[An extract of my speech at our 9th Convocation of Coaches on 29 Nov 2014]
The figure 9 to the Chinese is very special for it is about longevity. So as I stand here for the 9th time in this convocation of coaches, I can’t help but to reflect back on how the professional coaching community has evolved since 2006 when CCA held Malaysia’s first-ever convocation of coaches. I remember then we had it at a poolside of a condominium in PJ.
Since then, a lot of water has flowed under the coaching bridge, with the coaching community becoming more and more matured over the years, with more and more coaches swelling up the coaching community.
Truly, CCA’s vision of ‘growing a vibrant coach community’ has become a bigger reality today. Once a desert land, but today a rich oasis of immense coaching opportunities.
Compared to many countries, Malaysia has a complete range of professional coaches now. We have now associate, professional and even master coaches. 9 years ago there was only CCA, the only coaching school in Malaysia; but today we have at least 8 coaching schools here. 9 years ago, non sports coaches were practically unheard of. Today, coaches are well acknowledged by both individuals and corporations as powerful change agents.
It’s very gratifying to know that CCA continues to lead in the building and growing of a vibrant coach community. To date, CCA has produced more than 600 qualified coaches over these 9 years. In the beginning, there was only 1 ICF professional certified coach (that’s me), but today there are many. We have produced the most ICF credentialed coaches for the global coaching community. More than half of the 45 ICF Associate Certified Coaches, 11 Professional Certified Coaches and 1 of the 3 Master Coaches in Malaysia are all CCA coaches.
Also, 9 years ago, the biggest challenge in Coaching was trying to get it off the ground as it had to fight very hard for space and visibility against more established helping professions like training, mentoring, consulting and counseling. This challenge is now over. Today, the new challenge of coaching is of a different kind. It is about the sustainability of the coaches. It is about qualified coaches sustaining their coaching interest through the years, further improving their coaching skills and further strengthening their own coaching brand through the years, so that they become very visible in an increasingly crowded place of coaches.
Although CCA has always endeavored to be the best coaching school in the building of the best coaches in this region, our efforts alone are still not enough. On your own, coaches, you need to set your own goal agenda to be the best you can be. You need to keep firing up your passion, keep sharpening up your coaching competencies as well as to keep upgrading your coaching credentials so that you keep moving up the coaching ladder: from associate to professional and to be eventually master coaches as soon as possible.
I therefore strongly urge all of you, newly qualified coaches, to continue on with the path of continuing excellence, (just like what you have just done), so that you become stronger & stronger, relevant and more relevant in a ever challenging environment where you are able to exceed your coachees’ (or clients’) expectations, as well as to reap the many opportunities that continue to present themselves where only the best coaches can take full advantage of.
