Partnership Leads to Creation of the Global Coaching & Mentoring Alliance

LEXINGTON, Ky., Nov. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association for Coaching (AC), European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC), and the International Coach Federation (ICF), have teamed up to create the Global Coaching & Mentoring Alliance designed to advance the professional coaching industry. After years of working together, the three organizations have created a formal agreement that declares, "As a collective of global professional coaching and mentoring bodies we seek to build alliances, a cooperative spirit, purpose and initiatives where we can partner to make a difference to the emerging profession and society as a whole."

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The Global Coaching & Mentoring Alliance met recently at the EMCC conference in Spain to finalize the agreement and begin moving plans forward. At the conference, they agreed to create a framework for the future, produce a unified industry agenda, determine how to reach critical stakeholders, and establish criteria for additional bodies joining the Alliance in the future. The Alliance is currently reviewing other professional coaching organizations to extend joining invitations.

The Alliance is a key component of ICF's strategic plan. ICF President Janet M. Harvey said, "The Board of Directors has emphasized forming global alliances. The creation of this Alliance is a step forward in achieving ICF's goals of advancing the coaching profession and being in service of humanity flourishing." ICF's CEO Magdalena Mook added, "It is so important that the coaching and mentoring bodies speak with a unified voice. The profession, the coaches and the purchasers of coaching all will benefit from that." The ICF is a global organization for coaches, with more than 19,000 members, including 9,000 credentialed coaches, in more than 100 countries. ICF is dedicated to advancing the coaching profession by setting high ethical standards, providing independent certification, and building a worldwide network of credentialed coaches. For more information visit coachfederation.org.

AC's Global CEO Katherine Tulpa states, "We are thrilled by the potential this alliance can bring, in our collective journey for coaching and mentoring to become a sustainable profession, and most importantly, make a real impact to those we serve." AC is an independent, and not-for-profit professional body dedicated to promoting best practice and raising the awareness and standards of coaching, worldwide. Its purpose is to inspire and champion coaching excellence, to advance the coaching profession, and make a sustainable difference to individuals, organizations, and in turn, society. As an inclusive organization, it has members from more than 40 countries, made up of professional coaches, training and coaching service providers, internal coaches, and organizations building coaching cultures. Tulpa continued, "This [alliance] marks a key milestone in coaching history, in that it shows that we can achieve more together, than apart, and speaks to some of the founding principles that coaching is built upon – those based on collaboration, growth, and being future oriented." For more information visit associationforcoaching.com.

"This alliance is a turning point," says EMCC President Lise Lewis. "Creating it has been driven by EMCC's response to our member and client sponsors who look to us to create clarity in the world of mentoring and coaching. All three bodies are already jointly committed to self-regulation and together we will be instrumental in further co-operation on professionalization whilst acknowledging our differences." EMCC is the European body for mentoring and coaching with 5,000 members across 67 countries and 20 affiliated countries. The EMCC exists to develop, promote and set the expectation of best practice in mentoring and coaching across Europe and beyond, for the benefit of society. Lewis concluded, "This alliance will contribute to EMCC's mission that mentoring and coaching will play a vital role in benefiting society." For more information visit emccouncil.org.

AC CONTACT:
Sally Johansson, +44 (0)1983 874 610
[email protected]

EMCC CONTACT:
Lise Lewis, +44 (0)7702 859 545
[email protected]

ICF HEADQUARTERS CONTACT:
Lindsay Bodkin, +1.859.219.3550
[email protected]

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SOURCE International Coach Federation