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Dear Coaches,
All the challenges in Hong Kong these days are spurring
us into action as we take the opportunity to show how
coaching can make a real difference to people's lives.
I hope that some of our upcoming initiatives (that you
will find out more about in this newsletter) will entice
you to get more involved.
Free Coaching Offer
Already many of you have volunteered to give one or
two months of free coaching to people who are affected
by the SARS outbreak. I'm very excited to be able to
offer something so useful to the public, and at the
same time to spread the word about how effective coaching
can be during times of change. For more info, please
see featured article on "Does Sars Have an Impact On
Your Life?" Consider offering your services to make
a real difference when so many people really need support.
Angela Spaxman
President
| Upcoming
HKCC Activities |
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| Please mark your calendars!
 Saturday Afternoon Coaching Sampler
Mark your diaries for another Saturday afternoon
coaching sampler featuring 5 different coaches
demonstrating different coaching styles and topics
on June 14, 2003. Details coming soon. To get
involved, please contact Trish Meecham, Secretary
at secretary@coachinghk.org.
Professional Development Meetings
Every fourth Wednesday evening at 6:30pm, you
can find members of the coaching community sharing
coaching skills and experiences. Why not mark
your diary for the rest of the year? Remember,
these meetings are free for members. Our next
meeting is on May 28, 2003. To offer yourself
as a speaker, coach or facilitator, please contact
Ivy Ning, VP Professional Development at profdevelopment@coachinghk.org.
Behind the Scenes
 If you would like to be the first to know about HKCC's plans, you
are welcome to join the R&D team. You will receive
a variety of emails asking for feedback on developing
ideas and you are welcome to respond or stay as
a silent observer. To get involved, simply send
an email with HKCC R&D in the subject line to R&D@coachinghk.org. Our Executive Committee meetings are held every second
Wednesday of the month and we welcome members
to attend. Please email or call Angela on 2918-0785
for more details.
More
about upcoming HKCC Activities... »
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| Exploring
the Hidden Job Market |
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| by Jeff Hasenfratz
 Since the handover, Hong Kong has experienced one challenge after another
- an economic downturn, the bird flu, an even
sharper (and continuing) economic downturn, and
now SARS. The resulting stress to the city's residents
has created an ever-greater need for coaching.
When we think of the current economic situation,
it is hard to miss the fact that large numbers
of people in Hong Kong have lost their jobs. Others
are fearful that they may be next. In this context,
whether or not you consider yourself a career
coach, you may be called upon to provide coaching
support.
Presumably, you would feel comfortable basing
your approach on the strategic, individual-centered
method made famous by Richard N. Bolles in his
book "What Color is Your Parachute." This method
involves acquiring a deep knowledge of oneself
and of targeted opportunities, then using the
right tools and techniques to address those opportunities.
In short, you would encourage your clients to
be proactive (rather than reactive, simply looking
at job ads, for example) and you would help them
deal with the emotional ups and downs of the search
process.
Even the most diligent job seekers (and best
coaches!), however, can miss a potentially fruitful
area of exploration. This area is the "hidden
job market" or HJM. By HJM I do not refer to those
positions which have not been advertised, but
rather to those which have not yet been created.
It is these latter roles which can provide the
biggest payoff for the job seeker who has clearly
identified a target role, shown why s/he is interested
in and qualified for it, and brings the requisite
enthusiasm.
By preparing oneself well, targeting the right
level of the organization, and not focusing the
search solely on existing roles, the job seeker
moves to a higher, more strategic level. Rather
than trying to convince the potential employer
that s/he can fit into an existing role, the job
seeker is engaging in a discussion about how a
new role might be tailored to the individual.
In effect, the job seeker has eliminated competition
for the role and is fashioning a situation in
which he/she can best succeed.
As coaches, we obviously want our clients to
lead more fulfilling lives. For the client in
career transition, a job search which includes
consideration of the HJM will increase the probability
of acquiring a more fulfilling role.
JEFF HASENFRATZ is Managing Director of MINDSIGHT,
a career management services consultancy offering
talent retention, career and executive coaching,
and outplacement services in Asia. He is a qualified
executive coach and a Mandarin-speaker.
Email
Jeff... »
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| Monthly
Member Profile |
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| Charlie Lang
 In every issue, we feature a profile on our members.
For the May issue, please find out about Charlie
Lang, Executive Coach and our HKCC Webmaster.
"Executive coach? How did you get that idea?"
- This is a question Charlie Lang has often been
asked ever since he decided to work as a Hong
Kong-based professional coach of executives.
Charlie has over 11 years of experience in significant
leadership positions such as Director of International
Sales, Managing Director of three international
subsidiaries and Vice President of Sales and Marketing
in Asia. At the beginning of 2002, Charlie read
a newspaper article on coaching in Hong Kong.
As he was already considering different alternatives
on how to give his professional development a
new direction, he immediately knew that coaching
was a path he wanted to pursue. What followed
was an intensive Corporate Coach Training Program
with Singapore-based CoachHouse Asia, which provided
him with the necessary skills and tools to be
an effective and efficient coach for executives.
The subsequent start-up of his company Progress-U
Ltd. in autumn of 2002 was the next logical step
to make his dream come true.
In his coaching practice, he concentrates on
leadership development, organisational change,
career development and transition, outplacement
and life- work-balance issues. "My clients enjoy
working with me because through my coaching, they
achieve what they REALLY want in life faster,
and eventually accomplish much more than that."
His work's mission is supported by the core values
of honesty, confidentiality, reliability, integrity
and interdependence.
According to Charlie, choosing coaching as his
profession is the best idea he ever had in his
life.
You can reach Charlie Lang, Progress-U Ltd. at
9199-2019 or progressu@netvigator.com.
Read
about Progress-U Ltd... »
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| Events
of Interest |
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| Upcoming events/programs you might be interested
in....
To list your event, please email Cecilia at communications@coachinghk.org. Please keep your listing to 100 words or
less. This newsletter is distributed on the 10th
of each month and deadlines for submissions is
the 3rd of each month. Listings are on a first
come first served basis as we only have limited
space per newsletter.
- CE RESULTS FOUNDATION - Join us at
breakfast to find out about how being a part
of a group of highly influential & top business
minds will enable you to reach new heights in
your life. Attend this breakfast briefing with Roger Hamilton at 8.30am on Tuesday,
May 13, 2003 at The Marriott Hotel Bar Lounge.
RSVP to Pia at 8200-8224 or e-mail: pia@resultsfoundation.com
- Avatar is a course based upon the simple
concept that your beliefs will cause you to
create or attract the experiences you are having.
When you change what you believe, you also change
your life. It is an experiential nine day course,
of how to create the reality you prefer. More
information can be found at the Avatar website.
The next course date will be from May 31
to June 8, 2003. If you're interested, please
call Kannie Lee at 9194-6168 or Josephine
Liu at 9026-1618.
- Life Styling! Workshop: Discover Balance
and Create Fulfilment.
Ever felt there is more to life, or that
life is not exactly as you would like it?
Learn practical techniques to help you gain
clarity and facilitate change. 9:00am to 1:00pm
- May 31, 2003 at the Hong Kong Football Club.
HK$750. Email Carol at c_a_gibb@yahoo.com.au or call 9771 4961 or Trish
at trishmhk@yahoo.com.hk / 9381 0698 for further information.
*****
This newsletter is designed and edited by Cecilia
Yeung of SpringBoard Resources
Ltd. Many thanks to Jeff Hasenfratz for his
assistance with the May newsletter and to all
the contributors.
If
you have any feedback about the newsletter, please
write to let us know. We endeavor to continuously
improve the presentation and content of this medium.
To submit coaching tips, articles, profiles and
other relevant information or to list your event,
please send email to Cecilia.
Send
email to Cecilia... »
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| Does
SARS have an impact on your life? |
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| SARS is changing our lives. Analysts at the Economist
wrote that the SARS outbreak brings greater impact
on the global economy than the war in Iraq. How
is your life being affected? How will you recover,
cope or plan for SARS staying in our community?
Air your thoughts; talk to a coach.
Professional coaches from the Hong Kong Coaching
Community are volunteering their time to listen
and give feedback on anything that's on your mind.
SARS, or no SARS, everyone can be heard.
Please click
here for full details of coaches who are volunteering
their time to contribute to this initiative.
To contribute one or two months of free coaching,
please send your contacts and a description of
your services to Charlie Lang at webmaster@coachinghk.org
*****
Monthly Coaching Tips
Coaching Tip for Coaches: Share Resources
Generously!
By Lee R.K. Scott
We've all heard the ancient dictum that "It
is better to give than to receive," and few would
argue with that sentiment. However, we don't always
apply this principle as well as we might. A recent
management book with the curious title, "Love
is the Killer App" argues that success in today's
"information age" will come to those who share
most openly and generously introductions to their
networks of contacts, their favorite books and
research resources, etc. If you freely share the
best resources you can find with your clients
and prospective clients, you will increase - not
diminish - your value to them, as they will appreciate
both your value as a font of information, and
your generosity of spirit. In keeping with this
advice, I'd like to share with you one of the
best places to get lots of useful information
and further tips on coaching. Please go to the Coachville website - I urge
you to check it out (if you haven't already),
and wish you happy reading!
*****
Marketing Tip for Coaches: Create and Use
a Great USP!
by Lee R.K. Scott
Why should any prospective client choose you
as their coach? In marketing circles, the thing
that separates YOUR coaching service from all
the other competitors out there in the marketplace
is called your USP, or "Unique Selling Proposition".
It's worth spending time and effort to make sure
your USP works for you. Otherwise, you will be
just another face in the crowd of coaches, and
it's easy to get lost in a crowd!
Keep the following points in mind when developing
and using your USP:
1. It must clearly differentiate your business
from the competition: the more dramatic the difference,
the better.
2. The benefit contained in your USP must address
a real, perceived need of the client: the more
important that need is to your prospective client,
the better.
3. It must be clearly and succinctly worded
so it can be understood quickly and easily: the
benefit must be obvious.
4. It must be consistently true for your business:
if you can't live up to your USP, you will lose
credibility in the eyes of the client.
5. Emphasize your USP in all your communications:
put it on your name cards, brochures, etc. and
in your advertisements, and work it into your
sales calls and conversations. People remember
things that are repeated!
The harder you work on identifying your strongest
possible USP, and more you put it to work after
you've got it, the better it will work for you!
For a free, full-length article on how to get
the most out of your USP, send an email to Lee
at protrainer@net vigator.com
*****
Executive Committee Members:
Angela Spaxman, President
Ivy
Ning, VP Personal Development
Vivien
Pau, VP Marketing
Hans
Kunz, VP Membership
Cecilia Yeung, VP Communications
Trish Meecham, Secretary
Gene Cheng, Treasurer
Charlie Lang, Webmaster
Please feel free to send us an email anytime!
More
about HKCC Exco...
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