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Dear Fellow Coach, 

It's February already! The winter jasmine is blooming like never before in this mild Washington winter. It hardly feels like deep winter, yet we're still in that quiet time of year when natural rhythms are still slower. Our celebrations of the new year are still fresh. 

I hope you enjoy this issue. We offer a tribute to a dedicated and brilliant educator whose contribution to developmental coaching has been foundational to this aspect of our profession. Read on to enjoy a thoughtful reflection and recommendations about the power of voice. Don't miss hearing the wisdom of Bette George who teaches us how to set an intention for the new year. It's not too late. 

This month features two guest writers whose perspectives enliven The Learning Circle. If you are interested in writing a piece, let us know. 

Here's to a season of renewal!

Kate EbnerSincerely,

Kate Ebner
CEO, Leadership Coach 
The Nebo Company
Workshops for Coaches 

 Full Body Presence for Coaches 
April 11 - 13, 2012   OR   October 17 - 19, 2012

Full Body Presence BookWe are delighted to partner with well-known CranioSacral Therapy Instructor Suzanne Scurlock-Durana to sponsor Full Body Presence for Coaches. This workshop has been designed specifically for coaches. This work fills a gap in skill-training, providing the "how-to" steps for grounding, having a steady somatic presence that allows for deep work, as well as healthy boundaries and connections with clients. In short, Suzanne's work is an antidote to burnout, as she helps you build solid skills for energy management and personal renewal. 

     

Those who complete this class will be eligible for the Level II coaches' workshop: Your Signature Energy Presence I.

Learn more and register.



Signature Energy Presence I 
May 10 - May 11, 2012

This advanced workshop is the second in the Full Body Presence for Coaches series with curriculum developer, Suzanne Scurlock-Durana. You must complete Full Body Presence for Coaches prior to taking this course.
 
Now that you have learned the foundational skills for enhancing and strengthening your energy presence, come learn how it can be your own ally (rather than a hidden hindrance) in every coaching session you do. This course teaches you how to track energy changes as they occur during a typical coaching session and how to deepen those interchanges using your full somatic presence as your primary source. 
 
Those who complete this class will be eligible for the Level III coaches' workshop: Your Signature Energy Presence II, as well as coach practice days.



If you would like advertise a program or opportunity for coaches in our newsletter, please contact Erin Gregg.
An Adult Development Journey with Dr. Otto Laske

Otto Laske
After completing the
Georgetown University Leadership Coaching Certificate Program, I was eagerly looking for intellectual stimulation. My Georgetown coach suggested exploring Dr. Otto Laske's courses. I signed up quickly for a free session and my two years' journey with Dr. Laske commenced. I was fascinated with the holistic approach, the mental challenge, the solid theoretical background and the practical applications to the fields of coaching and organization development. Dr. Laske taught our small, international cohort with passion and great insight. He had two main objectives in mind: to demystify philosophy and social science as to what pertain to adult development and to introduce measurement. He believes strongly that evidence-based procedures are of a pivotal importance to our helping profession.

 

Dr. Laske is a developmental and organizational psychologist. He is the founder and the educational director of the Interdevelopmental Institute (IDM). He was attracted to adult development in the early 1990s because it seemed to offer ways of understanding himself and others that were out of reach for him previously. Perhaps his social science legacy is separating social-emotional and cognitive development in his 1999 thesis on which Constructive Developmental Framework (CDF) is built. He is both a teacher and a student of the human condition.

 

Dr. Laske's contributions to adult development are immense. He has brilliantly integrated/expanded the works of Robert Keagan, Elliott Jacques, Ken Wilber, Th.W. Adorno, Michael Basseches, H. Murray and Roy Bhaskar. Over the last few years, he published multiple articles and two books on the subject:

In addition to being a distinguished intellectual and a prolific writer, Dr. Laske is a composer, a painter and a poet. He studied music in Germany while he was in his middle twenties and established "cognitive musicology" in the seventies. He is fascinated by Rilke, Benn and Creely. His favorite piece of poetry now is Vergil's GEORGICS.

 

Studying with Dr. Laske has deeply broadened my understanding of myself and that of my clients. I am honored and grateful for the opportunity to glimpse at an ocean of knowledge and wisdom. Thank you, Otto.           

 

If you wish to get in touch with Dr. Otto Laske, his e-mail address is: otto@interdevelopmentals.org.

Vocal Presence   
Developing the voice you need to create the leadership presence you want
by Kari Uman 

 

Think of someone whose voice you really love listening to...what qualities does that voice have? Now think of someone whose voice you dislike and grates on your ears? What qualities does that voice have?

  

The difference between a full, rich and robust voice and a high, thin voice may be the difference between a leader's success or failure.  Voice or vocal presence is a critical component in a leader's ability to get their message across or project a powerful presence out to the world. This is particularly important with women leaders, whose voices often detract from their power and lack a strong, resonant quality.

 

What is vocal presence? It is the leader's ability to align their voice and intention. It is the use of voice tone, color and richness to complement other non-verbal cues in communicating a message that is consistent with the speakers' verbal content. When your voice matches the content of your words you bring more power and consistency to your message.

 

As a coach, you use many physical, emotional, and mental lenses through which to collect observations about your coaching clients. The Vocal Presence methodology is a perfect complement to other lenses used in leadership coaching: it combines your intuition with recognizing specific vocal qualities needed to increase your client's leadership presence. Those leaders whose voice does not serve them well always have a "story" about their voice and that's a great place to begin helping your clients increase their vocal presence.  

 

To find vocal exercises, videos, and descriptions for ways to help your clients help you develop the skills needed to increase vocal presence visit:

A great resource is also "Full Voice: The Art and Presence of Vocal Presence" by Barbara McAfee

 

Special thanks to Kari Uman, President of Uman Resource Associates, a certified Leadership Coach, offering face-to-face vocal presence coaching in the Washington, DC area.

Ringing Out the Old Year & Envisioning a New Year
with Leadership Coach Bette George

Bette George The New Year always invites us to make bold resolutions and start anew. Yet, year after year, how many of us look regretfully at the year behind, vaguely remembering our lost resolutions? Join Host Kate Ebner and her wise friend, Leadership and Life Coach Bette George for a conversation about how to close this year and begin 2012 with a strong sense of purpose, renewal and direction. Kate and Bette will explain why New Year's resolutions often don't work and will show you how to use visioning to bring new energy and possibilities to your life in the year ahead. You will enjoy the guidance and resources provided to make the upcoming year your best ever. This show is a "visioning how-to" with a focus on 2012.

All episodes of Visionary Leader, Extraordinary Life are available via podcast.

February 2012
In This Issue
Workshops for Coaches
An Adult Development Journey with Dr. Otto Laske
Vocal Presence
Ringing Out the Old Year & Envisioning a New Year
Book Review
Featured Links

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The Voice

 

"The voice, like the eyes and the face, is traditionally a window to the soul...The voice carries the emotional body of the person speaking. Without verbal explanation, but simply through sound, it tells us who is speaking, and, in the meeting room, who has come to work. The voice is as important to identity as anything we possess."

 

-- David Whyte, The Heart Aroused

Recommended Reading 

Measuring Hidden Dimensions:
The hardest imaginable work is to show people that what they fasten on to as 'reality' is not reality.

-- Dr. Otto Laske 
Book Winner   
Congratulations to Sharon!

Sharon is the winner of Doug Moran's book, If You Will Lead, which was featured in our November issue. Special thanks to Doug for donating a signed copy of his book for one of our readers.