In This Issue
1. Message from the President: Somebodies and Nobodies
2. Special Annoucement: Membership Premium
3. Membership Update
4. Subscribe/Unsubscribe Option (and all that other end-of-newsletter stuff!)

By Barbara Mark, PhD
President, International Association Of Coaches

Somebodies and Nobodies
In the busy life of an avid reader it is a rare occasion that a single book leaves a lasting impression as having said something new and unique. Robert Fuller’s Somebodies and Nobodies: Overcoming the Abuse of Rank is such a book.

In Somebodies and Nobodies, Fuller takes a hard look at the role of a profound experience of discrimination in our lives. He identifies rankism as an abuse of power that we are all subject to and guilty of. "An unheralded, unnamed revolution is unfolding in our midst. Everywhere, people are becoming less willing to put up with disrespect. And like all revolutions, this one is about the distribution of power." (Fuller, 2004, p. 101) As coaches we will find this book immeasurably valuable.

We seek in our own lives to diminish the power of the inner critic and to strengthen our own sense of dignity. We also support our clients in the same efforts. Understanding the subtleties of rankism in our culture will go a long way to ferret out situations in our lives that cause us to feel "less than" and how to respond to them. We must be willing to see the situations in which we cause others to feel "less than" and correct our behavior. Indignity signals an abuse of power - or put the other way round, the abuse of power is incompatible with the principle of human dignity." (Fuller, 2004, p. 103)

I had the occasion to meet Robert at a discussion group recently. The humble former president of Oberlin College spoke freely about his own experiences of having been on both sides of the abuse of rank and he is nimble in his ability to help us each discover our own. He invites us to take responsibility for how we express our relationship to rankism.

Because coaching is inherently humanistic in its goals I believe that every coach will benefit from reading this book and sharing it with clients.

Special Announcement

Robert Fuller's book, Somebodies and Nobodies, is being offered as a premium to our members as a result of the generosity of your Board Treasurer, Ruth Ann Harnisch. Ruth Ann has been a board member for less than a year and during her tenure has not only offered great wit and wisdom, but enormous financial support of the IAC. One of Ruth Ann's nonprofit projects, Thrillionaires, is an IAC corporate sponsor. In addition, Ruth Ann has personally underwritten many of the expenses of the IAC and to date is the largest financial contributor to the IAC, surpassing Thomas's original grant of $25,000 to get the IAC started. Ruth Ann is a social innovator who likes to promote and create new ways of doing things in order to make the world a better place, and she does that through her professional coaching and philanthropy. You might have seen her on Oprah, or the Today Show, or perhaps you heard her being interviewed on the radio in your city. She's the president of the Harnisch Family Foundation, and serves on the board of the Thomas J. Leonard Memorial Foundation. The IAC owes a profound debt of gratitude to Ruth Ann for her amazing financial and energetic generosity!

A message from the Membership Chair
By Barbara Lemaire
Membership Chair, International Association Of Coaches

Membership has its privileges - and its price. Good news for you: the privileges are great and the price is tiny!

The International Association of Coaches is evolving. In 2003, Thomas Leonard and a few dedicated professionals embarked upon a radical mission. The IAC’s Board of Governors upholds the commitment to further the interests of coaching clients worldwide by offering rigorous and objective coach testing and certification, while maintaining what we think are the highest and most specific ethical guidelines in the industry.

On the tightest of budgets, we’ve created the certification process and the Professional Ethics Review Committee. We are also creating a global accreditation process.

Hundreds – perhaps thousands – of volunteer hours have been devoted to this radical mission by coaches who care about the future of the profession. We can always use your help – write us at info@certifiedcoach.org. The original investment of $25,000 which the late Thomas Leonard made in the founding of the IAC has long been exhausted. The membership structure has been reorganized by the IAC Board of Governors to create self-sufficiency and solvency.

In the new structure, every member of the IAC is a financial partner in the work. A nominal $10 membership fee will be instituted in 2005, and we have begun accepting prepaid memberships immediately.

Please choose one of the following membership options:

Or, make your check payable to IAC and mail to:

IAC
PO Box 150731
Nashville, TN 37215

We will make online payments available on the IAC website soon!

And for those who wish to offer an additional level of support to the IAC’s work, special categories of membership are available. We already have our first $10,000 member for 2005! Please contact me personally at blemaire@myexcel.com to find out if a Supporting level of membership makes sense for you.

All Supporting, Lifetime and 3-year members who join before January 1, 2005 receive a free copy of Somebodies and Nobodies, a groundbreaking book by Robert W. Fuller. A limited number of 1-year members will also receive a copy of the book as supplies last.

Your membership is important!

To find out what privileges your IAC membership entitles you to please visit:

http://www.membership-benefits.com/Privileges.htm

Interested In Advertising In The Voice?
The IAC Voice accepts advertising from coaches, coaching organizations and those providing services to the coaching industry. What better way to advertise your business to over 6,000 members of the coaching profession? For more information, email advertising@certifiedcoach.org. You will receive an autoresponder message with full details on advertising in the IAC Voice, including our rates, publication deadlines, etc.

Interested In Writing For The Voice?
The IAC Voice accepts articles from IAC members. To submit an article for consideration, please send it along with your name, contact information and photo to voice@certifiedcoach.org.

Writers' Guidelines:

• Articles should not exceed 350 words and should be written in standard journalistic style.
• The Voice reserves the right to accept or reject any article. When articles are
  accepted for publication, the editor determines publication date.
• The Voice also reserves the right to edit articles to fit the publication’s style. Articles edited for grammar and style will be run without consultation with the writer. Any articles edited where content is updated, altered or changed for any other reason be will be reviewed by the writer prior to publication.
• While the IAC Voice does not pay for articles, it does offer the writer the opportunity to include a short bio, a photo and contact information.
• When an article is submitted to the Voice, the writer grants IAC the right to publish the work in the IAC newsletter as well as on the web site and in other IAC communications. Prior to use, the writer will be notified and all contact information will be included at the time of publication.

For a complete deadline and publication date guide for 2004, please contact IAC at voice@certifiedcoach.org.