What we found is that with a compelling vision,
ICF Raleigh coaches and public leaders at the
local and state levels were drawn to working
together, with each doing what they could to
make the efforts of all successful. As a result,
lives were changed.
Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a
small group of thoughtful, committed citizens
can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only
thing that ever has.” Here in Raleigh, our small,
committed group accomplished a great deal
in one week. We hosted a symposium that
educated the community about the proven power
of professional coaching, provided valuable
professional development through a Cutting
Edge Conversation for Raleigh-area coaches and
transformed local cafes into coaching suites.
We also got the buy-in of city, county and state
officials, securing proclamations in recognition
of ICW from Raleigh’s mayor and city council,
Durham County’s board of commissioners and
the governor of North Carolina.
The impact of our ICW celebration, however,
extended far beyond a single week in May.
We are proud that we were able to bring
public leaders together, despite their political
differences, and persuade them of the positive
benefits of coaching and the importance of
celebrating ICW. Our publicity efforts also
empowered us to change lives: Since ICW, we’ve
learned that the information and pro bono
coaching we provided during that week helped
facilitate life and career transitions for members
of our community.
As we begin to plan for ICW 2014, we invite you to
mobilize coaches in your community to prepare for
the most impactful global celebration of coaching
yet. Now is the time to get organized; you can do
so with the help of our chapter’s ICW checklist,
found on pages 24–25. Then, visit icf.to/icw for
details about this year’s celebration and access to a
host of downloadable resources that will help you
and your ICF Chapter prepare for ICW and spread
the word about the benefits of coaching.
Let’s continue to join hands for ICW, and in
so doing, realize that we are contributing to
something awesome in the world!
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Breaking Barriers
with International
Coaching Week
Every year, the ICF presents Breaking
Barriers Awards to ICF Chapters that
have demonstrated success in innovative
occasions, extraordinary fundraising events,
impactful media relations, creative strategic
alliances or exceptional membership growth.
In 2013, ICF Raleigh and ICF Kenya were
both named Breaking Barriers winners
in recognition of their organizational
and promotional efforts surrounding
International Coaching Week 2013.
ICF Raleigh’s efforts, which included the
development of the checklist on pages 2425 and many of the materials showcased
in our online ICW toolkit, supported a
massive marketing and publicity initiative.
In addition to securing proclamations in
recognition of ICW from Raleigh, N.C.’s mayor
and city council, Durham County’s board of
commissioners, and the governor of North
Carolina, ICF Raleigh staged a signature event
for the public, a symposium titled “Coaching:
The Secret Strategy to Your Success,” and
hosted several smaller ICW events to
promote the power of coaching and foster
practitioners’ professional development.
In its first full year as an ICF Chapter, ICF
Kenya organized and promoted an ICW
celebration that included professional
development sessions for coaches, coaching
demonstrations and panel discussions, ICF
Kenya also leveraged the power of radio, the
country’s most popular medium, by offering
free coaching to people who called in to a
popular morning radio show.
To learn more about the ICF’s 2013 Chapter
Award winners, visit Coachfederation.org/
chapterawards.
Coaching World 23