Leary-Joyce leads delegates a merry dance
By Ann Lewis
The Academy of Executive Coaching (AoEC) annual conference was probably the first coaching conference to open with a tango – AoEC founder John Leary-Joyce and his dance partner Christine twirled down the aisle and onto the platform in a dazzling start to the day.
There was a point to this. How do you measure dance success and excellence? Perhaps differently for experienced professionals than for new partners in their first public performance. And so it is with coaching. A lovely metaphor for the theme of the conference: excellence and success in coaching.
Leary-Joyce shared how in 10 years the AoEC has produced more than 700 graduates and expanded globally, including into China. He paid tribute to Marjorie Shackleton, Alexandra Joliffe and latterly Sue Pegg, who shaped the academy’s development during this period.
Workshops included one on self-disclosure in coaching by Marion Gillie and Marjorie Shackleton, a Gestalt coaching workshop which started from the premise that what happens with a client is an act of co-creation. Coaches may not use their own internal data because they believe it is not relevant, or it would take focus away from the client, or they lack the knowledge to introduce it with skill.
The session showed us how unfiltered reaction can appear collusive or critical, and how carefully managed reflection of the coach’s experience can aid the client’s development.
In ‘Journey into voice’, Judy Apps, author of The Voice of Influence, showed delegates how the placing of the voice in the body has a profound influence on clients. She explained how formative experiences such as childhood anger remain in the voice, and how the voice shifts as intention changes.
Sharon Eden, in her session on how to “distinguish your coaching success with inner leadership, passion, purpose and power” revealed herself to be on a mission to evoke the vibrant heart of her clients. Eden used whole-brain processing to enable delegates to explore her four themes. They were then asked to choose how these concepts could influence their coaching.
Coaching at Work, Volume 5, Issue 6