Intellect and Inspiration

Take intellectual stimulation, add creativity, sprinkle in lots of inspiration
and finally stir in healthy doses of fun and you have the recipe used at CAM.
CAM is the Conversation Among Masters event for master coaches and those who
have significantly contributed to the field. I was privileged to attend this
event for the second time in early May and want to share some of the highlights
with those who were not able to be there.

Our host for the event was Laura Berman Fortgang who wowed us with her humor,
inspired us with her video A Meaningful Life, and provided copies of her latest
book, The Little Book on Meaning all while keeping a large group of opinionated
and curious coaches on track.  Quite a feat.

CAM features conversation starters rather than presenters because CAM isn’t
about being passive recipients of info, but about being in dialogue.  This
atmosphere makes for highly charged learning for all.  The first conversation
starter was Stephen Josephs who prompted a deep conversation about roles and
leadership.  One powerful insight from this conversation was how our roles can
both help us define ourselves and allow us to move beyond who we are in service
of our goals. Stephen shared his system of classifying the roles of leaders
from his book, Leadership Agility.

Yakov Smirnoff was next and he quickly had everyone laughing.  He helped us explore
the connections between laughter, happiness and healthy relationships.  Yakov believes
we are always either the audience or the performer. Successful people understand
the needs of the audience in all areas of life and help provide those needs when
they are in the performer role.

The third conversation starter was Genpo Roshi who lead us through his Big Mind
Process. Genpo teaches that each of us contains all the states of mind that are
present in the world. Many of these “voices” are disowned because we are unwilling
to accept that part of ourselves.  Disowned voices are still expressed in some
way, but usually in an immature way that has high costs to us.  Each voice has
a purpose for the person and all need to be accepted to reach true potential and
power.

We spent the day with Genpo exploring different voices to begin to integrate
them within us.  There were the voices of the master, the student, the fake, the
stupid one, the bitch, hope, fear, no fear and many more.  Finally we dialogued
about the conflict between seeking and non-seeking and the passion, laughter
and inspiration lowed.  Some of us touched on the spot where we could hold both
seeking and non-seeking at the same time – knowing the experience of pure being
and making an intentional choice to bring that knowing into action in the world.

CAM continued with a panel discussion from leaders who have developed non-profits
that use coaching to help make changes in the world.  Included were The Coach
Initiative, Coaching Kids, Coaches Care and Coaching the Global Village.
Lively dialogues followed with all participating in brainstorming ways that
coaching can be used to positively impact the world.  Personal commitments were
made or reinforced and ideas shared for a recording and written document to
be developed from this conversation.

The final conversation starter was Jody Turner who turned the event on its ear
by providing the perspective of the future.  Jody immersed us in the fast paced,
highly technological world that has already arrived today.  She challenged us
as coaches to accept the role of connector – to be able to teach others how to
engage in deeper personal connection in the age of easily accessible remote
connection.

Our final session of the event was a celebration.  From a stretch limo inside
a ballroom to tacky gowns and serious dancing, the coaches assembled demonstrated
the ability to let it loose and have a good time.  The touching cap on the entire
CAM event was the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement award to Shirley Anderson.
Shirley has been one of the pioneers of the coaching world since 1989 and impacted
the lives and the coaching of hundreds of others in the field.

The CAM experience is one that is impossible to describe in words.  However, the
purpose of these words is to capture some of the spirit of CAM – the inspiration,
the intellect, the desire to learn and do more – and to share this with you.  The
hope is that you will explore some of the resources mentioned and allow CAM to
make an impact on your coaching.  There is much to learn for all of us.

About the author – Janet Slack of Solopreneur.biz is a specialist in helping
solopreneurs and small business owners with business development and lifestyle
management.  Follow her blog for coaches and other small business owners here.