Career Coach News

In This Issue

• Feature Article - Is It Career Coaching or Case Management?
• Marcia Update – Milestones and New Developments
• Upcoming Events
• About Marcia Bench and CCI
• Marcia Recommends

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If you have trouble reading the ezine or seeing graphics click here for the online version.

A Note From Marcia

Dear Career Coach,

I have just returned from a relaxing mini-vacation with my husband to celebrate our 14th anniversary at a lovely central Oregon resort (see photo of us near the waterpark and miniature golf course). Don't you enjoy celebrating milestones in your life? I do. It reminds me to cherish the moment, and also to be grateful for all that has led up to the event being celebrated.

We can do the same in our businesses...and indeed, I usually try to give YOU a gift on OUR CCI birthday each January (!). It has been over a year since we evaluated our web site look/feel - and the navigation as well - so today you will see the new STREAMLINED CCI site! Check it out at www.careercoachinstitute.com. We hope this will make it easier for you to find what you want...and our member site will also be centralized soon.

You have seen the changes to the colors and theme evolving over the past few weeks...but our faithful web team and I have taken a hard look at the internal structure, how we can shrink its size (it was several hundred pages!) and how we can make this site - and the other specialty programs we offer - easier to navigate and access. You see the results here! We will be rolling out new sites for our retirement, entrepreneur, executive, corporate and workforce sites soon as well, all tapping into a central Coaching Webstore for your convenience.

If you haven't re-evaluated your web site and online presence for a while, you'll want to do so at least once a year. After all, things change quickly in the virtual world - and your clients' needs do too!

Is It Career Coaching or Case Management?

One of the client groups we serve at Career Coach Institute is One-Stop and other workforce centers. And their interest in career coaching is unparalleled now! How do you know if you are coaching or doing case management? And how can you make the transition to coaching? This week's article introduces you to the key differences you need to know.

Wishing you authentic success,

Marcia Bench, Creator of the Career Coaching Success System and other world class coach training programs.

NEW AND UPDATED: See the latest photos of Marcia with industry experts at the freshly updated Photo Gallery

Have you visited our blog lately? New entries just posted!

Teleclasses, Workshops and Upcoming Events

June Mastermind Call

Our Next *SILVER* MASTERMIND Call is WEDNESDAY, June 11, 2008, 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific.

Would you like to be on tv?

Our June Mastermind call is entitled “How to Position your Business as the Premiere Company In Your Niche by Starring In Your Own 30 Minute TV Show” with Marcia Bench and Special Guest Dr. Jeff Hockings.

Have you ever dreamed on being on TV? Or wanted to get in on the “video craze” that seems to be sweeping the marketing world? You’ll learn how in the next Mastermind call!

My guest and new colleague, Dr. Jeff Hockings is the best I’ve seen at creating 30 minute television shows that instantly position you as the premiere company to do business with. (I just did it myself, you’ll see it soon!) Television is the most powerful medium on the planet -- and if you want to elevate your business to the next level, then being interviewed on Dr. Jeff’s talk show is the way to go.

On our call in June, Dr. Jeff will share:

• 5 Benefits Of Starring In Your Own Custom TV Show
• 3 Reasons You Must Have A TV Presence To Separate Yourself From Your Competition
• How To Air Your TV Show In Your Local Market For FREE!!
• Why It Is Critical To Not Be Perceived As A Commodity.
• 7 Powerful Ways To Use Your TV Show To Promote Your Business
• The Best Times Of Day And Days Of The Week To Air Your TV Show
• 4 Things You Must Avoid On Your TV Show

And Much, Much More…

FREE DVD available for all current and new members - and this call is FREE for all Mastermind members. Not a member? Join now to access this call with Marcia's special FREE 2-month "Silver Membership" trial.

P.S. Want to see a sample of what Jeff's television shows look like? Check out an excerpt from mine on Youtube here!

Learn to Market Your Services

Wednesday, June 18, 2008, 8 pm Eastern, 5 pm Pacific: "How to Turbo-Charge Your Marketing With the Proven Career Infopreneur Secrets System":

Are you tired of struggling to get clients? Confused about what marketing strategies will work best for you - or worse, overwhelmed by TOO many options?

At least 93 percent of coaches fail to reach the $100,000 income mark within the first 2 years of their business. But it doesn't have to be that way! Marketing is easy, effortless, and FUN - but you have to know what to do and, importantly, what order to do it in.

On this call, you will discover:

• Why most coaches struggle...and the one key shift in mindset that will make all the difference for you
• What Career Coaching 2.0 is – and why you can’t afford to keep doing things the way you always have
• Why just learning coaching is not enough – and the two additional skills you need to build a profitable business today
• What the best niche is for you - and why you need to have a two-dimensional niche
• How to get clients lining up to work with you - instead of chasing them
• How to create true wealth through your business, not just an income replacement
• Why you need to create info products - and how to get started
• Simple tools for adding value to your clients' experience - and income to your coaching practice
• And much more!

Just click here for details and to reserve your spot - the call is limited to 97 participants so your prompt registration is encouraged!

Summer Minicourses Start Next Week and Are Filling Fast

Summer Minicourses begin soon! This summer's featured courses include:

• Coaching for Workforce Development Professionals - starting June 10
• Discover Your Coaching Strengths - starting June 17
• Introduction to Emotional Intelligence - starting July 7
• Coaching for Recruiters and Executive Search Professionals - starting July 15
• Using the DISC Assessment in Career Coaching - starting July 22

Reserve your space in the class(es) of your choice today here

Multiple course discount also available!

Featured Article

Is It Career Coaching or Case Management?
By Marcia Bench, MCCC

Increasingly, One-Stop Centers and other workforce organizations are re-titling their frontline staff. Instead of calling them “case managers,” they are designating them “coaches.” But what are the philosophical and practical differences between the two approaches? Is it just a change in title, or does it mean more than that? This article will review the differences and similarities and suggest key steps your organization can take to initiate the transition if desired.

The Case Management Approach

Case management draws its roots from health care and social services. Following are some characteristics of case management.

1. Caseload. Though not deliberately intended, case management can tend to emphasize numbers of customers and “caseload,” rather than individual people with unique needs. The pressure to keep the load of active cases low can compromise quality of service and make customers feel like a number rather than a name.

2. Management. Case “management” implies that the professional’s role is to move customers through a series of stages. The “difficult” customers – who do not move through the system as quickly as others – become simply an impediment to the case manager’s success, rather than an opportunity for innovation toward a successful outcome.

3. “Standardization.” Case management usually uses a standardized process with all customers, and expects them to eventually move through it – some quickly, some more slowly. The problem with this expectation is that customers come to a One-Stop Center with widely varying needs. Some may have disabilities, some may be executives in career transition – and everything in between. If a standardized process is used for all, some customers will find aspects of it irrelevant or redundant, while others will need more time on one area than another.

4. Diagnosis and treatment. While workforce staff are not caregivers in the traditional sense, case management is structured around diagnosis and treatment. Through an extensive intake application, the customer’s work history, skills, disabilities and similar information is inventoried. The case manager then “diagnoses” the customer’s needs and applies an appropriate treatment – usually the standardized process referred to above. The emphasis is on the past and on skills.

The Coaching Approach

Coaching has been used in athletics for decades, but only applied in career and workforce development for approximately the past 10 years. Coaching is “an interactive process of exploring work-related issues – leading to effective action – in which the coach acts as both a catalyst and facilitator of individual and, in turn, organizational development and transformation.”(Career Coaching: An Insider’s Guide, Marcia Bench).

Following are some characteristics of coaching as applied to workforce development:

1. Individual Clients. Just as the title of the staff person shifts from case manager to coach, the designation of the people they assist evolves from customer to client. The focus of coaching is on clients, their unique needs, and how to be of maximum service to them. This does not mean that fewer clients are served, however! It simply means that the coach (or staff person) is more attuned to each person’s individual needs and how best to facilitate their forward progress.

2. Action. Coaching leads to action – period. Without action, it is ineffective. Rather than being an expert or advice-giver, the coach is a “catalyst and facilitator.” This means the coach draws the client out, asks probing, open-ended questions, and provides feedback based on observations of behavior and language. Clients in turn discover things about themselves that they did not already know, realizes that the real barriers to their success are not what they thought, and finds the internal motivation to take action – fueled by the excitement of the discover process.

3. Customization. While coaches may use a brief intake form and standardized assessments if appropriate, they remain committed to customizing their approach by “meeting the client where he/she is.” This does not need to take longer! Indeed, it could mean that with some clients the process is abbreviated so that the coach can spend additional time with clients needing extra attention. For example, if a dislocated worker client does not wish to have his/her skills assessed because she feels comfortable that she knows what they are, but prefers to focus on clarifying a career direction that emphasizes her values and life/work balance, that is perfectly fine in the coaching model!

4. Results. In an environment of increasing accountability requirements for workforce organizations, results are what counts! Coaching emphasizes results – and the burden is squarely on the client to achieve them. In the case management model, the customer tends to rely unduly on the case manager to do the work and tell them what to do. With coaching, the client is charged with taking action toward their desired results, and if they do not, it is clearly not the fault of the coach.

Learning coaching as an alternative to case management can revitalize staff as they learn new skills, and can also improve bottom-line results achieved by the One-Stop or workforce center.

Need help? Contact us at 866-226-2244, email us, or enroll in our new minicourse, starting next Tuesday, June 10, "Coaching for Workforce Development Professionals." Get more information and reserve your space here.

Marcia Bench is a Master Certified Career Coach and Founder/Director of Career Coach Institute and other coaching organizations. She has written 20 books and spoken to over 500 professional groups. She can be reached at coach@careercoachinstitute.com

Copyright © 2008 Marcia Bench; All Rights Reserved

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include the following with it:  “Master Certified Career Coach Marcia Bench, 'The Career Coaching Queen,' publishes the widely circulated ‘Career Coach News’ ezine periodically to over 4,000 subscribers.  If you’re ready to start or grow your own coaching business as an infopreneur so that you can have a huge positive impact on others’ lives and the planet, help us 'change the workplace, one worker at a time,' and earn a great living working the way you want in the process, get your F_REE tips now at www.careercoachinstitute.com”

About Marcia Bench and Career Coach Institute

Master Certified Career Coach Marcia Bench, “The Career Coaching Queen,” is the creator of the acclaimed Career Coaching Success System, based on her book Career Coaching: An Insider’s Guide – second edition JUST released!  This is the only book on career coaching in print today!

If you liked today’s issue, you’ll LOVE this step-by-step course, guaranteed to be the most complete and enjoyable guide to learning career coaching for fun and profit. Browse its table of contents and reader reviews now at http://www.careercoachinstitute.com/books-insiders-guide.html

Marcia also offers F*REE audio classes, F_REE reports, workshops, coaching, and other resources to help high-functioning, successful professionals - especially women – who have a passion to help others and are, or would like to be, thriving “infopreneurs” (information entrepreneurs) serving the New Workplace and its workers. Learn more now at http://www.careercoachinstitute.com

Career Coach Institute, founded by Marcia Bench in January 2001, is the world's premier career coach training school and is committed to “changing the workplace, one worker at a time™”. Marcia is the author of 21 books and has been a leader in the career development and coaching field for over 20 years.

Career Coach Institute
NEW ADDRESS: 8269G SW Wilsonville Rd. #188, Wilsonville, OR 97070
Phone/Fax: 1-866-226-2244
coach@careercoachinstitute.com

Marcia Recommends

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