20 December 2022
Rachael Hanley-Browne, President of EMCC UK, writes:
As of January 2023, we have a complete board in place, having recently elected Michael Christoforou (Vice President) and Paul Heardman (Director for Supervision Practice). We have an outstanding team of volunteers, both executives (Hannah, Sarah, Hande, Ivan, Christopher, Michael, and Paul) and non-executives (Jason, Linbert, and Philippa). This is an incredible milestone and achievement for us as an organisation, and allows us to really focus and flourish into 2023 and beyond.
Our board is excited about the future, and we want to build further strength in depth, which is why you will see roles for both volunteer deputy directors and project leads in the coming months. Hannah will be advertising for the Coaching Practice Directorate in this newsletter, and other roles will follow in due course. You are welcome to chat to any of our directors about their areas, as well as up and coming opportunities, and they would love to hear from you – find their contact details on their individual profile pages. Please don’t be shy about exploring your ideas, including for new special interest groups.
So what can you expect from us in 2023?
We are in the process of beginning a significant technical upgrade – at last! This will be an ongoing programme of work for most of 2023. We will start with association management software (similar to a CRM for us non-techies), and a new website. The operations team will be working hard behind the scenes to make this as seamless as possible; our hope is that you find the new interfaces easier to navigate and more user friendly.
The second phase will be to launch a membership community platform that will allow you to communicate directly with other members, to host special interest groups and communities, as well as a general discussion board to ask for support and advice, or share ideas and opportunities with fellow professionals. Membership of the community will of course be voluntary.
This programme will be led by Michelle, our Head of Operations, and Ivan, our Digital Director. They will also be asking for volunteers to support these projects next year. I believe this will transform EMCC UK and make your membership even more impactful for you, your practice, learning and well-being. We all need our communities during these unsettling times.
Another key aspect is the continued development of our vertically focused communities of practice: Mentoring (Christopher), Coaching (Hannah) and Supervision (Paul), which are unpinned by both Professional Development (Sarah) and Diversity and Inclusion (Hande) specialists. In 2023 there will be more events and content specifically for mentors and supervisors. Both areas are a key part of what we do and stand for, but have been somewhat under-supported. This will also include supervision for supervisors, and the launch of a Supervision SIG.
Another part of the development of these practices will be research funding and access to thought leadership in coaching, mentoring and supervision. We are upping our connectivity to business schools, universities and supporting awards for students who have delivered excellence in evidence-based research projects. Starting with Oxford Brookes student dissertations in January 2023, an award for research with the ‘Greatest Potential for Social Impact’, and rolling these awards out to other institutions over the course of the year. The award winners will be running free webinars for our members about their findings, so watch out for future announcements.
Finally, we are reviewing our working practices and processes, as well as membership offerings and benefits for our growing community (Michelle, Michael and Rachael), and in particular, the way in which we can further develop a sense of belonging for you all. We will continue to shine a light on the opportunities offered to marginalised and underrepresented groups by joining our fantastic EMCC UK community.
Indeed, we are invested in raising the profile of our members with organisations and buyers, for example, HR professionals and key decision makers. We are launching a major initiative next year which we will announce in our January newsletter, which will drive an external focus for us as an organisation and better connect us to our wider stakeholder groups.
We are also looking to do more outreach events to highlight both the benefits of coaching and mentoring accreditation, as well as the quality assurance offered by working with an EMCC UK member. We recognise your challenges in creating a sustainable business in coaching, mentoring and/or supervision, and for in-house practitioners to retain funding and support for your programmes, in what is a particularly challenging economic climate. The benefit of what we offer as an incredibly diverse kinship of coaches, mentors and supervisors is extraordinary – we need to share this way beyond our own profession!
So on behalf of the board, I am signing off 2022 by wishing you a happy Hanukkah or a happy Christmas, as both are celebrated around the same time this year. Enjoy your celebrations with family, friends, and loved ones. For those for whom this is simply a time of rest, enjoy some reflective and restorative space away from your work. And for those of you who are working or volunteering with charities during our festive break, thank you for your service.
We have a truly special community, and we value you all.
Rachael
Image: Marcus Wallis on Unsplash