The Chronicle of Coaching provides a snapshot of what’s happening in the coaching profession, designed to show where and how coaching appears in the popular culture worldwide. It is not intended to be a summary service nor a news roundup, although it may serve that purpose for some readers. The Chronicle is updated each Wednesday at noon EDT. Compiled and edited by Alex Goldsmith, Linda Ballew and Ruth Ann Harnisch.

In this week’s Chronicle: The only notification we have is in the form of a press release this week, and the publisher of The Chronicle of Coaching contacted the firm, but we couldn’t confirm any actual press coverage in time for our own deadline. Nonetheless, we think it’s worth noting that NASA, the United States’ space agency, has used a private coaching company to work with its leaders since 1994 and has just re-upped. In Zimbabwe, coaching and personal motivational speaking are still considered largely Western phenomena – we have a report of a recent presentation. In the United Arab Emirates, local leaders are invited to a USA university institute to receive coaching. Critics of coaching have their say. A blogger raises provocative, serious questions about life coaching, while a columnist rants against parent coaching. In the UK, parent coaches have gained credibility as businesses use them to help increase employee productivity. Other topics showing up in columns, blogs, and elsewhere: finding the perfect career, having a better attitude at work and in life, and discovering one’s true self in one’s writing. This week in health coaching, a new heart-health coaching website, and in the trend of coaching for students, an athletic coach at a prestigious U.S. university becomes a life coach for any student. The number one video on MSN on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 was a football coach angrily complaining about a column that criticized one of his players. Is he a great coach of young people, championing his young player? Or is he behaving inappropriately for a coach? Email us your opinion info@thefoundationofcoaching.org and we’ll include a few in our Chronicle of Coaching next week.

As always, if we missed anything, please let us know at info@thefoundationofcoaching.org

CONTRIBUTORS: We welcome your suggestions for inclusions in The Chronicle of Coaching. Please let us know about articles, broadcasts, blogs, and other instances of coaching in the culture.
Send to info@thefoundationofcoaching.org

The Chronicle of Coaching strives for 100% accuracy and regrets any deviation from that standard. Our policy is to correct errors promptly and prominently, in the next edition and in the online archive. Please tell us immediately if you see something wrong.

Coach Defends His Young Player After Critical Newspaper Column
September 26, 2007 MSN.com
He raises his voice, he uses strong but G-rated language, and he invites the press to attack him or his staff, but he is furious about a columnist’s criticism of one of his players.

University Institute Offers Coaching for Middle Eastern Leaders
September 18, 2007, Al Bawaba (United Arab Emirates)
Exceptional entrepreneurs and civil leaders are invited to participate in a program that coaches them to improve communities and grow businesses in the Middle East.

Consulting Firm in Zimbabwe Hosts a Presentation on Life Coaching
September 18, 2007, Zimbabwejournalists.com (Zimbabwe)
The concept of motivational speaking is new in Zimbabwe, but attendees received the life coaching seminar with great enthusiasm.

Is Coaching Becoming a Preferred Management Style?
September 23, 2007, Seattle Post Intelligencer (Washington, USA)
Some managers are learning how to balance relationship skills and business skills, and how to set clear goals with their team and plan next steps to reach those goals.

UK Employers Think ‘Parent Coaches’ Improve Job Performance
September 23, 2007, The Times (England)
These companies are realizing that problems at home can disrupt an employee at work.

Environmental Coaches Teach People/Businesses How to be Environmentally Aware
September 22, 2007, The Daily Gleaner (Canada)
Attendees will receive a checklist of things they can do at work and at home to reduce emissions and save money.

Swarthmore Offers Life Coaching to Students
September 20, 2007, The Phoenix (Pennsylvania, USA)
A coach whose athletic experience taught her how to break down tasks and achieve goals became a certified coach and now offers life coaching to students at this prominent university.

Columnist Mocks Parent Coaching
September 19, 2007, The Chicago Tribune (Illinois, USA)
He decries parent coaching as a $70-an-hour scam and claims he could do it himself.

Office Coach’s Mailbox Column Answers Reader Questions
September 19, 2007, Columbia Daily Tribune (Missouri, USA)
She advises one protective, solitary worker to have a better attitude, and doles out interview advice to another.

Coaching Your Kids Can Make All the Difference in School
September 19, 2007, The Indianapolis Star (Indiana, USA)
Set up a good study environment, schedule practice sessions, and help create a positive attitude towards school.

Journalist Creates a Coaching Website on Heart Health
September 18, 2007, CNN Money
Heart care information is readily accessible. This website adds motivation and helpful tools.

Coaching Blog Offers Business Resources
September 22, 2007, careerintensity.com blog
Business Coach lists resources for workplace professionals and entrepreneurs on various subjects.

Writing Coach: Looking at Their Work Can Help Writers Find Out Who They Are
September 20, 2007, Confident Writing Blog
Write out loud, reread your work, and keep a journal.

Business Coach: Write Down Goals if You Want to Achieve Them
September 19, 2007, Yop2.com Blog
Create SMART goals, i.e goals that are: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timed.

Career Coach Gives Coaches Five Steps to Help Clients Find a Winning Career
September 18, 2007, Coach Training Alliance Blog
Have clients describe what they want, explore their options, create a game plan, implement the plan, and reach their goals.
Note: Deborah Brown-Volkman has served as a communication consultant to The Foundation of Coaching.

Blogger Denounces Life Coaching
September 18, 2007, SHAM Blog (USA)
He attacks life coaching’s accreditation standards, lack of a consistent body of knowledge, and its reliance on empowerment.

Coach Recaps Session at an Entrepreneurial Tele-Summit
September 18, 2007, Shift-it Coach Blog
The coach helped a volunteer client turn negative thoughts into positive ones and create a more positive vision of herself in the year 2010.

Coaching Millions
September 20, 2007, News Blaze
By Warren Whitlock
This book teaches coaches how to grow their practices.

Life Coaching: A Manual for Helping Professionals
September 18, 2007, Metapsychology Blog
By Dave Ellis
A guide to life coaching, serving as a reference of various coaching techniques and methods.

NASA Extends Agreement With Executive Coaching Firm
September 18, 2007, Business Wire (USA)
The coaching firm helps the space agency build a leadership pipeline within the organization.

By Vikki G. Brock

Coaching in France began with transactional analysis (TA) then neurolinguistic programming (NLP) according to Alain Cardon and Maryvonne Lorenzen. Cardon also described the French coaching tradition as very analytical, “a mental approach of what went wrong…a lot of times questions are asked to understand what is going on…to find solutions that are analytical.” Jane Turner founded Le Dojo in 1990 to train in human relations, NLP, TA and general semantics. Coach training was included in 1993 and grew into coaching certification in 1995. In 1995 Jane Turner created the French Society for Coaching (SF Coach) which viewed coaching as “a course of action to feel good and keep feeling good” and to reduce the fear of coaching being viewed as a cult.