiser in England, while coaching is available for businesses that want to locate in Australia. In South Africa, a business analyst expresses concern over the inability of inexperienced executives to provide the coaching to others that they didn't get.

And as always, if we missed anything, let us know at info@thefoundationofcoaching.org

Virginia Tech Survivors May Benefit From Coaching
April 20, 2007, National Public Radio (Virginia, USA)
One man says he hopes his sister, who survived the massacre at Virginia Tech, will benefit from "mental and emotional coaching" in her recovery.

Life Coach Targets Listening
April 24, 2007, The Coloradoan (Colorado, USA)
She has updated her mother's 1989 book and plans to conduct corporate training sessions on the subject.

Life Coach Brings Change to Others
April 19, 2007, Atlanta Journal Constitution (Georgia, USA)
In his 40-plus-year career, he taught more than 20,000 students. At age 69, he still consults through a managemThis feature column profiles a life coach and follows her at a client appointment.

The Birth of a New Niche: Fertility Coaching
April 1, 2007, U.S. News & World Report (Washington, DC, USA)
Acupuncturist says 90% of her practice is treating women who are trying to get pregnant. “That’s just who was finding me,” she says. “I coach these women. Acupuncture is just the tip of it.”

Executives Lack Experience to Lead or Coach
April 23, 2007, iAfrica.com (Cape Town, South Africa)
Economic conditions have lured talented business and technical people away from South Africa. As a result, leadership positions have been filled with individuals who do not have the experience to fulfill their own roles or to coach and nurture the next level of management.

Coaches Help Clients Achieve Lasting Weight Loss, Fitness
April 22, 2007, The New York Times (New York, USA)
People struggling with chronic health problems such as diabetes, overweight and high cholesterol are turning to nutrition coaches to make life changes that improve their health.

Parent Educator Offers Coaching Classes
April 19, 2007, The Press-Enterprise (California, USA)
She also provides a nanny helpline and in-home support to establish authority, know your child, develop a discipline system and always be in agreement with the co-parent.

Automated Coach Will Call You on Your Cell Phone
April 18, 2007, Reuters (England, UK)
The system being developed by a German company will call you with personalized messages to motivate and inspire at a fraction of the cost of a live coach.

Volatile Publishing Executive Gets Coaching
April 17, 2007, Fresh Intelligence (New York, USA)
The rumors were rampant that this Conde Nast executive would be gone. However, he’s been assigned to work with the same coach who helped tame the behavior problems of other talented-but-troublemaking colleagues.

Coach Helps ADD Adults Get Organized
April 17, 2007, The News Journal (Delaware, USA)
Therapists refer patients to her to learn the life skills they didn't get in childhood.

Top Teachers Are Life Coaches to Their Students
April 18, 2007, The Independent (Ohio, USA)
In this annual ceremony honoring the Top 25 local high school teachers, students thanked them for their impact on their lives as well as their studies.

Coach Gives Tips on Reducing Stress
April 17, 2007, The Atlanta Journal Constitution (Georgia, USA)
Being kind to yourself can reduce being stressed at the frustrations of daily life.

Spa Includes Life Coaching to Heal the Whole Person
April 17, 2007, Minneapolis Star Tribune (Minnesota, USA)
The business owner, a former broker, has migrated her business from exercise to massage and now offers shiatsu, foot reflexology, waxing and energy healing as well as life coaching.

Consultant Questions Relationship Boundaries
April 20, 2007, All Things Workplace (Pennsylvania, USA)
When coaches participate in management decisions, are they inappropriately infringing on management responsibilities? This consultant examines the issues in his blog.

Parenting Lessons from a Sports Coach
April 2007, On Line Tribune: Personal Challenges (Ohio, USA)
Coaching a football team has parallels to parenting children – both require basic rules and consistency.

Business Coach Prescribes More Time at the Beach
April 18, 2007, Career Intensity (Florida, USA)
A client upset by a business problem found a solution after venting to her coach about it and going to the beach, where she relaxed and tapped into her creativity.

Coach Banks on Unique Intellectual Property
April 16, 2007, Talking Story (Hawaii, USA)
Being self-employed may not be for everyone, but this coach's list of reasons why it suits her includes more control over her working conditions and full value of her intellectual property assets. Her blog also lists 12 Rules for Self Management and 12 Rules for Self-Leadership.

Coach's Happiness Tip 10: Meaning Motivates
April 19, 2007, Embody Life Coaching (England, UK)
Finding purpose and meaning in work is more motivating than financial incentives.

Free Coaching for Life Coaches Podcasts Available
April 23, 2007, PR Web (California, USA)
Life coaches give their advice on improving coaching skills and running a successful practice in podcasts that can be downloaded from the web site to iPods and MP3 players.

Life Balance Radio Programs Available for Download
April 23, 2007, PR Web (California, USA)
This life and business coach's hour-long weekly radio programs can be downloaded as MP3 podcasts. Each is a self-contained message on subjects such as moving forward, making family a priority and team building.

Coaching Firm Finds Employee, Employer Core Values Don't Match Up
April 23, 2007, PRWeb (Minnesota, USA)
One third of workers say their values are not aligned with those of their employer, resulting in lack of engagement and passive, unproductive behavior that can sabotage projects and ideas.

Career Coach to Speak on Branding, Career Acceleration
April 13, 2007, PR Web (Arizona, USA)
This coaching company president will address the American Marketing Association's Leadership Conference April 20 in Chicago.

Coaching, Other Support Available to Start Businesses in Australia
April 20, 2007, Business Portal 24 (New South Wales, Australia)
Young entrepreneurs can get government grants for coaching. This consultant specializes in programs such as grants and tax concessions to attract businesses.

Coaching Company Partners in Charity Event
April 18, 2007, Knowsley Online (England, UK)
Participants will be entered in a drawing to win life coaching as they run or cycle to benefit a national charity.

Financial Planners Sign On to Learn Retirement Coaching
April 19, 2007, PR Web (Pennsylvania, USA)
Enrollment this year has increased 50 percent for a training program that includes health, psychological and sociological issues as well as wealth management, estate planning and long-term care.

Coaching Company Announces Life, Business Coaching
April 17, 2007, Online Recruitment (England, UK)
Its six-stage program can be tailored to senior executives, business owners, managers, high potential employees and workers losing their jobs to downsizing.

By Vikki G. Brock

Thoughts on the evolution of coaching in Europe and the United Kingdom
From a conversation with David Lane, Founding Director of the Professional Development Foundation in London.

Coaching in Europe evolved from many of the same origins as the U.S. and elsewhere, including counseling, psychotherapy, and psychology. This is much more a common story in Europe than in the U.S. Also, in Europe in the 1970s, psychologists were working in leadership development programs.
The U.K sits between the United States and European countries like Germany and France, and it sits in the middle in other ways. While the U.K. is more likely than Europe to be influenced by the Americans, the U.K. is increasingly open to the influence of European thinking and ideas. In the European Union, our key business partner is Europe. Quite a few coaching practitioners in the U.K. got their start in sports coaching, and now apply those principles to coaching in organizations.

Note: As an executive coach for more than twenty years, David Lane has worked with a wide range of industries including Biotechnology, Energy, Finance, Health, Education, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Retail, and many others. He has trained and developed coaches as well as undertaken research in models for coaching. He developed Context Focused Coaching based on modifications from Case Formulation models in psychology, of which he was one of the pioneers.